Mink Lake

The Mink Lake Basin is sort of a magical place that should be packed with people. Instead there are a series of lakes that seem to be abandoned to their own devices while the rest of the world continues on. I wanted to spend some more time there after visiting once during a backpacking trip with friends to Horse Lake and then again after a trip through the area on the PCT. The PCT nearly killed the dream as it was packed with mosquitoes and it just felt dark and ominous. I thought maybe if I got in there in June, I could show up before the mosquitoes made it there. The trailhead that I choose to make my triumphant return to the Mink Lake Basin was the Elk Creek Trail. This was down off the Aufderheide Rd. I had been venturing down this road further and further since discovering a series of trails near the Box Canyon area.

I had a feeling that I would have most of the area to myself when I saw the trailhead. It was down a dirt road and the parking area looked overgrown. As soon as I got out of my car, I realized that I was in for it with the mosquitoes. There were not many around, but there were already a few to greet me when I got out of the car. It was not too bothersome, though, so I put on my backpack to head up the hill. The PCT had really taught me how to backpack effectively and limit my weight, so the pack wasn't too heavy. That was a good thing because the trail immediately started to climb. Looking at the map, the switchbacks were few and far between, so I would go up long sections and then hit a switchback. This continued for quite some time and over the first three miles, I gained about 2000 feet of elevation. Eventually the switchbacks got a little tighter and I plateaued out into a beautiful, dense forest. It was like someone flipped a switch and the steep hillside that I had been climbing turned into a plateau that no longer required me to gain any elevation. As soon as I did, the mosquitoes got worse and I wasn't afraid to throw on some deet to make them go away. If I hiked all the time around mosquitoes, I would start to be concerned about the exposure to deet, but given that this was a more rare occasion, I thought it was a risk I was willing to take to be a little more comfortable. They didn't leave me completely alone, but it became more tolerable to not have to swat mosquitoes every 4 seconds. 

It was only another 3 miles of hiking before I got to a junction. There were numerous trails in the Mink Lake Basin, so I wanted to experience as many of them as I could. I took the longer way around that went by Rock Lake and Junction Lake. So far the trails were in pretty good shape with really just some dead fall on them. They were a bit faint in places, but always I could find my way. This trail seemed to be pretty good and I assumed that maybe it was used to get into Pete's Lake to fight the fire that was up there the previous year. There were still many signs around about the fire which I felt was a little lazy considering that it did take away from the wilderness atmosphere to have to deal with paper signs everywhere telling me to leave. 

The trail took me by the lakes and soon enough I was at Mink Lake. This was the third time I had been in the Mink Lake Basin, but the first time at Mink Lake. I realized pretty quick why they named the whole basin with this lake in mind. It was huge and spectacular. If it wasn't constantly filled with mosquitoes, I think it would be filled with people too. I got to the junction with the Starwano Trail which I thought was a strange name for a trail. In the past, there was a trail shelter here named the Starwano Shelter, but I still don't know where the name Starwano came from. Right at the junction of the Lake Side Trail and the Starwano trail, there was a nice level campsite so I decided to put my tent up there. This didn't take long and when I looked at my watch, it was still 2:30. I had the whole day in front of me as it was one of the longest days of the year. What should I do?

I looked on the map and there was a peak that rose right above the lake named Packsaddle Mountain. It seemed like it would have a good view from up on top and it didn't seem like it would be too scary getting up there. My map did not show any trail to the top, so I decided to head up straight from the lake. The Lake Side Trail took me to the far edge of the lake and from there, I just started straight up the hill. The going was steep, but at first it was very manageable. It was forested and the weather was not too crazy warm. After a while, though, it became steeper. I started sweating a lot, which is not abnormal for me. The mosquitoes loved it and soon they were attaching themselves to me again. The route became much steeper and I started having to make decisions. I traversed over to the left to avoid some rocks and was moving uphill from tree to tree. Still, it was not impossible and with some hard work with minimal risk, I was soon topping out on the ridge not too far from the summit. I followed the ridge and near the summit, I discovered an old trail. When I looked at the map on my watch, sure enough, there was an old trail that came up the other side of the mountain to this point. 

When I got to the summit, I discovered that there were the remnants of an old fire lookout. This must have been a lonely place to spend the summer but the view was fantastic. This really got me thinking about how many other abandoned lookouts in Oregon did I not know about? This was a surprise. The view was spectacular, though. I sat on top and soaked it in while the mosquitoes enjoyed my company. I could see all the peaks from Diamond Peak all the way to Mt. Hood. The lake was in full view. This view really was the highlight of the whole trip. I spent as much time as I could just enjoying this view and then it was time to head back to camp. I could go back the way that I came or I could try one of the two trails on my map. One of those trails seemed to make a direct descent to Top Lake or I could follow a meandering old trail that went back to the junction with the Elk Creek trail and the Starwano Trail. I tried the direct descent which ended up being a mistake.

