Wednesday, July 5, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
31
Kayaking a temporary lake
By Craig F. Eisenbeis
Correspondent
In the never-ending quest
to enjoy outdoor activities
while waiting for the snowed-
in high country to open up, an
email from a friend prompted
this little adventure. The
email contained three photos
of Fish Lake, a peculiar body
of water near Clear Lake that
doesn’t even exist for part of
the year. It was time to break
out the kayaks.
When it’s early in the
season, as it is now, water is
abundant and Fish Lake over-
flows into Fish Lake Creek,
which flows into Clear Lake.
By summer’s end, however,
both Fish Lake and the creek
will be completely dry; and
the lake will be replaced by a
wildflower-filled meadow!
The lake’s peculiar geol-
ogy causes this unusual
annual phenomenon. Each
year, the lake’s basin fills
with snowmelt and flow from
subterranean springs beneath
the Cascade lava flows. But
the underlying lava and vol-
canic soils are so porous that
the lake cannot sustain itself
when the water input tapers
off. This unusual occurrence
is all part of the complicated
hydrology system that gives
rise to the McKenzie River.
Even though the lake goes
dry each year, there is an
active population of fish in
this seasonal lake; and they
survive by retreating into
the lake’s principal tribu-
tary, Hackleman Creek, as
the water level begins to fall.
While exploring the lake on
kayaks, we discovered that
there are at least two other
small streams tumbling into
the lake.
As it turned out, we
weren’t the only ones to come
up with the idea of kayaking
Fish Lake that day. I counted
eleven other kayakers, and
two more were departing just
as we arrived.
Fish Lake, of course, is
rather shallow; and the lake
bottom is visible much of
the time. Looking down into
the water, I couldn’t help
but think of the times I had
walked across that same lake
bottom. In fact, some well-
defined trails lie there await-
ing the reemergence of the
meadow later in the summer.
We started by checking
out the lake’s outlet, which
is choked with logs; so there
is no danger of becoming
caught in the current. At that
location, the current is just
strong enough to hold your
kayak in place against the
logs but is easily escaped
with minimal effort.
Paddling back up the
lake, I was impressed by the
number of waterfowl on the
temporary lake. Quite a few
goldeneyes were present, and
I saw a single ruddy duck. Of
particular interest was a pair
of Canada geese shepherd-
ing five tiny goslings down a
very steep bank, for what was
almost surely their first swim.
Fish Lake proved to be
quite a bit bigger than I had
previously thought. Paddling
all the way up to Hackleman
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y and p
Creek turned out to be more
of a chore than I had antici-
pated, especially in a bargain-
basement inflatable kayak.
This upper part of the lake
is where we discovered those
two small tributary streams.
Approaching the inlet of
Hackleman Creek, the water
becomes quite shallow and
marshy in places. To actually
enter the creek, it is necessary
to swing right and then left
through the marshy areas. We
continued upstream against a
mild current until we encoun-
tered a log across the creek.
We probably could have slith-
ered over it, but it seemed like
as good a place to turn around
as any, so we did.
On the way back to our
launch point, we had excel-
lent views of the historic site
surrounding the Fish Lake
Station that once served
the Santiam Wagon Road.
The Santiam Wagon Road
was built in the 1860s and
stretched from Sweet Home
across Santiam Pass, down
Indian Ford Creek, through
Camp Polk, and eventu-
ally reached the Deschutes
River north of present-day
Redmond. Little more than
a wide trail, the road was a
principal trade route between
western and eastern Oregon
through the remainder of the
nineteenth century and on
into the twentieth.
In response to the increas-
ing cross-state traffic on the
road, roadhouses appeared
along the way, the largest
of which was at Fish Lake.
There, shelters were built to
PHOTO BY CRAIG F. EISENBEIS
A kayaker skims the surface of Fish Lake, a feat that will not be possible
during the late summer.
accommodate travelers; and
the site is reported to have
included a hotel, blacksmith
shop, cabins, and a saloon.
Of special interest at this
historic location is the pio-
neer grave of Charity Ann
Noble. Married at the age of
17 to James P. Marks, Charity
died in childbirth at this
remote way station less than
two years later. The Marks
family was crossing Santiam
Pass in October of 1875 when
they were trapped by a snow-
storm. Both Mrs. Marks and
the infant died and were bur-
ied together at the site.
Starting in 1905, the site
was used by the U.S. Forest
Service as a Ranger outpost.
The structures remaining
there today date primar-
ily from 1910, 1924, and
those built by the Civilian
Conservation Corps in the
1930s. The old wagon road
became obsolete in 1939
when the new Santiam Pass
highway was completed
along its present-day route.
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today you don’t need to worry
about becoming trapped by a
snowstorm if you choose to
visit the old Fish Lake station.
The site and buildings
continue to be used by the
Forest Service as part of the
Fish Lake Guard Station.
Trails reach out from this
location, and you can retrace
part of the historic Santiam
Wagon Road for varying dis-
tances of your choice. It is 2.6
miles to the Hackleman Road
trailhead, 3.6 miles to Lost
Prairie, and about nine miles
to Tombstone Pass, when
snow conditions permit.
Travel west from Sisters
over Santiam Pass on
Highway 20. At the Santiam
“Y,” take the left fork on
Highway 20 toward Eugene
and Corvallis. Three miles
later, take the next left fork
toward Eugene on Highway
126. Fish Lake is about a mile
on the right. The first road,
to the Guard Station, is usu-
ally gated; so take the Forest
Service-marked roadside
turnoff that follows.