June Lake

If it's called June Lake then why did I hike it in August? Or, if I hiked it in August, then why isn't it called August Lake? Probably because I don't matter when it comes to naming geographical stuff. Besides which, that would also give the lake a moving target name-wise, depending on which month the lake gets visited. Anyway, nonsensical ramblings from your merry blogster aside, I made two August sorties to June Lake: once to scout the route and once to lead a Friends of the Umpqua venture there.

Little Timpanogas Lake

The route to the trailhead is a long and convoluted drive on dusty gravel roads encroached by scratchy vegetation. Part of the scouting trip's purpose was simply to remember how to get there. Once there, most hikers begin hiking at nearby Timpanogas Lake and continue on to Indigo Lake with good reason, for the small lake resides below Sawtooth Peak in a spectacular setting worthy of National Geographic. As a result, forlorn June Lake does not get nearly as much trail love from the hiking crowd. But hey, that's OK with me because June Lake is a beautiful mountain lake in its own right, nestled in a lake basin surrounded by forest. On the plus side, you are not likely to see very many hikers on the trail or at the peaceful lake.

This way or that way, or all of the above

In keeping with the avoidance of people theme, I parked not at busy Timpanogas Lake but at the lonely Middle Fork Trail, so named because Timpanogas Lake is the source of the Middle Fork Willamette River. In fact, the trail follows the nascent river downstream for about 35 miles or so, a backpack trip that is on my radar for some future epic. But today, I went upstream for a short utilitarian walk to the June Lake Trail, sideswiping scenic Little Timpanogas Lake as I did so.

Prince's pine flowered on the forest floor

In this locale, the most visited lakes are Timpanogas, Little Timpanogas, June, and Indigo. However, lakes Opal, Amos, and Andy are nearby, along with dozens upon dozens of little ponds and stagnant wet spots not worthy of a name. Naturally, with all this standing water just loitering in the area, it stands to reason there would be a healthy and vibrant population of mosquitos clogging up the airways, so to speak, and they were only too glad to see me. Even though I applied plenty of Deet, they still managed to find those hard to reach places like that particular spot behind the armpit that you just can’t bend your arm enough to get to.

There's lots of forest and mosquitoes between all the lakes

The trail to June Lake inclined uphill from Little Timpanogas Lake as it it went up and over a broad forested ridge in the course of several miles. At one spot, a brief view of the impressive Middle Fork Willamette canyon was offered up at an opening in the trees. But mostly there were no views, just a bunch of trees and one lone hiker doing battle with the winged insect vermin swarming all around him like a black cloud of wicked coal dust motes.

June Lake, from my aborted bushwhack around the lake

Just past a trail intersection with the tie-in trail to Indigo Lake, the track dropped steadily for over a mile before arriving at June Lake. My map showed a trail circumnavigating the lake and that seemed a good way to tack some mileage onto a shortish six mile hike, so around the lake I attempted to go. That worked only for about another half-mile when the path unceremoniously ended in the brush. I briefly entertained the notion of bushwhacking around the shore anyway but after about ten unpleasant yards of flailing at brush and mosquitoes both, that notion was summarily abandoned. 

Another sign we are on the right track

Scouting trip mission accomplished, several days later I returned with John, Joe, and Coreena in tow for the official hike. After a few pointed barbs about the long and rough road were slung in my direction, we set out on the trail and walked a lot quicker than I had done a few days prior. I didn’t take as many photos this time out just so I could keep up with this hardy crew. Amazingly, even though this hike was just three days later, there was a noticeable decrease in the amount of mosquitoes I had to contend with on the scouting trip. Most unfair! Lunch was eaten at peaceful June Lake before we headed back the way we came.

Postcard view at Indigo Lake

However, instead of returning to the trailhead, we opted to hike over to Indigo Lake for the sole purpose of oohing and aahing at the magnificent postcard view of Sawtooth Peak looming over the lake. On the way out, we made a perfunctory visit to Timpanogas Lake, turning this hike into a four-laker.

Timpanogas Lake

Because of my inane calendar-related blog intro, I did do a little bit of calendar research on the Internet. Apparently 2020 is the Year of the Rat, according to the Chinese Calendar. Fitting to be sure, because 2020 has so far been ever so ratlike. Taking individual months into consideration, then certainly August should be Month of the Mosquito. But honestly, Rat Lake doesn't sound all that inviting and Mosquito Lake(s) are a dime a dozen in Oregon. June Lake sounds nice, neat, and concise just as is, so we’ll leave the name exactly the way we found it.

