C4
Blue Mountain Eagle
Journey Through Grant County
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
It takes a little more time
and energy, but Slide
Lake is worth the hike
‘The other
Strawberry hike’
By Tim Trainor
For the Blue Mountain
Eagle
Most people who vis-
it the Strawberry Moun-
tain Wilderness bee-line
straight to Strawberry
Lake.
It’s easy to see why: a
relatively relaxing walk to
a lake with good camping
and fishing, some great
waterfalls along the way,
and one of the straightest
routes to the peak of Straw-
berry Mountain itself.
But because the Straw-
berry Lake trail has all
that, it sucks a lot of traf-
fic from nearby hikes that
have a lot going for them,
too.
One such hike is the
four mile jaunt to Slide
Lake.
A great way to get to
Slide is to head to the busy
Strawberry Lake trailhead.
The two routes share a trail
for about a mile, before the
Slide Lake trek shoots off
by itself at a well-marked
spur. Once you take the
trail less traveled, traffic
decreases greatly and the
well-worn path becomes
suddenly less so. After the
fork, there is a good chance
you won’t see another per-
son, while you most like-
ly won’t have Strawberry
Lake to yourself all sum-
mer long.
The climb continues,
snaking always upwards
under shady pine forest
and open meadows still
peppered with wildflow-
ers like balsamroot and
paintbrush into July. An
open rock outcropping
more closely resembles
the Serengeti than Eastern
Oregon, with gnarled and
wind-lashed trees rooted to
the rocks. It’s also the first
open view back down the
valley toward Prairie City.
Just after the open out-
crop, the route splits. A
higher, more exposed route
called the Skyline Trail is
only for foot traffic. Those
on horseback have their
own trail that runs lower,
wider and more protected.
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A strenuous four-mile hike from Strawberry Lake Campground drops hikers at
Slide Lake, which receives far fewer visitors than nearby Strawberry Lake.
Staff photo by Tim Trainor
Brook trout are easy catching in Slide Lake.
While cowpokes may be
tempted to stay high and
enjoy the better views,
that could be a fatal mis-
take. Skyline is very thin
in spots, not much wider
than a hiking boot, and
those with a fear of heights
may even have a few scary
steps just walking the rid-
geline.
So don’t look down.
Look up and out. Intriguing
rock cliffs line the trail, and
an open Slide Creek Valley
stretches before you. Two
small, far-off waterfalls
can be heard long before
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Staff photo by Tim Trainor
A creek runs from Slide
Lake and cascades in
waterfalls down toward
the John Day Valley.
they can be seen. The cow
pastures near Prairie City
gleam gold in the distance.
Chipmunks seem to oper-
ate a relay in front of you,
sprinting down the trail
and leading hikers along.
Eventually, you near
the waterfalls that ema-
nate from the creek flow-
ing from Slide Lake. There
were two small but beauti-
ful falls during my trip, but
that can vary on the season
and the year. An excellent
though dry camp site sits
just 100 yards off the trails
—Skyline and Slide Lake
— that merge again at this
point. What it lacks in near-
by water, it makes up for
in spectacular views back
down the John Day Basin.
Still, it’s now just a
few more uphill turns to
Slide Lake itself and most
campers will decide to stay
there.
The lake is a beauty.
One side is densely for-
ested, but the far side is
ringed by cliffs that look
to be straight out of a geol-
ogy textbook. Though the
banks are muddy and don’t
make for good swimming
and wading, it makes for
ideal fishing.
Summer 2015 offered
some thick and toothy
brook trout, four or five of
which would easily feed a
family. The catching was
easy on a fly rod rigged
with terrestrial patterns
or stimulators. The clear,
calm water made for fun
sight-casting to cruising
fish and there was also the
excellent opportunity to
work fallen trees just off
the bank, where good-sized
trout were in easy reach. A
roughly mile walk around
the lake yielded plenty of
angling action, but also a
few stands of stinging net-
tles, so explorers beware.
There are a few nice
campsites at Slide Lake
but also opportunities for
further exploration. Trails
head off to nearby Upper
Slide Lake, not much more
than a pool-sized puddle at
the bottom of a talus slope,
as well as stunning High
Lake. An 8.5-mile lollypop
loop route can take you
back down through Straw-
berry Lake and the busy
campground where you
left your car.
While most of the hik-
ers will be chatting about
their visit to Strawberry
Lake, you can be quietly
content in the knowledge
that you hiked farther and
saw more.
—Tim Trainor can be
reached at 541-966-0835
or
ttrainor@eastorego-
nian.com.