Page 10C
OUTSIDE
East Oregonian
Camp on your own island
By ZACH URNESS
Statesman Journal
OAKRIDGE — There’s something
unique about camping on an island.
Severed from the mainland and all
its inhabitants, you become governor of
an adopted patch of earth in a way that’s
different from camping near a trail or
road.
The solitude is deeper and more
satisfying — you might score your
own swimming hole or viewpoint, and
there’s little concern of an obnoxious
group showing up next door. But island
camping also can be lonely, especially
on a solo trip, without even the main-
land chipmunks around to keep you
company.
That was my experience, at least,
during a trip to one of Oregon’s only
mountain lakes where it’s possible to
boat in and set up tent on an island.
Summit Lake, southeast of Oakridge,
is one of the great secret places in the
Cascade Mountains not just because of
its islands, but also because of the clear
water and views of Diamond Peak.
Days spent gliding across sapphire
water in a canoe or kayak, weaving
among islands and peninsulas in
search of sand beaches and groves of
huckleberries, is an experience close to
heaven.
Despite these charms, the lake
remains uncrowded due to three major
major problems: awful road access, late
snowmelt and mosquitoes.
Try driving here in a low-clearance
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off. Try visiting in June, July or early
August and you’ll get massacred by
bloodthirsty hordes of tiny vampires
that seem to laugh out loud if you try
mosquito repellant.
Summit Lake, which also is home
to a boat ramp, outhouse and small
campground, is a classic high-risk,
high-reward outdoor experience.
In other words, do your homework.
Zach Urness/Statesman-Journal via AP
This photo taken Sept. 8 shows an island and the blue expanse of Sum-
mit Lake with Diamond Peak in the background, in the Deschutes Na-
tional Forest near Oakride.
The sparkling blue water rolls across
the horizon while Diamond Peak juts
overhead like a giant pyramid. The boat
ramp, campsite and outhouse are found
on the lake’s north end.
Upon arrival, I met a family that has
been coming here for 20 years. They
said Summit Lake gets a fair amount
of visitors on August and September
weekends but stays mostly quiet
mid-week.
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my kayak and began loading up gear. A
canoe would be a better choice, but on
a solo trip, I opted for easier traveling.
All loaded up, I pushed off from the
shoreline and onto the water.
Berry Island
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tion about Summit Lake is the clarity of
the water.
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pure snowmelt — there are no inlet
creeks — and the rocky geology means
there isn’t much sediment either. The
Trip Planning
result is sapphire-tinted water so clear
The ideal time to visit Summit Lake you can see your boat’s shadow on the
is early September, after Memorial bottom of the lake.
The majority of boat-in camping
Day, when the weather is warm enough
spots
are on the north end, among a
for swimming but the nights are cool
scattering
of small islands off a main
enough to eliminate mosquitoes.
peninsula
that
juts into the lake.
I brought my backpacking gear,
Some
of
the
islands are too small
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include a shovel. Apparently, some for campsites, but after boating around
people have trouble understanding the for less than 45 minutes, I pulled to the
concept of burying their poop on the rocky shore of a promising patch of
lake’s islands and the Forest Service has land. A small wooden sign proclaimed
the site Berry Island (elevation 5,650
made bringing a shovel a requirement.
After driving down I-5 to Eugene feet), the perfect nighttime home.
There was a giddy excitement in
and heading east on Highway 58, I
making
camp on my own island, of
arrived in Oakridge and was faced with
climbing a few steps to its highest
a decision.
Summit Lake is located in a sort of point and surveying the breadth of my
no man’s land on the southern border of kingdom.
It wasn’t much — less than an acre in
the Diamond Peak Wilderness, and two
size
— but it had character. A grove of
routes provide access.
drooping
pines provided shade, and the
The quicker route takes the turn-off
shoreline
included large basalt boulders
to Crescent Lake and follows Forest
on
one
side
and a sliver of sand beach
Service Road 6010, one of the worst
roads in the state, to Summit Lake. Full on the other.
I wasted no time setting up my tent
of deep ruts and large boulders, the road
and
organizing camp, then celebrating
is treacherous any time of the year but
particularly in early summer due to late with a cool swim. I spent the rest of the
snowmelt that makes it easy to get stuck day exploring surrounding islands and
peninsulas — and found many other
in snow or mud.
I opted for the longer route, which outstanding campsites — and unsuc-
follows paved FSR 21 most of the way FHVVIXOO\WU\LQJWRFDWFK¿VK
Fishing, from what I was told, is not
and includes less time on awful FSR
good
here.
6010.
By the time evening arrived, I’d
Summit Lake
arranged a nice place for reading and
After the less-than-enjoyable drive, I star-watching. Fire restrictions still
DUULYHGDW6XPPLW/DNHDQGJRWP\¿UVW were in place, so I was without a camp-
¿UHZKLFKLVMXVWDVZHOOVLQFH,¶GQHHG
view.
to haul out wood from the mainland.
