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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1963)
Picturesque Skyline Trail Furnishes Recreation Area In Primitive Setting PHOTOS AND STORY By DICK BR1GGS One mile high along the south ern fringe of the Cascades ex tends what is most certainly one of the most picturesque and more accessible recreational areas along Oregon's famed Skyline Trail. Less than an hour's driving dis tance from Jdamath Falls or Med ford, the region first impresses the visitor with its dense stands ot conifers and the herds of curi ous black tail deer and occasional wary elk which move through the thick forests as stealthily as shad ows. Each summer thousands of KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON, jsuaiuh&A ' SI Aft 7Su, a. Jaffa Mt Afa. Tee Lake I I A f n 1 ) i i i i tourists converge into this wilder - ness containing some 30 principal lakes and more than 100 lesser lakes and ponds. Extending some 30 miles north from Lake of the Woods, the re gion has been virtually unchanged since the coming of the white man, except for the establishment of a portion of the Skyline Trail which meanders some 35 miles along gently rolling terrain and beneath the sentinels of Pelican Butte (el: 8.026) to the southeast. Luther Mountain (el: 7,153) on the west, and Devils Peak (el: 7,582) to the north. One of those who knows the area best is Clyde Wilhelm, entrepre SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1963 AOnnfi.' V IS.. Lake ) 1 I " S -22 g0 Q 1 . 1 neur of the Cascade Pack Trip enterprises, who provides horses and pack animals and serves as guide to those who would ven ture into the region for weekends or longer periods during the sum mer. For those whose excursions are limited to one day or less, shorter trips are available through the Mountain Lakes Wild Area or in the vicinity of Lake of the Woods or Fourmilc Lake. As a parting gesture to the 196.1 tourist season, Wilhelm departed on a final pack trip through the Cascade Lakes country during the middle of September to take a final look at his favorite coun try before it .became locked up by the snows ipf winter. Joining Wilhelm were Bobbe Taylor, a Klamath Union High School graduate and second year student of dental technology at Portland, and myself. Miss Taylor served as trail hand and camp cook, as she has done for tun summon; xl 1 wr.l olm,n as guest of 'the Cascade Pack!swanW meadow tl,at ranS. 'ith Trains, The itinerary called for our leaving Fourmile Lake on horse back and proceeding north along the Skyline Trail, past the Dwarf Lakes and Sky Lakes areas up over Devils Peak, and into the Seven Lakes Basin. Our course was then to turn east and de scend along the Seven Lakes Trail to its starting point, where we were to meet Mrs. Wilhelm with a truck and pair of horse trailers and then return to Lake of the Woods. But halfway along our route, fickle weather disrupted those i plans with an unseasonable storm that lashed the Cascade ridge , - - -.'K f - Mi ifeif &r v? i y" . j CONGRESSMEN PASSED HERE IN 1888 Clyde Wil helm, professional trail guide, observes a weathered blai on a tree near Island Lake which records that a congres sional committee passed that point on Sept. 13, 1888. Among the names of the five committeemen cited on the CAMPFIRE CONCLUDES EVENTFUL RIDE Camp cook Bobbe Taylor, a dental technician student at Portland, reflects the glow of a late evening campfire near Wind Lake. Bobbe, a Klamath Union High School graduate, has tended horses and served as trail cook for the Cascade pack trains during the past two summers. with gale winds and driving rains. At tlie outset of the journey, clear skies and summery temper atures were no portent of the del uge and whistling winds that were soon to follow. Wilhelm slipped smoothly upon his mount, Cindy, and 1 clam bered aboard Calle. Next in the procession came Chub, the pack horse, with Bobbe following on a steed named Phoney. We skirted the east shore of Fourmile Lake for less than a mile and then ascended a rise before dropping into a basin that formed the beds of Woodpecker and Badger lakes. Near the latter lake, Wilhelm leaned forward in his saddle to study the muddy outline of an oval depression at the edge of the trail. Alter a quick appraisal he announced that it was made by an elk, probably bound for the isolation of the Rogue River coun try to spend the fall. The trail wcaved through stands of Riant evergreens and "' crusseu lire uppirr euu ui a the throaty croaks of colonies of protesting toads. A short ride beyond the mea dow. Long Lake (el: 5.880) spar kled through a grove of trees, its placid surface unbroken by the schools of trout lurking beneath it. Multitudes of greenish leeches. some three jnches in length, pro pelled themselves in the waters near the lake's weedy shores, pro viding substance for the lake's abundant fish life. We continued north along the lake's west shore toward Island Lake (el: 5.906) and soon after emerged upon a campground sit' (Continued on Page 2) - '-j"' y Gatfip? c-.-t 4 V t t 4 a-3 Pi t Dlf 3 - TRAPPER'S CABIN OFFERS obscured in a grove of evergreens, a deserted trapper's Horseshoe Lake offers shelter to equestrians and wayfarers traveling along the Skyline Trail through the wonderland of the High Cascade Lakes Area. More than 30 lakes, located along the wilderness trail blaie is that of F. W. Isherwood, whose memory has been perpetuated by a lake named in his honor. The historic tree grows in the campground at the south end of the lake. SHELTER TO WAYFARERS Feature -jLcLliij' TREES FLOURISH IN ISLAND LAKE Lofty evergreens thrive on tiny spits of earth dotting Island Lake, e popu lar camping site and productive waters for trout fisher. ) Partially cabin near 4 vgU " ft la r' ft y. W ' MT. LUTHER SHOWS A GENTLE FACE A fresh breeze sends a ripple across Horse- shoe Lake, marring the reflection of blunt toppod Mt. Luther lei: 7,1531, peaceful' appearing giant of the southern Cascades. stretching some 35 miles from Fourmile Lake to the start of the Seven Lakes Basin trail, provides superlative angling to fly and spin fishermen, as well as spectacular subjects for photographers. Thousands of back packers and horsemen vacation in the scenic high country annually. f & if . men. Swirls in the left foreground betray the presence of rising Eastern Brook Trout.
