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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 2021)
2B | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021 | APPEAL TRIBUNE Jefferson Park, famed alpine meadow, mostly unburned after wildfires Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK It appears that the alpine meadows and mountain lakes of Jefferson Park, a beloved alpine hideaway tucked at the base of Mount Jefferson, is looking pret- ty good after the Lionshead Fire blew through last September. In the aftermath of last year’s Labor Day Fires, Salem and Oregon residents have been curious about how their fa- vorite places fared and in many cases, the news was not positive. Places including Opal Creek, Olallie Lake to Shellburg Falls were all heavily impacted, some are closed long-term and most are unlikely to look the same in a person’s lifetime. But that doesn’t appear to apply to Jefferson Park, among the most scenic locations in the Oregon backcountry, according to a person who chartered an airplane to fly over it and a mountain climber who snapped a picture from the summit of Jefferson. Both report that while the land sur- rounding the park is severely burned – including Whitewater and Woodpecker trails – the park itself is largely green and doesn’t appear to have suffered much fire impact. “Looking down from the summit, you could see that the fire definitely burned up to that area, but around the lakes and meadow it was still pretty green,” said Portland-based climber Andrew De La Bruere, 31, who summited Jefferson ear- lier this month and got a picture from the top. Jefferson Park is roughly one mile long north to south and three miles wide east to west, and is home to five main lakes and sweeping wildflower-filled meadows. It’s closed now, but can be reached with a 6- to 8-mile hike from multiple locations when open, the best- known being via Whitewater Trail. In recent years it has been frequently filled with tents and is known as one of the best backpacking spots in Oregon. The odd name was bestowed by famed traveler Judge John B. Waldo, who stopped there in 1870. Previously, it was called Hanging Valley, “a name lacking in descriptive quality and ap- propriateness,” according to “Oregon Geographic Names.” Hence the new Path Continued from Page 1 The thing that’s made this trail so popular over the years is that it’s just 2.2 miles and 800 feet of climb to reach Pa- melia Lake, cradled in a big green valley, with Mount Jefferson rising overhead. From there, we turned onto Grizzly Peak Trail and climbed toward its for- ested summit. The full hike is 10 miles round-trip with 2,700 feet of climb. An image of Jefferson Park, in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness, taken July of 2021, showing little to no fire damage from the Lionshead Fire. PHOTO BY ANDREW DE LA BRUERE moniker. From the top of Jefferson, De La Bruere said he could see Russell Lake well, but not Scout, Park, Rock or Bays lakes. However, his description matched that of Wes Baker, who chartered a flight over much of the burn area earlier this summer. Baker documented most of the locations in pictures, but was only able to see Jefferson Park, and not photo- graph it, due to turbulence. “Most of the (northern) Mount Jef- ferson Wilderness was pretty burned overall,” Baker said, noting that places such as Whitewater Trail and Triangu- lation Peak were now almost ‘double burned,’ as the Lionshead Fire burned right across the scar left by the 2017 Whitewater Fire. “When we flew over Park Ridge and into Jefferson Park you could tell it was different. There were large areas that didn’t look burned at all. I’d say that it’s safe to assume Jefferson Park is OK.” The U.S. Forest Service, which man- ages the wilderness area, has not com- mented on the state of Jefferson Park or any of the other burned areas. Most re- cently officials said they could not safe- ly get into the backcountry due to fire damage. “I do not have any pictures or a status report from the district ranger,” Willam- ette National Forest spokeswoman Tammy Robinson said. Interest has been high about the fate of Jefferson Park ever since the fires. That was reflected after De La Bruere posted pictures of his climb and got a big response on social media. “I wasn’t expecting it to get the reac- tion it did, but a lot of people were very excited to see it looking green,” he said. “It was cool to see it and then see how happy other people were.” Zach Urness has been an outdoors re- porter, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 13 years. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Jour- nal. