BY JAMES JOHNSTON
Cascade lily on Olallie Mountain
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JAMES JOHNSTON
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Olallie Mountain
Mars, full moons and mosquitos are all
on tap for the Three Sisters in August.
T
errific views, tons of wildflowers and
endless blue skies are to be had every
summer in the Three Sisters
Wilderness. This August offers at least one
unique attraction that can be enjoyed on a rela-
tively easy 7-mile round trip to the top of
Olallie Mountain — one of the classic day
hikes to be had in the 300,000 acre wilderness
area.
The drive requires a fair amount of time on
gravel roads. To get there, take Hwy. 105 east
from Springfield for approximately 45 miles.
Between mileposts 45 and 46, turn right onto
Forest Service Road 19 towards Cougar
Reservoir. Take the sweeping right hand turn
in a half-mile and follow the windy Road 19
another 2.5 miles to the reservoir. Turn left
across Cougar dam and stay on FS Road 1993,
staying on the main road at all junctions. In
15.5 miles you’ll find the well-marked Pat
Saddle Trailhead with plenty of parking on the
right.
There are two trailheads in this parking lot.
You want the Olallie Mountain trail at the far
end, not the French Pete trail. The trail climbs
gently through a forest of monstrous Douglas
fir. In a half mile, you’ll cross Mosquito Creek
(there’s a fine lake that can be reached with a
quarter-mile bushwhack upstream). There are
no mosquitoes here — they’ve followed the
trail to the top of the mountain by August.
Two miles from the trailhead, the path
splits. Continuing straight for a mile will take
you to Olallie Meadows and an interesting
abandoned guard station. Unless you’re highly
motivated, you should take a right turn for
Olallie Mountain, which has more scenic
meadows and far better views. From the inter-
section you’ll climb steeply for a mile and a
half to the top of the 5,700-foot peak. Along
the way you’ll pass hundreds of waist-high
bear grass flowers, along with pink Cascade
lilies, columbine, paintbrush and lupine.
At the top is the Olallie Mountain Lookout,
one of just two fire lookouts remaining in the
Three Sisters Wilderness. This 14 x 14 ft.
wooden structure, constructed 70 years ago, is
run down, but makes a fine shelter in the un-
likely event the weather turns bad. The door is
unlocked, and will probably remain so as long
as hikers refrain from vandalism and littering.
An overnight trip to Olallie Mountain is
definitely in order this August, when Mars will
be just 35 million miles from Earth, the closest
it’s come to Earth in almost 60,000 years. At
its closest point Aug. 27, it will appear more
than six times larger and 85 times brighter than
normal. It will, in fact, rival the brightness of
the moon.
There is, by the way, a full moon on
Aug. 19.
Oh yeah, there’s also spectacular views of
the Three Sisters, Diamond Peak, Mount
Jefferson and several other snow-capped
peaks.
The scenery is spectacular enough that
you probably won’t even notice the mosqui-
toes.
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Dr. Richard Strom, DC
is pleased to announce the association of
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Practice includes Nutritional Medicine.
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Customer Appreciation Party
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Car wash & Free BBQ
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Wet T-shirt
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Door Prizes and hourly giveaways!
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JULY 21, 2005 31