Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

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justpeachy
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Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

Post by justpeachy » July 28th, 2014, 11:58 am

Snow: patchy in Jefferson Park, more prevalent up to Park Ridge
Mosquitoes: awful
Flowers: just getting started

Jefferson Park is one of my favorite places on earth and for a variety of reasons I haven't been there since 2011. So with the beautiful forecast Greg and I headed there this weekend. This is the first time we've gone there in July and it will be the last. Best to wait until the bugs are gone.

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We got a later start than we planned on Saturday morning and didn't get to the Whitewater trailhead until 11:20. We counted 43 cars. :shock:

We hiked past quite a lot of bloomed-out beargrass. Looks like it was a good year for it here....about three weeks ago.

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Loved the up-close view of the mountain as we hiked.

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Whitewater Creek was a welcome and refreshing site on this hot afternoon.

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About a mile before Jefferson Park we ran into a wilderness ranger, an experience so rare that I'm not even sure this has ever happened for me before. He reminded us to camp in designated sites only (marked by posts) and that no campfires were allowed. He had been up about two weeks before and dismantled 15-20 fire rings around Scout Lake alone. He said that one time he had encountered two different groups camped in the rain who had built a fire to stay warm, but in the process of doing so just got even more cold and wet, and of course the fire didn't burn very well. Good grief, people. :roll:

We got to Jefferson Park about 3:30 and started looking for a campsite, accompanied by thousands of mosquitoes. We were worried about finding a site, after seeing all those cars at the trailhead. Fortunately we grabbed a spot at the southwest tip of Scout Lake. We quickly discovered why no one was camped there: it was a large site but almost none of it was flat!

I went on a quick jaunt along the shore of Scout Lake to see if there were any better campsites, but there weren't. Nice view though!

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Saw plenty of people not camped in designated sites, including two tents right by the lake shore. We didn't see those tents later, so I'm assuming the ranger asked them to move.

Rather than tromp around to the other lakes with our heavy packs we kept our sloping site and squeezed our tent into a tiny piece of flattish ground amongst the trees. Our original plan had been to grab a site and then head up to Park Ridge. But due to our late start it was now after 4:00, plus Greg's foot was bothering him. He would not be deterred, though, so we headed up.

Jefferson Park is still dotted with snow patches, some of which you have to cross. The melting snow has converted the trail into a long puddle in some spots.

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The wildflowers are JUST getting started. We saw some paintbrush and heather in bloom, but no lupine. Usually the bugs and the flowers occur at the same time, so the fact that we had to suffer the mosquitoes without the benefit of the flowers felt like a gip!

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Up we climbed, looking back occasionally to see the mountain.

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My favorite little lupine patch in September 2011:

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Roughly the same spot this weekend:

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Greg hiking across one of the many huge snowfields we encountered:

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Greg took this shot of me climbing up and over a snowfield:

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Greg's foot was really slowing him down. I'm no speedy hiker myself, especially going uphill in the heat. But to my frustration I couldn't slow my pace enough to match his because the mosquitoes would swarm me if I did. So I kept going to the top. The view north to Olallie Butte and Mt. Hood:

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And of course the jaw-dropping view of Mt. Jefferson:

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I tried to wait for Greg but the mosquitoes were even worse up on the ridge than down at the lake. After five minutes I had to get moving to get away from the little buggers. On the way down I passed Greg making his slow way up. He was determined to keep going so I kept heading down, going as slowly as possible so he'd eventually catch up. Descending that trail is pretty amazing since Mt. Jefferson is in your face for so much of the way.

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Greg finally caught up to me near Russell Lake. We passed a tarn with a fabulous reflection of Mt. Jefferson so of course we stopped and whipped out the cameras.

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Home sweet home. It was past 8:30 and I was HUNGRY!

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Greg fired up the JetBoil. Love that thing!

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We sat on our rock above the lake and gobbled down dinner, then sat for awhile and enjoyed the view. The mosquitoes finally quit bothering us and the temperature didn't take a nosedive, so it was REALLY nice sitting there sipping wine and nibbling chocolate and watching the light slowly fade.

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And then the stars came out. WOW. :D

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After all the hiking we were exhausted and we both slept soundly. Morning was beautiful, warm, and windy, which mostly kept the bugs away.

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Greg took this shot of me enjoying the beautiful morning from the comfort of my new Alite Monarch Butterfly Chair:

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A high layer of clouds started rolling in as we hiked out, so we were glad for our good timing.

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We stopped in Mill City on the way home where we almost (but not quite) devoured an entire large pizza.

So glad to get back up to Jefferson Park after three years away. Despite the mosquitoes (oh, how I itch today!) the scenery was worth the trip! :D

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Splintercat
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Re: Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

Post by Splintercat » July 28th, 2014, 12:17 pm

Cheryl, your report triggered itchy flashbacks to a visit up there some 20+ years ago, when I spent much of the time cowering in the tent (with dozens of mosquitos literally trying to get through the mesh doors on the tent!) I was hiking from Santiam Pass to Olallie Lake, and was fairly certain that the mosquitos were following me from the start of the hike, in an ever-expanding cloud of blood-sucking misery..! :lol:

Great photos, as always -- and wow, you actually saw a backcountry ranger? What a concept! Good to know WNF has one up there, though, it's such an incredibly vulnerable little area. Haven't been there in years, myself, so need to make a point of that... after the mosquitos die out, of course!

