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BY JAMES JOHNSTON
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Ch ao P ra Y a
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JAMES JOHNSTON
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Indigo Lake
Plan a last fall fling in the
Oregon Cascades Recreation Area.
T
he 157,000-acre Oregon Cascades
Recreation Area includes portions of
the Willamette, Umpqua and
Deschutes National Forests southeast of
Eugene. It’s a roadless wilderness (wilder-
ness with a small “w”) stuck between the
congressionally designated Thielsen and
Diamond Peak Wildernesses (wilderness
with a large “W”). Unlike big W wilderness,
the congressional mandate for the OCRA is
to provide an array of different types of recre-
ation, not necessarily to maintain the primi-
Springs on the west side).
The hike to Indigo is easy, just a two-mile
one-way trip. The first part of the hike makes
some gentle switchbacks uphill before level-
ing out near a trail junction, where you’ll stay
straight past several small meadows,
splashed with crimson and gold during the
autumn. If you reach Indigo Lake and still
want to do some more hiking, the trail ex-
tends all the way around the lakeshore, mak-
ing for a five-mile round trip back to your ve-
hicle.
RIGHT NOW IS ONE OF THE BEST TIMES TO
ENJOY THE HIGH CASCADES, AND INDIGO
LAKE IS THE PERFECT DESTINATION FOR AN
OVERNIGHT CAMPING TRIP OR A DAY HIKE.
C I T Y O F E U G E N E , O R E G O N
58 OCTOBER 21, 2004
tive feel of the backcountry.
The crown jewel of the OCRA is Indigo
Lake, one of the most beautiful of the thou-
sands of alpine tarns that dot the crest of the
Cascade Range. There are still plenty of
warm days left in 2004. The mosquitoes have
vanished, the big summer crowds have de-
parted, the trails are dry, and huckleberries
and other shrubs have turned the mountains a
hundred fiery hues. Right now is one of the
best times to enjoy the high Cascades, and
Indigo Lake is the perfect destination for an
overnight camping trip or a day hike.
Directions: Take I-5 south from Eugene
for approximately three miles. Take the
Oakridge/Klamath Falls exit (Exit 188A).
Stay to the left onto Hwy. 58. Take 58 for ap-
proximately 37 miles. Just past Dink’s
Market on the east side of Oakridge, take a
right onto Kitson Springs Road. In .4 miles,
take another right onto Forest Service Road
21 (sign for Diamond Drive). Stay on 21 for
approximately 31 miles, and then take a left
on the paved FS 2154 road. Follow the 2154
road for 9.2 miles to Timpanogas Lake. All of
the intersections have signs for Timpanogas
or Diamond Drive, except for a fork in the
road after 6.9 miles. Stay right at this junc-
tion.
When you pull into the Timpanogas Lake
Campground, stay to the right and hit the
trailhead at the southeast end of the parking
lot (there are trails to June Lake and Chuckle
If you’ve got lots of energy you’ll want to
appreciate the lake’s brilliant azure color
properly — from the top of Sawtooth
Mountain, the 1,000-foot wall that rises di-
rectly out of the lake’s east shore. Back track
to a trail junction about 200 feet from the
lakeshore. Turn right and trudge up some
steep switchbacks with occasional views
back downhill. In 1.7 miles you’ll come to a
junction. Taking the trail to the right for a
mile and a half will take you to the very top of
the 7,301-foot mountain (watch your footing,
it’s a sheer drop-off in places).
If you’re super-energetic, you can con-
tinue straight at the intersection 1.7 miles
from Indigo Lake and make for Cowhorn
Mountain. After descending and then climb-
ing some more, you can complete a 10-mile
loop back to Timpanogas on the Windy Pass
Trail.
All is not quiet in this alpine paradise. The
1984 Oregon Wilderness Act which created
the OCRA and other nearby engine-free
wildernesses allows off-road vehicle use on
the trails to Indigo Lake and Sawtooth
Mountain, and a number of otherwise peace-
ful fall days are ruined by the obnoxious
growl of dirt bikes and four wheelers. If
you’re lucky enough to have some peace and
quiet, do yourself and other hikers a favor and
make a call to your elected officials and
ask them to turn the OCRA into a real
wilderness.
ew