Wednesday, October 7, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 15 A fall visit to Clear Lake is a must By Craig F. Eisenbeis Correspondent As soon as the calendar flips over to October, I start thinking about a visit to Clear Lake. Just over Santiam Pass, and only about a half hour away, there9s no bet- ter place to see fall colors in our area. This is always my favorite local fall hike. As far as that goes, it9s probably everyone9s favorite fall hike around here 4 and the long range weather forecast sug- gests that there will be many remaining opportunities in October. My hiking buddy and I do this hike almost every year about this time, but we decided to mix it up a little this year and threw in our kayaks as an option. Actually, just the possibility of visiting Clear Lake was a bit tenuous this year because access was restricted most of last month due to the fires and the ensuing road clo- sures. Fortunately, the area reopened last week, and we were quick to take advantage. We weren9t the only ones who had that idea. This visit to Clear Lake was the busiest day at the lake I9ve ever seen. We arrived in late morning last Saturday, and there was still plenty of parking; but, by early afternoon, the place was packed. Still there was plenty of space to socially distance. The skies were blue, the winds were calm, and the lake surface was like glass; so we decided to go for the aquatic option. There were a few other kayaks and canoes; but, mostly, there was a lot of fishing going on. We decided to head north of the resort, since that area seemed to be less crowded. There are quite a few Clear Lakes in this world, but this is one that actually lives up to its name. In fact, the intensely blue waters are so clear that you can see trees submerged when lava flows created the lake 3,000 years ago. These aren9t petrified trees or lava casts; they9re the real thing. The waters of Clear Lake are so cold that the microorganisms that cause wood to rot generally cannot survive here. While paddling along, it9s impossible not to peer into the clear depths scores of feet below. The ancient trees are certainly the most striking objects of interest; but, this time, we saw something new. While it9s not uncommon to see fish cruising the depths, this time we saw several salmon-sized trout 4 we9re talking fish in the 24-to- 30-inch range! At this time of the year, surface tributaries to the lake have long since dried up, but Great Spring is still pumping its very cold water into the lake and forming the