Mazama Trail to Cairn Basin

[MaryV]

This was a Portland/Vancouver Sierra Club Outings Program trip advertized on Meetup that I led: http://www.meetup.com/The-Portland-Vanc ... /70927142/. Photos will be uploaded on that site. Two of the participants needed to be back to Portland early, so we were not able to get to Cairn Basin as planned.

We passed dozens of cars parked at the PCT trailhead at Lolo Pass to start out from a parking area where we were the sole vehicle--both at our outset and return. In the Gateway garage we ran into a Mazama leader who warned us that the Mazama maintenance crew was not due to go in there til next month, so we were grateful for every step that was unimpeded. The trail starts out with little elevation change up to the permit box, then gently switchbacks up past a shale area with lots of vine maple that is already turning red. Not long after that, we started seeing signs of the Dollar Fire''s aftermath--in fact it looked as if the trail were used to establish the fire line on the western end as one side was burned and one side was not. We then switchbacked through more untouched forest before emerging into an area that burned on both sides.

It was fascinating to see how the young Pacific silver fir burned at its base for a few feet up, but survived with a reddened bark without its characteristic blisters. Also fascinating was the incredible number of avalanche lilies that had emerged from the burned areas. The higher we got the more the lilies were still in full bloom! But this was a heath family day--from the pink rhododendron and pipsissewa at the start to the huckleberries and pyrolas, the fool's huckleberries and the rare white rhododendron to the pink mountain heather and pinemat manzanita toward the top. There were a few penstemons still in bloom and twinflowers and hairbells. We encountered snow on the trail as much as a quarter mile before the Timberline Trail, with the snow getting deeper the higher we got. But we didn't even get to Timberline, much less Cairn before one of our party who had a wedding to officiate that evening asked us to turn around.

There was only one large tree across the trail and maybe two smaller ones. All were easy to step over! So, all in all, Mazama Trail is in good shape, with snow still melting puddles (streams) into the trail in places. But, because of the fire, it is a different trail than you may have known in the past. It will be fascinating to watch how it heals over time.

[Waffle Stomper]

I remember hiking that trail last year and the avalanche lilies amazing. I'm certain seeing the burned area was just incredible.