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking South- ern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors. of my favorite places go up in flames last year, I’m not longer taking these spots for granted. As we climbed higher onto Grizzly Peak, it was a glorious thing to be trav- eling entirely in the shade and intact forest. The summit itself features a postcard-worthy view of Mount Jeffer- son, but trees limit views to the north and south, where you’d see the scars. This is, indeed, a hike where you can completely forget the wildfires that have marked the Jeff Wilderness and enjoy the shady green forest, if only for a few hours. Fire came close in 2017 and 2020 Pamelia Lake/Grizzly Peak hike The lack of fire damage in the Pame- lia Lake Valley is a combination of luck and hard work from fire crews. In 2017, the Whitewater Fire came right to the edge of the Pamelia Creek valley, but thanks to a fire line created by fire crews, it never spilled down into the valley, according to fire officials that summer. Last year’s Lionshead Fire also blast- ed past just north of the valley, but in- stead of moving south toward Pamelia, it burned west toward Detroit and north toward Olallie Lake. In other words, Pamelia has gotten a little bit lucky. And after watching many In a nutshell: An easy and pretty hike to a mountain lake in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness with an added climb to a knockout view of Mount Jef- ferson. Permits: A day use or overnight per- mit is required in advance from Recrea- tion.gov. Season: July to October Difficulty: Moderate-Challenging Round-Trip: 4.4 miles round-trip to Pamelia Lake; 10 miles to Grizzly Peak summit. High point/Elevation gain: 800 feet to Pamelia Lake, 2,700 to Grizzly Peak. Pamelia Lake and Grizzly Peak are two of the last areas in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness that haven't been recently impacted by wildfire. The trail showcases old-growth forest, tumbling Pamelia Creek, Pamelia Lake and Grizzly Peak's view of Mount Jefferson. ZACH URNESS / STATESMAN JOURNAL Directions: Follow Highway 22 east of Salem to Detroit. Continue on High- way 22 approximately 12.5 miles to Pa- melia Creek Road (Forest Road 2246). Turn left onto Forest Road 2246, travel 5 miles to end of road. Trailhead parking is on the left. Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter, photographer and videogra- pher in Oregon for 13 years. Urness can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJour nal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors. Miller Dockside Charters: (541) 765-2545. Website: www.docksidedepoebay.com Tradewinds Charters: (800) 445-8730. Website: www.tradewindscharters.com Newport Newport Marina Store & Charters: (541) 867-4470. Website: www.nmschar- ters.com Newport Tradewinds: (541) 265-2101. Website: www.newporttradewinds.com Yaquina Bay Charters: (541) 265-6800. Website: www.yaquinabaycharters.com Item 2: The next minus-tide series for clammers,good, not great, is early morn- ings Aug. 7, a Saturday, through Aug. 10. You can look up the times and tides for the hot spots on the coast online at Tide Location Selection for Oregon (saltwater- tides.com) And, as always, be sure to check before heading out by calling the Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture’s go online to the State of Oregon: Shellfish - Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures Thought for the week: The current “knock off at 2 p.m.” fishing restrictions because of hot water cuts hours off of not catching anything. Contact Henry via email at Henry MillerSJ@gmail.com Continued from Page 1 Simple Cremation $795 Simple Direct Burial $995 Church Funeral $2965 SALEM 275 Lancaster Drive SE Salem, OR 97317 (503) 581-6265 TUALATIN 8970 SW Tualatin Sherwood Rd Tualatin, OR 97062 (503) 885-7800 PORTLAND 832 NE Broadway Portland, OR 97232 (503) 783-3393 TIGARD 12995 SW Pacifi c Hwy Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 783-6869 EASTSIDE 1433 SE 122nd Ave Portland, OR 97233 (503) 783-6865 MILWAUKIE 16475 SE McLoughlin Blvd Milwaukie, OR 97267 (503) 653-7076 “Easy Online Arrangements” OR-GCI0571428-02 www.CrownCremationBurial.com Apparently Kay and I aren’t the only ones who had a soft spot for Harry, the late, much-lamented mostly Jack Russell terrier that shuffled off this mortal coil around mid-month. More than a dozen readers have writ- ten much-appreciated sentiments about Harry’s death after the past week’s col- umn about the little guy. Again, thanks. Highlights To lift your spirits after all of the above, here’s what’s happening on the fun side. Item 1: Ocean salmon anglers have been averaging more than one fish a per- son out of Depoe Bay and Newport, ac- cording to catch statistics through July 18 compiled by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and more recent reports from charter operators. To check out what’s going on, or to make a reservation: Depoe Bay
