In The Shadow of Longs Peak
Anthony Lakes, Oregon
01 September 2011 - 08 September 2011
Labor Day Trip to Eastern Oregon
Finally, packed and was headed out of Lyons at 12:30 with a stop in Longmont for cash and today’s sole meal from Delicioso, a Longmont landmark. My plan was to be on the road by 1:30 and drive till midnight at which point I would find a rest area to spend the night as I just can’t seem to be able to part with $100 just for a soft bed. I had thought about spending the night at Flaming Gorge but that just did not seem to be far enough. I need to look into alternatives for this trip.
Turns out, I stopped in Ogden UT at a Motel 6 for just $40. The right price, but you only get what you pay for…meaning it was noisy and smelled like residue smoke even though it was advertised as a non-smoking unit.
Now, my return scheme is to drive to Echo Canyon State Park and spend the night there…My thoughts again move to having a pick-up with a setup so I can sleep in the back.
Friday, 02 September 2011
A full 8 hours from Ogden to Baker City, OR. From Baker City, it was a leisurely drive along the Elkhart Scenic Highway to the Anthony Lakes Area. Kari got a site, as planned, at Lake Grande Ronde, site number 5.
I arrive around 4 PM or so. I get my first view of the lake. Its pretty and it’s small and I am glad that I did not bring my kayak. And it’s loaded with water lilies around the edges though none with open flowers.
I interpret Grande Ronde Lake to mean Large Round Lake and it is, indeed, very round. Not that large though, certainly not large enough for the sea kayak (which I did not bring). There is an old boat ramp though I can imagine a motorized / trailer-ized boat being launched here. There was a small rowboat along the far shore and paddling my little kayak (which I did not bring) would have been nice. The lake itself: chilled mountain water reflecting the blue sky and sun. There is no wind so stillness pervades. The shores of this lake are a bit boggy filled with wildflowers all a bit gone by: asters, arnica, gentians and a white composite that looks like yarrow. Beyond the far shore is a tall pine forest, taller than Colorado forests. And I hear a couple of hawk-sounding birds but am unable to pick them out. The water is clear and water lilies abound along the shore though most seem to have gone by.
The sun is still out and it’s pretty warm so Kari convinces me that a swim in the lake is in order so we hike over to the boat ramp and to a small rock outcropping, a lily-free zone, change into our swimsuits and jump in. Actually we ease in. The water is pretty cold and we retreat to the shore and try again. It’s not quite so cold the 2nd time around and we swim out and back a few times.
Once done with swimming, we take the “long way” around the lake back to our campsite. Like many mountain lakes, there is a marshy area close to the lake’s edge which is ringed by a pine-spruce forest. At the far end is evidence of man-made earth moving though its purpose is unclear. Perhaps part of an old earthen dam; it seems too narrow for a road; perhaps there are pipes underneath carrying water down to the plains.
Birds of note: 2 swooping hawk-like sounding birds with white heads. Perhaps hawks or osprey or bald eagles though they seem to be too small to be eagles.
We complete our circumnavigation and head back to camp for dinner. Kari prepares a simple yet absolutely delicious supper of braised greens and sausage. Something to keep in mind for a dinner at home, as I am trying to simplify my cooking and eating and today was the first time in years I actually went to bed without eating something.
Saturday, 03 September 2011
This morning, the shore is frost covered. Based on yesterday observations, this is not the first frost. But things are heating up now and we get ready to head out for a hike to Crawfish Lake, a short hike to another Oregon Mountain Lake
Crawfish Lake has 2 trailheads, an “upper” and a “lower”. Each is about 1.5 miles each way on a well-defined trail. We drive west on the Elkhorn Scenic Hwy for about 10 minutes and pass the first trailhead and continue another 10 minutes to the 2nd trailhead and turn-off. There are a couple of very nice dispersed camping sites here along a fairly good gravel road and I continue slowly to the trailhead nervously looking ahead. All is well though, quite passable for the Forestor and after perhaps ½ mile we are at the trailhead at a wide parking area. There are 2 other cars.
We park, get our packs ready and head downhill, though it seems more like we are traversing, as opposed to going uphill or downhill. We hike along an open ridge and stop to take in the view across the valley: trees, peaks and blue sky abound.
We continue on, up and down across and thru an old burn and across several small streams with a switch back here and there and before too long come to the lake which is tucked into a shelf below 2 peaks (which I think are the same two peaks we see from our camp site.
The lake is larger than Grande Ronde, oblong, and very clear. Kari goes swimming and reports that it is quite warm. I stay ashore and watch.
After swimming, we continue around the lake but the trails become a jumble with many marshy areas so we retrace our steps. Before long, we are back at the car.
A great outing, nice views and a very pretty lake.
