Distance: 25 Miles

Difficulty: Strenuous with Wilderness Camping The Middle Santiam area is a wilderness experience that is close to populated areas. The area roughly runs from Green Peter Reservoir east of Sweet Home Oregon, to highway 22 to the north and highway 20 to the south.  Within this area are a combination of rivers, Wilderness Area, Old Growth forests, lakes and mountains. Many hike alternatives exist, both for hikers and equestrian riders.

 The hike that we chose went from Lava Lake to Gordon Peak a distance of 25 miles. The Willamette National Forest is working to create the Old Cascades Crest Trail by interconnecting several existing trails to provide access to the Old Cascade Mountains. It is a strenuous hike, with a couple of the sections very difficult to follow so it is important that you have good maps and map skills. We had to bushwhack through a section that had been recently clear-cut. I am going to break this hike into two Blogs so as not to make them too long. Many day or overnight hikes are available in this area so you could pick and choose from the information included. I will include a link to the Willamette National Forest on my front page so that you can get additional information there.

 The trip started by positioning cars at both ends of the trail since creating a loop was not practical. We left a car at the Gordon Peak Trail Head and then drove to the Lava Lake Trail head. Fortunately we were able to get our wives to drive us and make a day of it so we didn’t have to leave a car at Lava Lake. To get to the Gordon Peak Trail Head you drive east on Highway 20, past Sweet Home turning left on the road to Green Peter, Road 11. Stay on Road 11 which is mostly paved for approximately 15 miles, then turn right on gravel road 1152, follow this to the Gordon Peak Trail Head. If you have a GPS you may want to capture this location so you can find your car on the way back. An alternative, and probably quicker way to the trail head is to go east on Highway 22 to Road 11.

Day One

The first half of this day was spent on the Crescent Mountain Trail, a very popular wildflower day hike. It is 4.3 miles to the top and is fairly strenuous, but the flowers and mountain views make it worth it. Hopefully someone out there can help me out with the names for the flowers. From the top you get an unobstructed view of the central Oregon Cascade Mountains.

 

 

 

          

         

 The second have of the day started as a nice downhill stroll, but turned into survival hiking. We ran into a recent Clear-cut that had obliterated any sign of the trail. We had a general idea of where we needed to go, so we followed some logging roads and bush whacked for nearly a mile before we stumbled into the trail on the other side of the clear-cut. From there the trail was well maintained.

Our first night’s camp was near the Pyramid Trail Head. On the map there was a lake that turned out to be more of a marsh, but we were able to find a reasonable camp along the creek. The mosquitoes weren’t too bad, but you do need to be prepared for them. No concern about critters as the snoring kept them at bay.

        

 

 

 

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