Thanks for posting!

Tom :)

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Bosterson
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Re: Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

Post by Bosterson » July 28th, 2014, 12:28 pm

That's funny - Ben and I were up there on Saturday as well (S. Breitenbush to Jeff Park to Park Butte and back along Adventure Ridge; TR eventually) and I didn't think the bugs were bad at all. There were a few mosquitos up on the ridge, but literally only a few. Maybe there was more of a breeze on that side than on Park Ridge...?

Nice shot of the light on Jefferson - I was wishing we could stay to watch the sunset glow hit it!
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justpeachy
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Re: Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

Post by justpeachy » July 28th, 2014, 12:41 pm

Bosterson wrote:That's funny - Ben and I were up there on Saturday as well (S. Breitenbush to Jeff Park to Park Butte and back along Adventure Ridge; TR eventually) and I didn't think the bugs were bad at all. There were a few mosquitos up on the ridge, but literally only a few.
We were experiencing bad bugs at the lake and on the ridge between about 3:30 and 8:00. Maybe they got worse later in the day? There was a teeny tiny bit of breeze on Park Ridge, but not enough to deter the bugs.

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-Q-
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Re: Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

Post by -Q- » July 28th, 2014, 1:38 pm

Curious... are you allowed to disperse camp in the Park if you are not near any lake??
I camped in an out of the way grassy patch a few years back (500 yards or so off the PCT and well out of sight) and loved it. Thought I was a-ok then, not sure it was legal afterall.

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mjuliana
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Re: Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

Post by mjuliana » July 28th, 2014, 2:43 pm

Great Pics. I've never made it there but I'm trying to talk my 16-year old into a trip out their this fall. We have far too many beautiful places to visit here the NW.
Thanks,
Mike J

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kelkev
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Re: Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

Post by kelkev » July 28th, 2014, 3:48 pm

Wow, some gorgeous photos of my favorite mountain and favorite hiking destination. Funny, I was just talking with mattisnotfrench about timing the wildflowers this year - - I would have thought that they would be blazing right now, and he concurred that the first weekend of August is usually "money". But I think I'll postpone my day hike for 2 or 3 weeks. The wretched bloodsuckers should be dying off a bit by then, and the flowers should be in fine form by then. I hate mosquitoes, and they love me. Bad combination!!

Interesting that you ran into a ranger, I ran into Jonathan Erickson on the Marion Lake trail on Saturday. He's the Deschutes National Forest Wilderness Ranger. He was helping the Detroit district out, removing the PCT detour signage that included the Marion Lake Trail and Lake of the Woods/Minto Pass trails. Nice guy, I was hiking with Jim Scott (of cascaderamblings.com fame), honoring his first hike to Marion Lake when he was 6 years old, 68 years ago. It was the first time I've seen a backcountry ranger in a LONG time as well.

Kevin
"Going to the mountains is going home."
— John Muir

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TwoPaw
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Re: Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

Post by TwoPaw » July 28th, 2014, 4:41 pm

Thanks for a very useful report. I haven't been on trail too much this summer - foot injury - so it gives me an idea for planning ahead. Surprising where snow still around just ahead of August when down south they are so parched. I guess we can be thankful it's not drier up here.

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mattisnotfrench
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Re: Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

Post by mattisnotfrench » July 28th, 2014, 4:44 pm

-Q- wrote:Curious... are you allowed to disperse camp in the Park if you are not near any lake??
I camped in an out of the way grassy patch a few years back (500 yards or so off the PCT and well out of sight) and loved it. Thought I was a-ok then, not sure it was legal afterall.
No, you aren't. But there are tons of sites away from the lakes, and some really good ones away from most of the crowds along the South Breitenbush River.
Author of Extraordinary Oregon!, PDX Hiking 365, 101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region, and Off the Beaten Trail. Website: www.offthebeatentrailpdx.com

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Sean Thomas
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Re: Jefferson Park and Park Ridge - July 26-27, 2014

Post by Sean Thomas » July 28th, 2014, 5:29 pm

Wow these are some of the most awesome pics from Jeff Park I've ever seen! Love the pic of Greg about to fire up the jet boil after a full day in the mountains while pushing through everything with an injured foot. How long until the skeeters "usually" die down, maybe late Aug or September?

Splintercat wrote:Cheryl, your report triggered itchy flashbacks to a visit up there some 20+ years ago, when I spent much of the time cowering in the tent (with dozens of mosquitos literally trying to get through the mesh doors on the tent!) I was hiking from Santiam Pass to Olallie Lake, and was fairly certain that the mosquitos were following me from the start of the hike, in an ever-expanding cloud of blood-sucking misery..! :lol:


Tom :)



:lol: :lol:

Bosterson wrote:That's funny - Ben and I were up there on Saturday as well (S. Breitenbush to Jeff Park to Park Butte and back along Adventure Ridge; TR eventually) and I didn't think the bugs were bad at all. There were a few mosquitos up on the ridge, but literally only a few. Maybe there was more of a breeze on that side than on Park Ridge...?

Nice shot of the light on Jefferson - I was wishing we could stay to watch the sunset glow hit it!



Nice! You guys are unstoppable. How was the ridge between Park Butte and Bear Point? I was thinking of doing that same traverse(or similar) on Sat too but we ended up elsewhere. I read something in the past by Karl Helser about an adventure ridge route starting at Crown Lake a few miles west of Bear Point and bushwhacking up to the point.

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