The nugget., July 25, 2018, Page 20, Image 20

20
Wednesday, July 25, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Exploridg the Isladd Lake area
By Craig F. Eisenbeis
Correspondent
Our goal was to gener-
ally explore the Island Lake
region between Corbett State
Park and Ray Benson Sno-
Park at Santiam Pass. My
hiking buddy is a member
of the Santiam Ski Patrol
and wanted to become more
familiar with the patrol’s area
of responsibility under snow-
less conditions. We decided
that the best way to cover as
much ground as possible was
to combine our hiking habit
with a little four-wheeling.
For those of you who
don’t know where Island
Lake is – and I suspect that’s
most everyone – Island Lake
sits about a mile south of the
entrance to Corbett State Park,
which is three miles east of
Santiam Pass. Given that most
of this area was completely
burned in the 2003 B&B
Fire, it hadn’t been high on
our list of scenic destinations.
Fifteen years later, however,
it’s a lot greener but still not
much of a “forest.” We were
pleased, however, to observe
that not all of the young trees
are lodgepole pine. There is a
healthy sprinkling of hemlock
and fir trees trying to establish
themselves.
After studying area maps,
we deduced that much of
our intended exploration was
supposedly accessible by
roads. So, most of the ground
we covered was via (much-
needed) four-wheel drive. A
lot of the road system in here,
however, is really horrible.
Our path initially took us
down the “main” 2076 road
farther south than we needed,
but that’s why they call it
exploring. The 2076 road is
reasonably passable and runs
into the 900 road, which we
followed along the northwest
flanks of Cache Mountain into
an area that actually had some
real trees.
When we turned around
to resume our planned route,
I spotted some unusual tracks
in the otherwise untracked
dusty road. We got out and
examined them closely, and
they proved to be enormous
canine prints. Now, I can’t
say they were wolf tracks; but
we’ve seen plenty of large dog
tracks on the trails, and these
were definitely at the top end
of the spectrum. Furthermore,
there were no human tracks
anywhere on the road, which
always accompany dog
tracks. Given the increasing
reports of wolf movements
throughout the state, and the
Cascades in particular, it is
certainly possible that a wolf
has wandered into the Cache
Mountain area.
Continuing with our main
goal, we returned to, and took,
the 500 road west. From there,
it is only about a half mile to
Island Lake, a gorgeous little
gem surrounded by black-
ened, naked tree trunks and
a sea of green Ceanothus.
Not surprisingly, Island Lake
sports a scenic, rocky little
island with a few unburned
trees, whose island residency
protected them from the 2003
conflagration. Rising above
the little lake, and seeming
much closer than it is in real-
ity, is the rocky summit of
Three Fingered Jack.
Proceeding west, the road
worsened and was marred by
what I took to calling “road
moguls,” roller-coaster-like
humps obviously generated
by heavy – and aggressive –
ATV use. We pulled over at a
road junction and hoofed it to
the Island Junction Nordic ski
shelter, which looks good but
could sorely use some wood
protection treatment for it’s
deteriorating log exterior. This
was one of our hiking inter-
ludes on an otherwise motor-
ized day.
Not too far west of the
shelter is a vast deposit of
black volcanic sand. The road
led directly across the sand
deposits, and I could feel my
highway tires slipping down
a steep slope; so I chickened
out and hurriedly sought some
hard ground. I had no desire
to get stuck in the sand, miles
from the highway; so we
turned around. I made a cal-
culated run at it and was able
to get clear of the sand.
After a pleasant lunch
break back on the shores
of Island Lake, where we
watched a duck family and
thousands of tadpoles swim-
ming the shallows, we
resumed our exploration
from the other end of our tar-
get area, by returning to the
Santiam Highway and pick-
ing up a different 900 road
just east of the summit sign at
the pass.
After only about a mile
541-549-9388
PHOTO BY CRAIG F. EISENBEIS
Island lake is a scenic highlight tucked away in an off-road section of the
B&B Burn between Cache Mountain and Santiam Pass. Three Fingered
Jack can be seen in the background.
on this road, the road became
quite steep and rocky, look-
ing more like a dry creek bed
than a road. Prudence dictated
that we resume exploration
on foot. That turned out to be
an excellent choice. After the
rocky “creek bed,” we walked
past areas where half the road
had been washed out, with
“potholes” four feet deep and
fifty feet long. I’ve taken my
truck down ATV trails that
were more drivable than this.
Following this erstwhile
road, we wandered into yet
another huge sand basin.
Looking up the hill, we could
see the North Blowout Nordic
ski shelter, at the north end of
Ray Benson Sno-Park. So, it
was apparent that we were on
the wide-open expanse below
the shelter that we have often
visited after skiing into the
area in wintertime. When we
have previously seen the spot
where we were now standing,
it has invariably been criss-
crossed by a wild maze of
snowmobile tracks.
From there, we headed
east, in the direction of the
ground we had covered earlier
in the day. As we continued to
slog through the soft sand, we
eventually reached the far side
of the basin and decided that
we had pretty much accom-
plished our original goal
and that the giant sand trap
wasn’t all that much fun. So,
we called it a day and headed
home with yet another new
perspective on the wonders of
Sisters Country.
Made in Sisters, Oregon
We skillfully fabricate your ideas (and ours)
in steel, aluminum, copper
& other metals.
We do repair work, too.
MEATS • CHEESES • EATERY • DRINKERY
110 S. SPRUCE ST. | 541-719-1186
OPEN EVERY DAY 9 A.M. TO 7 P.M.
“Your Local Welding Shop”
Blue
Moonstone & Diamond
CCB# 87640
PHOTO BY ALEX JORDAN
SISTERS
541-549-9280 | 207 W. Sisters Park Dr. | PonderosaForge.com
PERSONAL ATTENTION…
(Includes my opinion before
you buy, if you want it!)
We’re in Sisters! Stop by our offi ce and meet our staff, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, 473 E. Hood Ave., Ste. 201 (above La Magie Bakery).
351 W. HOOD AVE. (Across from Ms. Sew-It-All)
Hrs.: M, Tu, Th, Fr, Sa 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Su 1-4 p.m.; Closed Wed.
This ad sponsored by The Nugget Newspaper
www.worldschildren.org