I am not sure that there was ever a trail here and maybe the map makers just got confused because the route went directly upon the Lane/Deschutes County line. It was dramatically steeper than the route that I came up and I had to pick my way around very steep sections to make sure my descent went well. Combine this with the direct sun, the sweatiness, and the mosquitoes constantly harassing me, it made for a less than desirable experience. I made it through the difficult parts, though and eventually, I was back on the trail. This put me far away from camp, though, so I followed the trail to the junction with the PCT. It was sort of strange to be back on the PCT again, but I knew this would be a highway to my campsite. The mosquitoes were getting worse, but I was not about to put on more bug spray. So instead, I decided to run. I guess backpacking in 8 miles, climbing and descending a mountain, and hiking all day had not tired me out enough. Running slowly, I was able to shake the mosquitoes, though, and my pack was pretty easy to run with. This led me back to the junction with the Mink Lake trail, back to the Lake Side Trail, and eventually to my camp site. Once I got back to the tent, it became my safe haven from the bugs. The rest of the night was all about getting up the will to get out of the tent to do my few chores for the evening. Filtering water, cooking dinner, taking a dip in the lake and brushing my teeth were all that was necessary, but each one required a little bit of a strong will to achieve. I had a good book to read, so after each chapter, I would accomplish one of these tasks. Then it was a pretty descent night's sleep despite the constant buzz of the many insects trying to figure out how to get into my tent. 

The morning brought new challenges which I was ready for. The last time I had been backpacking was the PCT. I would start out at 6:00 AM and that would be a late start for the people around me. This time, I got going at 7:00 AM and that felt like a luxury. The goal was to hike to Cultus Lake which looked forever away on the map. The route took me on the Starwano Trail. This turned out to be one of the worst trails of the day. There were a lot of blowdowns and it seemed like this trail had not been maintained for some time. This led me to a junction with the trail out to Top Lake. I looked for the remnants of the trail up Packsaddle Mountain, but even here it seemed that this trail was non-existent. I guess when it has been abandoned for 60 years, nature takes back over. 

The trail out to Top Lake was not too bad. There were definitely blowdowns all over the place, but nothing that I could not handle. The weather was good and the bug spray, so far, was effective. The trails were also rather flat, so I moved rather swiftly. The trail crossed the PCT and the name changed from the Elk Creek trail to the Winopee Lake trail. This trail was slightly downhill to Winopee Lake. There was really no snow or no issues other than blowdowns to deal with and soon I was out at another very large lake. Winopee Lake was filled with birds as it was a very shallow lake. Though large, it was not quite as picturesque as Mink Lake, but as a habitat it seemed ideal for the wildlife. It was nice to know that there was a place like this far removed from the rest of the world to be left alone. 

I continued down the trail which followed the creek coming out of Winopee Lake. It was so quiet out here. I hadn't seen anybody so far and it was just miles of wilderness I felt was all to myself. The trail took me to Muskrat Lake where there was a cabin still somewhat standing. I read later that the builder of the cabin had tried to raise Muskrats here, but who knows? It did look like a nice spot to spend one's time. I continued my rapid progress down the Winopee Lake trail and soon I was passing the junction for the Teddy Lakes. I thought about going to these lakes on the way back, but I really wanted to make it to Cultus Lake. This was not far away and soon I was there. 

The trail around the lake seemed to be well established and given the amount of use, I could tell it was a mountain biking path. I was out of the wilderness at this point having hiked from one end to the other. I found a spot right off the trail to go down to the lake where I spent my time filtering some water and eating some lunch. The boats were out on the lake and it is just so interesting to have two different experiences in the same place. Here is a group partying it up, fishing on a mountain lake in there pontoon boat and then there is me thinking about the 11 miles I would need to hike to get back to my campsite. After a bit, I started back. Even though it was the same way back, there were new things to do along the way. 

I did take the time to hike out to the Teddy Lakes. I couldn't tell if the lakes were both named Teddy or what. They were both very nice lakes. I tried to make a point to see more of Winopee Lake, but there was not entirely a lot more to see. I did happen to slip when making my way back from the visit though, when an old crumbly log crumbled below my feet. This resulted in me trying to catch myself and getting a deep gash in my left index finger and a scraped up middle finger. The blood was gushing but I was happy I had the first aid kit with me as the bleeding was stopped quickly. From Winopee Lake I was able to take another trail back that took me right by the Snowshoe Lakes. Other than Mink Lake, these lakes were my favorite. 

The trail went right by them and there seemed to be ample camping. They were deep lakes with rocky cliffs beside them. I enjoyed seeing them but did not spend much time as the trail continued on. Eventually, it spat me back out onto the PCT. From here, I retraced my run from the day before until I was back at Mink Lake. I decided to make my way around Mink Lake the other way to get a new perspective. 

The views were much better here though the cloudiness did not bring out the deep blues from the day before. Packsaddle Mountain seemed all the more awesome from this perspective and I even ran into a group of older people backpacking. I spoke to them while the mosquitoes attacked. I had just put on more bug spray, so I was doing well. They had experienced some rough hiking through the burn area from last year. They said that there really was no longer a trail through that section. We talked for a while and then I continued around the lake. I got back to my campsite and it was only 4:00 PM. I knew I had another 5 hours of daylight left. I thought, I could stay here and read more or I could just hike out. I had a fresh batch of bug spray on and even though I had already hiked 22 miles, I felt good. I decided to just pack up and hike out. This only took me about half an hour to get everything packed up. I was back on the Starwano trail and then back on the Elk Creek trail. This was mostly all downhill and really mostly flat for the first 6 miles. Then it was back down the long switchbacks. It made me realize how much of a valley that Box Canyon was in because the cliffs around them were so high. Eventually I was back to the car. I was amazed at how good I felt after hiking 30 miles and it was nice to get to spend the evening with the family after a nice shower. I still really enjoyed the Mink Lake Basin despite the challenges and really plan to return to the summit of Packsaddle Mountain in the future. The next morning I was even happier with the choice to hike out after I awoke to a rain storm coming down. It would have been much more miserable to have to have dealt with that.