Appeal tribune., October 31, 2018, Page 4A, Image 4

4A ܂ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018 ܂ APPEAL TRIBUNE
Life in the Valley
PATJENS LAKES LOOP MAKES
FOR A SPECTACULAR HIKE
View of Hayrick Butte across Big Lake. PHOTOS BY WILLIAM L SULLIVAN/SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL
William L. Sullivan
Special to Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A trail that partly burned in 2011 now
makes for a spectacular hike. Seven
years after a fire scorched the area south
of Santiam Pass, the 6.9-mile Patjens
Lake Loop is green again, with better
views of Mt. Washington than ever.
The relatively easy loop starts from a
paved road at the West Big Lake Camp-
ground and gains just 400 feet of eleva-
tion on its way to four shallow pools
with mountain reflections.
Having to switch hike destinations
like this can make you wonder what’s
with all the fires. When I grew up it
seemed that Smokey the Bear had ev-
erything under control.
It turns out that fire is a normal and
natural part of every forest in Oregon.
Excavations in the mud of mountain la-
kebeds reveal that each forest has its
own fire cycle. The layers of lakebed ash
go back thousands of years. They show
that fires come at different intervals for
different areas.
Dry juniper-sagebrush lands in East-
ern Oregon might burn every 10 years.
Lodgepole pine woods on the east side
of the Cascades seem to burn at 80-year
intervals. The mountain hemlock
woods of the Western Cascades burn
every 200 years or so. Even the rainfor-
ests of the damp Oregon Coast have a
cycle of catastrophic fire every 500 to
1000 years.
All of these forest types have been re-
seeding themselves naturally all along.
The lodgepole pine forest along much of
the Patjens Lakes Loop has returned as
a bumper crop of waist-high seedlings.
In early summer the area is dotted
with the white plumes of beargrass.
Blue huckleberries ripen in August.
Both of these are plants that require fire
in order to reproduce well.
By now the black snags of the old
pines at Santiam Pass have turned sil-
ver. Most have already fallen.
Four years after the fire, the Scorpi-
ons, a volunteer trail maintenance crew
from the Eugene area, spent two days
sawing out more than 200 logs on the
Patjens Lake Loop.
This past summer the heroic crew
was back, cutting out 200 new fallen
snags. Because half of the loop is in des-
ignated Wilderness, much of the work
had to be done without motorized
equipment, using two-person crosscut
saws.
Don’t be surprised if you find a few
new logs across the trail anyway. Mostly
these will be small poles that are easy to
step over. Complete restoration of a trail
after a fire can take decades.
You will also find large sections of the
loop that did not burn, especially on
shady slopes and along lakeshores,
where moisture slowed the flames.
Mosquitoes are a problem the first half
A view of Mt. Washington is seen across Big Lake from Patjens Lakes Loop.
Patjens Lakes trailhead by West Big Lake Campground.
of July, but fall is lovely here for hikers --
until the snow starts falling, usually in
early November.
To find the trailhead, drive Highway
20 to Santiam Pass, turn south at the
Hoodoo Ski Area sign, and follow paved
Big Lake Road 3.9 miles, staying on the
paved road, to a pullout on the right
signed “Patjens Trailhead Parking
Only.” Maximum group size is twelve.
Horses are allowed, but not mountain
bikes.
After hiking 0.2 miles go straight at a
junction that marks the start of the loop.
In another mile, the trail follows the long
meadow of a (dry) snowmelt creek.
Then the path gradually climbs to a low
pass, offering views north to Sand
Mountain’s double hump of red cinders
with a small lookout tower. Behind you
on the horizon look for Mt. Jefferson’s
distant snowy cone and the crags of
Three-Fingered Jack.
On the far side of the ridge, you’ll get
your first view of the Three Sisters, with
the Husband and Scott Mountain to the
right.
Beyond the pass the trail descends
into an unburned forest of old mountain
hemlocks. In summer the forest floor
here is carpeted with acres of vanilla
leaf, a plant with three hand-sized
leaves and a toothbrush-shaped white
flower cluster. Pioneers allegedly used
the roots as a vanilla substitute.
At the bottom of the hill, at the half-
way point of the loop hike, you’ll see the
first Patjens Lake on the right. It’s just a
big pond in burned woods. Half a mile
beyond is lake number two – larger, and
in unburned woods, but with a brushy
shore.
The third Patjens Lake is the largest
and most attractive, surrounded by
meadows. Camping would be fun here,
especially if you’ve brought children.
Fires are not allowed within 100 feet of
lakeshores, so backpackers should
bring a stove.
The fourth and final lake’s water level
varies seasonally, leaving a wide, mud-
dy beach in fall.
After exploring the four lakes, con-
tinue 1.7 miles to the trail junction just
before Big Lake. The best swimming
beach is 300 feet to the right. If it’s too
chilly for a dip, go left to continue the
loop. Views now open up across Big
Lake to Hoodoo’s cone and flat-topped
Hayrick Butte.
Hike half a mile along the lakeshore
to a fork. Both routes lead to your car.
The path to the left is the official route,
but it may be more interesting to take
the less maintained path to the right,
which continues along the shore to the
West Big Lake Campground. Then walk
along the campground road to the pull-
out with your car.
The skies are smoke-free at Santiam
Pass. And the regrowing forest there has
recovered enough that it’s once again
pleasant to hike the Patjens Lakes Loop.