Celestial bodies

For more pictures of this hike, please visit the Flickr album.

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June Lake

When Issiah and I had hiked to Indigo Lake the weekend before, we passed straight through the junction with the June Lake Trail. A half-hearted attempt was made to persuade Issiah to hike to the lake but that was pretty much a fail. He wasn't having any of that, especially after being told he was going to get ice cream on the way home. In retrospect, I perhaps should have used the ice cream as an enticement before we continued past the trail junction and not just have told him we'd stop for ice cream with no precondtions. Well, I'd never been to June Lake and I still wanted to go, as it is becoming increasingly hard to find a relatively nearby trail that I've never been on before. 

Blue sky on a hazy day

There were a number of wildfires burning south of Roseburg and the smoke had been pretty thick down in the 'burg. I was slated to lead a hike to Sawtooth Peak but when nary a hiker showed up, that freed me up to follow my hiking muse to June Lake instead. Conditions were fairly smoky so I headed up the North Umpqua Highway with low expectations about the quality of air I'd be breathing. However, once up the gravel road climbing away from Lemolo Lake, the air cleared up noticeably and lungs were grateful. While never completely smoke free, at least the sky was blue which it had not been for most of the drive.

First sight of Little Timpanogas Lake

A revisit to Indigo Lake was in order, if only for the extra miles to satisfy those who are mileage addicted like your merry blogster. And for extra extra miles, I parked on Forest Road 2154 and came in on the Middle Fork Trail. Little Timpanogas Lake is the source of the Middle Fork Willamette River and the short hike from the trailhead took longer than it should have, thanks to some amply laden huckleberry bushes growing along the trail. Normally, the huckleberry bushes get picked clean by passing hikers, but on a little-used trail there are millions of unharvested berries to tempt berry hounds.

Twisted stalk fruits dangle in the sun

Above Little Timpanogas Lake, there was a trail junction with the tie-in to the June Lake Trail. I didn't realize there was a tie-in (short-cut) to June Lake from Little Timpanogas Lake and the trail was not on my map so onward to Indigo Lake it was. Best to go with the familiar and the extra miles that come with it.

Indigo Lake, again

Indigo Lake was not as spectacular as the week before, mostly because there was a noticeable smoky haze in the air. But at least the sky was blue, so no complaining allowed, it had been dirty brown in town earlier in the morning. At Indigo Lake, I grabbed the trail that sort of circumnavigated the small and scenic lake. I say sort of, because at the far end of the lake, where it abuts the rocky base of Sawtooth Peak, you have to rock hop across boulders deposited by the rugged mountain over time immemorial. When I arrived at the rockpile, a father and son were there, debating the wisdom of scrambling through the rocks so I had them follow me across.

Autumn's first blush

Once the Indigo Lake circumnavigation was dispensed with, a quick retreat down the path brought me to the junction with the June Lake Trail. From here on in, it would be all new trail for me. Of course, the new trail was miles and miles of viewless forest but on the plus side, there were more huckleberries to graze upon. In a sure sign that summer was coming to an end, the bushes were displaying the first colors of autumn.

Bee all you can bee

After several miles of hiking and grazing, there was another trail junction to figure out. It was my old friend, the tie-in trail from Little Timpanogas Lake, coming in from the right. We (my imaginary friend and I) were going to June Lake and a left turn commenced a long descent to the lake, which was somewhat alarming because all that elevation loss would surely have to be gained on the way back.

June Lake

My preconception of June Lake was that of a small lake bordering on pond status, similar to Little Timpanogas Lake. But no, June Lake is fairly large and would make an ideal weekend backpack destination without the crowds so prevalent at Indigo Lake. A family of five was doing that very thing and Mom and Dad are hereby nominated as Parents of the Year for getting their kids out on a backpack trip.

Uphill, in the warm sun

After a lunch and photo shoot, it was trudge, trudge, trudge uphill back to the Indigo Lake Trail junction. In keeping with the new-trail theme of today's hike, I continued straight on the tie-in trail. The route ran mostly through shaded forest which was greatly appreciated, seeing as how the day had warmed up, and besides which, there were still berries to be eaten. A quad-burning ascent was followed by a knee-straining descent down to Little Timpanogas Lake, followed by the short hike out the Middle Fork Trail. I kind of decided I really liked this hike and I'll be back again, probably with a backpack on and grandchildren in tow. I'll also try to be more strategic about mentioning ice cream.

