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Sisters The wild world doesn’t halt for the 9 to 5. Knocking more spots off the summer bucket list, with a city-to-woods commute
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16 miles south of Sisters on Forest Road 16
Saturday dawns and it takes a while to assemble cooking and camping gear, prep food, procure ice and check my gear. I make it to Three Creek Lake as the heat begins to wane, donning a hoodie as my dog and I float in the cool glacial cirque under Tam MacArthur Rim. A few fishing boats dot the shoreline, but traffic fortunately remains light. The Tam MacArthur Trail is one of the area’s busiest—so much so that officials from the Deschutes National Forest are currently considering adding a quota system to it and other busy trails in the Forest system. I duck onto a forest road to spend the night, treated to a poetically gorgeous sunset over the Three Sisters. Day one: win.
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Clear Lake 58 miles northwest of Bend via Highway 20 and OR-126
In conceiving this adventure, I had one additional criterion I wanted to include: boondocks. With my arrival at Clear Lake, however, I had to throw out notions of blissful solitude. Clear Lake, constituting the headwaters of the gorgeous McKenzie River, is an
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t’s 8:30 am on a work day and my feet have the feral Sasquatch look usually reserved for music festivals and camping trips. Indeed, I have been camping—but I also have a work meeting in about 15 minutes. Can I cover this feral mess, making it through the meeting with the use of closed-toe shoes? Maybe... Behold, the woes of a briefcase vagabond—one with a bucket list of outdoor spots to explore, but a reallife J-O-B that keeps the realistic list short. Living as a card-carrying member of the weekend warrior class, I thought, how was I ever to get to the most basic of paddle spots I’d been wanting to experience—let alone to the more remote, more peaceful and serene ones? Summer is only so long. I decided to get strategic, carving out a 10-day period, not taking any days off work and assigning myself the mission to paddle on 10 lakes I’d never been to before. To those who greeted me at the office, it appeared I was experiencing another ho-hum stretch of 10 days. To this briefcase vagabond, I was having the outdoor staycation my FOMO soul desired. Here’s how I did it. Criteria: I own an inflatable sit-on-top kayak with a decidedly small fin, which packs into a convenient backpack. She’s flatwater-only—so paddling where motor boats are allowed and have the potential to create major wake-waves is not exactly relaxing. Thus, criterion one: Attempting to find lakes with no motor boats allowed, or at least ones not known for heavy motor traffic. Criterion two: Accessible public lands where primitive camping is allowed.
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By Nicole Vulcan
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WWW.BENDSOURCE.COM / AUGUST 9, 2018 / BEND’S INDEPENDENT VOICE
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Nicole Vulcan
excellent place to witness osprey doing their thing— but you’ll share that privilege with the throngs exploring the lake and the nearby waterfalls and trails. Since the water is icy cool, I hit the McKenzie River Trail on my bike to warm up for a swim and paddle, starting out at the trailhead. Noob tip: take the River Trail by crossing the bridge at the trailhead, instead of heading straight, up the steep Santiam Wagon Road, like I did. And if you’re not into popping tires on lava, skip the trail on the east side of Clear Lake. The trail that skirts the west side can be busy, but it’s a headache spared. After riding the lava side myself, I’m ready to dive into Clear Lake—and maybe not come up again.
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Carmen Reservoir 58.5 miles northwest of Bend via Highway 20 and OR-126
I sleep in a National Forest pull-off near the McKenzie River Trail, deciding to hit another lake before heading back to the Monday morning workday. Not having much time, I head to Carmen Reservoir. Not much to see here besides the babbling waters of the McKenzie flowing into the reservoir and the movements of countless insects flying above the water, dipping in periodically and creating tiny waves. As compared to the rush of the workaday world and its demand to be detail-oriented, I prefer this version of “leaning in”—noticing the tiny creatures that otherwise go unnoticed. I barely make it to work by 9 am. Shower? I do that at noon, when I head home for an hour. Maybe my co-workers notice the messy hair and bedraggled look; maybe they think it’s just another Monday.
Tam MacArthur Rim looms over Three Creek Lake south of Sisters.
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Taylor Lake Roughly 52 miles west of Bend via the Cascade Lakes Highway and Forest Roads 4635, 4630 and 640
Monday goes smoothly, so I take an ambitious approach to the next adventure. Irish and Taylor Lakes are two of the lesser-known lakes accessed via the Cascade Lakes Highway, and require a high-clearance vehicle. No, seriously—don’t try this with your Subaru. Getting there involves driving past Little Cultus Lake and continuing on a bumpy Forest Road for a mere 4 miles—which might not seem like much, but 45 minutes of deep ruts and potholes later and you’ll see why this is one of the most remote lakes on this tour. One SUV passes me, so I slow down and ask how it is up there. “Mosquitoes!” the couple cries as they