Wednesday, October 21, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
23
Exploring Scott Lake
By Craig F. Eisenbeis
Correspondent
Highway 242 over
McKenzie Pass has
reopened. So, now is the
time to take advantage of the
wonders of the McKenzie
Highway before it closes
again for the winter. Our
visit to Scott Lake actually
took place last month; but
wildfire traffic and wind
damage caused the high-
way to be closed for several
weeks, postponing publica-
tion of this article.
I9ve been to Scott Lake
numerous times; but, other
than a quick glance or a
roadside post-hike swim, we
had never really explored the
place. Scott Lake is located
just six miles beyond the Dee
Wright Observatory at the
summit of McKenzie Pass.
Scott Lake is named for
Felix Scott, Jr., who blazed
Scott Trail over nearby Scott
Pass in 1862. When he pio-
neered this route, he made
the trip with more than a
thousand cattle!
The jumping-off spot
for Scott9s namesake trail
is located just east of Scott
Lake, near the highway.
Our trail this day, however,
takes off just to the right of
the Benson Lake Trailhead,
along the west side of Scott
Lake. This trail also contin-
ues on to Hand Lake. The
last time my hiking part-
ner and I trod this path, we
were headed in the opposite
direction, returning from
a 10-mile loop over Scott
Mountain. This alternate
outing is considerably less
adventurous 4 but more
relaxing.
Truth be told, it9s not
much more than a half-mile
to the northwest extremity of
this oddly misshapen lake,
but we elected options which
resulted in substantial addi-
tional walking. The spot we
selected for our interim stop
offered a great view of the
western sides of the Three
Sisters, an aspect entirely
different from what we see
from the east side 4 and a
very scenic change of pace.
I9ve commented before
that hiking with my friend
is a bit like traveling with a
water spaniel that leaps into
the water at every opportu-
nity, and this occasion was
no exception. By the time I
got into the water, my buddy
was already halfway across
the lake. I9m always a little
slower to adjust to the water
temperature, and I just kept
wading farther and farther
out. When the water reached
my neck, I was almost half-
way across myself; so I
swam the rest of the way and
caught up on the opposite
shore.
Obviously, the lake is
quite shallow and, as a
result, relatively warm for
a mountain lake that isn9t
much below the 5,000 foot
level; although, now that
it9s October, it may be a lit-
tle more chilly. With a soft,
squishy lake bottom that
churns up a cloud of silt with
each step, the lake bottom
appears to be utterly devoid
of vegetation. Curiously,
even at mid-day, fish were
quite busy jumping.
The water level was very
low, to the point where the
northern end of the lake was
separated from its more fre-
quented south end. There
is a channel between the
lake9s segments, but it was
dry at its midpoint. The
water in the channel9s shal-
lows approached bathtub
temperatures.
An advantage of the low-
water level was a pleasantly
walkable rim all around
the lake, where the silt had
hardened to a surface not
unlike the wet sand margin
at an ocean beach. So, we
decided to walk back since
our <hike= had been a pretty
short one. On the way, we
spotted an excellent adult
specimen of the <vulner-
able= Oregon spotted frog
lazing in the warm shallows.
<Vulnerable= means that this
unique amphibian is subject
to a high risk of extinction
but isn9t quite <endangered.=
Later, we saw another much
smaller one that had just
graduated from being a
tadpole.
After exploring the lake9s
various lobes on the long
walk back, we returned to
the water for another swim,
followed by a snack and a
leisurely walk back to the
trailhead. Except for a brief
period when we first arrived,
there was no one else on our
portion of the lake.
On the return trip, I
noticed that there are sev-
eral nice walk-in campsites
along the trail, giving camp-
ers a more private option
than the campsites along the
road at the southern edge of
the lake.
To enjoy this experience,
simply take the McKenzie
Pass Highway (242) west
from Sisters. Approaching
the pass, there is the sad
reminder of the Milli Fire of
three years ago, and that the
Santiam Pass 3 McKenzie
Pass Scenic Byway has suf-
fered yet another blow ren-
dering it a little less scenic.
I was also disappointed to
see that a few of the survivor
trees from the fire are still
dying.
New sights include a bur-
geoning crop of post-fire
ceanothus, and an interesting
half-mile long roadside wall
to reduce runoff and erosion
along the base of a severely
burned steep slope.
From the pass summit,
continue west for about six
miles and turn right (north)
at the Scott Lake turnoff.
PHOTO BY CRAIG F. EISENBEIS
West-side views of the Three Sisters accent the charm of Scott Lake.
There is a sign advising of
the approaching turn, but
there is an intervening turn-
off, as well; so wait until
you are actually abreast of
the brown Scott Lake sign
before turning off. The trail-
head is 1.1 miles farther,
at the end of a good gravel
road.
This is a fee-use area; but,
on the occasion of our visit,
there was a sign temporarily
dispensing with the require-
ment. Masks are required
where six feet of COVID-19
separation cannot be main-
tained, so bring your mask
for passing on the trails. A
kiosk at the trailhead pro-
vides other useful informa-
tion of local interest.
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