A berry worthwhile hike

For more photos of this hike, please visit the Flickr album.

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Indigo Lake 8/2018

For years, decades even, the weekend ritual and routine has been as regular as a pulsar (but not nearly as rapid): Turn off the alarm, yell at the cat, shower, drink coffee, yell at the cat, get a little bite to eat, yell at the cat some more, and then drive a couple of hours to the trailhead of choice. However, this July I did something I haven't done since before I began pursuing the nice little avocation that is hiking: I took a month off. Concerts and family gatherings were partly to blame but let's be honest here, it just felt good to sleep in. Too good, probably, but now I know how the rest of the world rolls! At any rate, the advent of August found me at a tipping point: either I go hiking or give it up altogether.

That's my boy!

Grandson Issiah was staying with us for a three-day weekend and we had already put the first day to good use by cycling 15 miles, which is a long ride for him. On Day 2 of our weekend, the short hike to picturesque Indigo Lake would mark my return to hiking normalcy. Dispensing with the bicycle helmets and cycling gloves from the day prior, we laced up our boots at the Timpanogas Lake Trailhead. We also made sure to slather on Deet too, as the mosquitoes were only too happy to see us, making me wonder if maybe I should have taken the month of August off, too.

Just a beautiful day for a hike

The first couple of miles of the hike weren't all that much to write home about, consisting as they did of an uphill pull through pleasant forest while swatting at unpleasant mosquitoes. The trail switchbacked to and fro underneath a homogeneous stand of firs all seemingly the same size, indicating this area had been logged back in the day. Issiah said that after the aforementioned logging, the hills must have been as bald as me!

Why we hike!

After a couple of miles, the trail leveled out and passed through a series of small but scenic meadows before dropping down to Indigo Lake's basin. The lake is a postcard-perfect advertisement for hiking in the Cascades mountain range. Rugged Sawtooth Peak presides over the far end of the lake while the ever present conifer forest blankets the surrounding hills and slopes. On this day, the sky was a sparkling azure color, a rarity in this summer of forest fires, while small puffy white clouds formed and dissipated in the afternoon sun. Just perfect!

Issiah's swimming companion

Where there is water, there is boy, and Issiah wasted no time jumping into the lake for an impromptu swim. He found a toad swimming with him in the lake, so at least he had some other warty company besides his grandfather. Me, I just lay against a log in the pleasantly warm sunlight, taking pictures of the lake from my nicely prone position, and generally just relaxed after my month-long layoff from hiking. Neither one of us was in a hurry to turn back so we enjoyed a lengthy lollygag at the lake. 

Issiah thought the hike was berry nice

On the way back, we noticed small ripe grouseberries clustered in juicy temptation on the low growing bushes next to the trail. Once Issiah tasted his first grouseberry, our hiking pace became slower than a slothful sloth, but at least we enjoyed fruity dessert on the way down to Timpanogas Lake.

Clouds form over Little Timpanogas Lake

Upon our return to the trailhead, we took a short walk to neighboring Little Timpanogas Lake and Issiah went for a Round 2 swim. I daresay that if we would have visited nearby Timpanogas Lake too, there would have been a Round 3. If Issiah ever takes a DNA test, we'd find salmon and river otters in his family tree. Despite a boy splashing in the lake, the small body of water seemed particularly picturesque today, maybe because of my month-long layoff. Clouds formed over Little Timpanogas Lake, each successive cloud becoming taller than its predecessor. The piling clouds had me wondering if a thunderstorm was arriving. I hoped not, because we surely didn't need any more fires.

The trail was well shaded

After another round of lolling by the lake (me) and lolling in the lake (Issiah), we hopped into the car and commenced the long drive home, augmented by a stop for ice cream and mocha coffee. The next day, Issiah and I did another 15 mile bike ride to cap off what turned out to be nearly a perfect weekend. Hopefully, it will be another 10 years or so before I take another month off of hiking!

Pretty much the Best Weekend Ever!

For more photos of this hike, please visit the Flickr album.

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