Sunday, 04 September 2011
A driving day today with the goal being Baker City and a restock of ice, wood and wine.
We take the time to do a quick check of trailheads along the way as well as the other campgrounds.
First stop is the Mud Lake Campground. According to the forest service map there are only two sites here. But the pay station seems to say that the whole campground is a group reservation site. We drive through. It is nothing spectacular and half the sites seem to back up to the road as compared to our camp area at Lake Grande Ronde which is well out of sight of the highway though we do hear some traffic as it passes.
We drive by the Anthony Lakes Ski Area. There are a number of RVs in the parking lot but we do not stop and look.
Next is Anthony Lakes Picnic Area and Campground, so we pull in there. The campsites are scattered among large chunks of boulders and the road is paved throughout. It’s a pretty big campground with a large number of sites, most of which are taken. There is also a trailhead for Black Lake and Elkhorn Crest and I wonder aloud where the trailhead parking is.
We then drive thru the day-use area where there are lots of picnic tables, some parking and lots of people out this holiday weekend. We drive to the end of the road, turn around, head back to the main hwy and turn to town. Before long, we pass the trailhead for Black Lake and Elkhorn Crest which sports plenty of parking.
We continue downhill. Next trailhead is for Van Fleet Lake. We drive up the road which ends in what looks like a DOT gravel pile. The trail starts out as a jeep road which also shows up on a map.
Next is the Dutch Flat Trailhead. We turn off and start up the road. There is another sign that says the actual trailhead is another mile. We decide not to explore further and turn around. Looking at the map later we see that trail leads to another lake.
Monday, 05 September 2011
Hike to Lily Pad, Black, and Hoffer Lakes.
Today we wake up to a nearly overcast sky but it is still our intention to hike and the sky has some patches of blue so once we are done with breakfast and the dishes, we head back down to the Anthony Lakes area. Looking at the map, we see that by starting at the end of the day use area, we can check out 3 lakes: Lily Pad, Black, and Hoffer.
We drive to the parking area which is also for walk-in tent camping. As a camping area, it seems to be very crowded and not at all private. No matter for us today, as we are here to hike. The first part is an all-access gravel path around the lake. We by-pass the Hoffer Lake cutoff – if time permits, we’ll check that out on the way back.
We pass a sign for a CCC camp but do not investigate. Another item of interest is a bunch of logs lined up with what looks like a canvas covering but I cannot divine its purpose or what it might have been in the past.
We continue across a footbridge or two with nice views of Anthony Lake. Soon we are at the campground and the Black Lake Trailhead.
We continue and quickly come to an open meadow with 3 tall flag snow markers. In the center is a big tree stump with a metal enclosed structure, maybe a snow-measuring station?
We continue and arrive at Lily Pad Lake, a small lake with lots if water lilies with yellow flowers though none are open. We take a few pictures and continue on and before long are at the junction of the trail segment that goes to the road.
Black Lake is not much further so we continue, uphill for a short stretch and then we’re at the lake. We walk around counter-clockwise, admiring the reflection of the peak in the still water. At last we come to a rock outcropping, change and dive in. The water seems even colder than Grande Ronde but we persevere for a few out and back laps.
Now the clouds are beginning to move back in so we get out, dry off, change and have a bite to eat. We see a bird alight in a tree and both take a look thru the binoculars: Grey body, white front, long beak, and black head with a crest. I decide later it’s a kingfisher but we are not in agreement.
We head down the trail: no rain, but there is a clap or two of thunder.
We are nearly back to the trailhead and, at the Hoffer Lakes Cutoff and decide to check these out so up we go. It’s pretty much all uphill on a well defined trail: the sign says ½ mile though it seems closer to a mile. The sky continues to threaten but so far, so good. After much uphill, we arrive at the lakes.
There are two lakes, in a wide cirque below the same 2 peaks we’ve seen on this trip. The interesting thing is that the lower flanks of each peak appears to be constructed of a huge block of granite that has fractured into large chunks which look inviting for some scrambling. Not today though, as we are greeted with a large clap of thunder. We turn and head down the trail and are back at the car in no time. Later, the camp host tells us there is a cool waterfall beyond the 2nd lake. This and the scrambling invite a return trip.
Travel Notes
9/1/2011:
Longmont 1:15 PM
Fort Collins 2 PM
Laramie 2:45 PM
Rawlins 4:15 PM
Little America 6 PM
Ogden, UT 8 PM
9/2/2011
Ogden UT 7:15 AM
Twin Falls ID 9:45 AM
Baker City OR 2:15 PM
9/7/2011
Baker City OR 10:15 AM (PT)
Burley ID 3:50 PM (MT)
Green River WY 8:30 PM
Rawlins, WY 11:00 PM
9/8/2011
Lyons CO 3:00 AM