It is, in a word, stunning.
If you go:
In a nutshell: A very pretty
mountain lake just south of the
Diamond Peak Wilderness
Season: Late June/July to Sep-
tember/October, depending on
snow. Mosquitoes are very bad
until late August.
Elevation: 5,600 feet
Development: Small camp-
ground with three official sites,
small boat ramp and pit toilet.
There are dispersed campsites
around the lake as well.
Island camping: There are many
boat-in campsites where it’s
possible to make camp via
canoe or kayak.
Information: Crescent Ranger
District Office, (541) 433-3200
Coordinates: 43.46253,
-122.13376
Hike the PCT: The Pacific Crest
Trail runs alongside Summit
Lake and can be hiked to the
north or south. Heading north
takes you into the Diamond
Peak Wilderness, with high-
lights such as Rockpile and
Marie lakes.
Climb Diamond Peak: You don’t
need ropes to ascend the
dramatic shield volcano that
rises over Willamette Pass. The
route goes off-trail and requires
around 12 miles hiking and
more than 3,500 feet of climb,
but you can start the journey
from the PCT at Summit Lake.
Timpanogas and Indigo Lake:
These two very pretty moun-
tain lakes can be reached with
a fairly short drive from Summit
Lake. From a campground at
Timpanogas Lake, hike 2 miles
to Indigo Lake or explore other
trails.
Windy Lakes: A trail visits multi-
ple mountain lakes from a route
that begins near Summit Lake
off awful FSR 398.
(Cutting wood from the island’s few
trees would not be responsible).
Nighttime was utterly silent on Berry
Island, and, in a small way, I missed the
conversations I often have with follow
campers.
It was a small complaint.
The next morning I’d do more swim-
ming and exploring before packing up
and leaving Berry Island for the next
traveler.
There’s something unique about
camping on an island, and Summit
Lake is a near-perfect place to
experience it.
A trip on behalf of outdoor opportunities
By PAT WRAY
For the Corvallis Gazette-Times
L
ike most outdoorsmen, I like to
be outdoors. I prefer it, actually.
Yet there I was, prowling the
corridors of congressional and senate
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last week, searching out the lairs
of Oregon’s power brokers. I was
doing the same thing as thousands of
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people — trying to exchange my
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and votes.
I was not lobbying, because
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Backcountry Hunters and Anglers are
prohibited from lobbying more than a
small percentage of their time. I was
educating legislators — or trying to —
and I’m not sure how effective I was.
I’d warned the BHA folks when
they asked me to travel to D.C. on
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someone better.
They thought differently. They
needed someone from Oregon to
join other westerners in a last-minute
push on behalf of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, which was about
to sunset.
I considered declining, but the
LWCF occupies a special place in my
heart because it has been doing so
much good for so long for so many
people. Off to our nation’s capitol I
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business cards.
First created in 1965, the Land and
Water Conservation Fund collects
royalties from offshore oil and gas
development to purchase, conserve
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years of its existence it has pumped
more than $300 million into every
Oregon county. And every LWCF
dollar is matched many times over by
state, local and private funds.
The most recent big-ticket LWCF
item in Oregon was the purchase of
a 10,198-acre portion of the Lower
Deschutes River Ranch.
The LWCF share of that cost was
only $135,000, a relatively small part
of the $3 million purchase price, but
the presence of LWCF grant money
provided a stable
foundation on which
the Trust for Public
Lands could build. After
acquiring the ranch,
the Trust then sold the
land to the Oregon
Department of Fish
and Wildlife, markedly
enhancing public access
to the lower Deschutes
River and connecting
to a 15,000-acre BLM
parcel.
Much of the LWCF
money has been used
to achieve linkages
between disconnected
pieces of public lands,
angering some legislators who believe
state and federal governments should
not own land. But for those hunters,
anglers and hikers frustrated by
their inability to access public lands
surrounded by private holdings, the
LWCF has been a godsend.
It’s not just users of wild lands
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LWCF money has helped pay for
restrooms at Willamette, Cloverland
and Avery parks, construction of tennis
courts at Highland View and Western
View middle schools and development
of the Philomath City Park. There
are other projects too numerous to
mention. In short, the Land and Water
Conservation Fund has had a positive
impact on every citizen of Benton
County, economically if not directly.
The same can be said of almost every
county in the nation.
It was a pretty easy message to
deliver to our state’s senators and
congressmen. I visited
and spoke with staffers
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one. I ran out of hours
and missed Suzanne
Bonamici.
In the end, we were
unsuccessful. The Land
and Water Conservation
Fund was allowed to
sunset on Sept. 30. Now
we have to hope for
future reauthorization.
But it’s going to require
that outdoorsmen,
including tennis players
and picnickers, help
some Republican
legislators realize that the
good of the people is more important
than their own dogmatic opposition to
the concept of public land ownership.
