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Camp Lake is a Challenging Hike in the Three Sisters Wilderness
We have hiked to Camp Lake annually over the past few years. We have always appreciated the beauty of the area with North, Middle, and South Sister as well as Broken Top dominating the skyline. However, the hike to the beauty was especially hard this year due to the heat of the July weather and the large number of fallen trees which needed to be maneuvered around.
We arrived at the Pole Creek Trailhead, off forest service road 15, early in the day and started the hike in the relatively cool temperature of early morning. The first 4 miles of the hike are through the burned trees of the Pole Creek fire from 2012. The first 2 miles of this dry, dusty trail were cleared from the fallen trees, but once we turned off the main trail onto the trek toward Camp Lake, the blow down was significant. We had to step over, around and on top of many fallen trees, some of which required leaving the trail altogether and potentially losing the way. In situations like this, we rely on GPS. Once reaching unburned forest, the hike is much more pleasant with shade and views of the Three Sisters becoming even better as we gained elevation.
The crossing at the North Fork of Whychus Creek was challenging this year, however, with more water flowing from Diller Glacier than we had experienced in past years. We crossed upstream of the normal crossing in order to find a safe spot that would keep our feet dry.
The last few miles to Camp Lake are wonderful. Hikers feel as if they are surrounded, at least 2/3rds of the way, by the towering Three Sisters with Broken Top just over a ridge to the east. The mountains are so close it seems as if it would be a fairly easy jaunt to hike at least the lower shoulders of each of the Sisters. The air was clear and the views spectacular. Once we reached Camp Lake, we sat at the end of the water enjoying the reflection of South Sister in the clear lake water as we ate our lunch. Our stop was not long enough, but we had to return back to our car. The few people we met on the trail were backpacking and would spend the night, not doing the roughly 15 miles we did in one day. We gained around 2000 feet of elevation during the entire hike, but despite the challening path with the multitude of obstacles to get around, the experience was well worth it.
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