As ever, the future of our outdoors
will be decided in marble rooms, way,
way indoors.
Ŷ
By Pat Wray is an outdoor
columnist for the Corvallis Gazette-
Times
The future
of our
outdoors
will be
decided
in marble
rooms,
way way
indoors.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Sleeping hunter wakes up
to black bear biting his head
BOISE (AP) — A hunter
asleep in the remote Idaho
wilderness woke up when he
felt something tugging on his
hair. Then he heard the black
bear breathing.
Stephen Vouch, 29,
reached behind his head and
felt it was wet. He yelled
when he realized a bear was
biting at his head.
“He got a hold of my head,
and that’s what woke me
up,” the Boise resident said
Wednesday, who was in the
rugged area hunting bighorn
sheep with friends. “That’s
when I kind of freaked out.
That’s when I could hear the
bear breathing on me.”
His scream startled the
bear, which jumped and
hit the tarp above where
they were sleeping. The
tarp tumbled, entangling
the animal and the hunters
around 2 a.m. Friday.
“That’s when my buddy’s
gun went off,” Vouch said.
The bear, wounded by
a shot from the .45-caliber
handgun, scrambled into a
nearby tree. Vouch, cut but
not seriously injured, shot
and killed it.
Vouch said he and his
friends were prepared with
medical supplies for emer-
gencies but didn’t have a
satellite phone, so he didn’t
receive medical care for
three days.
The
hunting
group
patched him up, then rafted
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out of the remote Frank
Church River of No Return
Wilderness on Sunday.
Vouch was treated Monday
at a hospital for cuts to his
head and released.
Idaho Fish and Game
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male bear was about 3 to 7
years old and weighed 200
to 275 pounds. Jon Rachael,
state wildlife manager with
the department, said it’s not
clear why the bear entered
the camp because the hunters
had stored their food prop-
erly.
One possibility is the bear
may have become accus-
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Middle Fork of the Salmon
River each summer, he said.
Or the bear may have
never encountered people,
and out of curiosity, chomped
on what may have appeared
to be fur, Rachael said. If
the bear intended to kill,
the attack would have been
much more violent, he said.
It’s the second time this
year that someone sleeping
outdoors in Idaho has been
attacked by a black bear.
In early September, state
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a black bear near McCall in
west-central Idaho that bit a
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been battling blazes in the
region.
Rachael said it’s been a
tough year for bears because
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drought have made for an
exceptionally bad berry
season, a key food source.
In bear country, Rachael
recommends bear spray
rather than guns because of
the danger of accidentally
shooting fellow campers
while trying to fend off a
bear.
Vouch said he plans to
return to the area within
the next several weeks
to continue hunting for
bighorn sheep. In Idaho, the
opportunity to hunt Rocky
Mountain bighorn sheep is
rare — hunters are allowed
to harvest only one in a
lifetime.
BRIEFLY
Oregon wildlife
of¿Fials ask puEliF
to report siFk elk
SALEM (AP) — Oregon
authorities are enlisting
hunters and other outdoors
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disease hurting elk.
The Statesmen Journal
reports that the state
Department of Fish and
Wildlife is asking people who
spend time in the woods to
watch for and report limping
elk. Those animals could be
suffering from hoof disease, a
bacterial infection that causes
severe lameness.
Elk with the disease have
deformed, overgrown or
broken hooves and other
abnormalities.
Department veterinarians
say last year’s public
sightings were helpful in
tracking the disease.
Fish and Wildlife veteri-
nary staffers are also asking
hunters who kill infected elk
to save the hooves so the
department can analyze them.
Hoof disease does not
affect the meat of the elk and
is not a risk to human health.
Groups plan lawsuit
over fed’s 5-state
Eull trout plan
BOISE, Idaho (AP) —
Two conservation groups say
a federal plan to bolster bull
trout falls short and they’ve
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intention to sue.
Alliance for the Wild
Rockies and Friends of
the Wild Swan in a notice
sent Wednesday to Interior
Secretary Sally Jewell say
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service’s plan to recover
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western states violates the
Endangered Species Act.
The agency last month
released its Bull Trout
Recovery Plan outlining
actions to boost populations
in six recovery units spread
over Idaho, Oregon, Wash-
ington, Montana and a tiny
portion of Nevada.
Central Oregon
reservoirs reaFK
reFord low levels
BEND (AP) — The
Wickiup Reservoir and the
Prineville Reservoir are both
at their lowest points in more
than 20 years.
The Bulletin reports that
Wickiup, which serves as
a major water source for
farmland in Jefferson County,
was only 9 percent full
Wednesday. Typically, the it
is about 32 percent full.
The last time the Wickiup
was this low was in 1994.
Elsewhere in Central
Oregon, the Prineville
Reservoir is only 30 percent
full, its lowest point since
1992.
Photo by Walters Photography
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