Lake Lenore (Bull of the Woods) 8-16-17

[bobcat]

I hadn’t been to Lake Lenore since the 2008 Lenore Fire, the precursor to much greater Bull of the Woods conflagrations in succeeding years. I’d met people who made the lake an annual pilgrimage in the summer – since the lake was so isolated there was little chance of anyone else being camped out there, and the remote ridge above the lake, which runs from Big Slide Mountain to Schreiner Peak, offers stunning views from Rainier to the Three Sisters.

I hiked in along the ridge from the Bull of the Woods Trailhead. The trail is overhung with huckleberry bushes and yet there were few fruits to be plucked. There are 12 - 15 easily negotiable trees down over the trail. As I got closer to the lookout, openings on the ridge offered views north and south, but the grassy wildflower meadows are crisp and dry now. The lookout itself still permits access to its balcony, and the skies were clear enough to permit those Rainier to Sisters vistas. I could see at least three large pillars of smoke billowing from the Whitewater Fire, but Mt. Jefferson itself rose like a nunatak out of an ice sheet as the smoke cloud lay flat and low and spread west. There was a single tent at the lookout: I didn’t see the occupant going or coming and wondered if it might be an eclipse stakeout. The lookout outhouse, in a state of slow collapse, had actually been used recently by those who apparently believe that there is still a cleaning service that flushes it on a regular basis.

I headed down and along the ridge on the Welcome Lakes Trail, performing the many switchbacks down to the Big Slide saddle that I knew I would have to repeat on return. The trail junction signs are all mostly on the ground now but carefully placed at least. There's also some confusion in this area (trail signs vs. maps) about where one trail ends and another begins. Joining the Schreiner Peak Trail, I hiked up along the south slope of Big Slide Mountain taking in the many open views to the south. Unfortunately, almost the entire bowl before me had been blackened by the View Lake Complex Fire of 2010. Upper and Lower Welcome Lakes were both visible, and West Lake, which had been spared by the burn but is off-trail, was nestled peacefully in a grove of conifers.

The way trail that drops steeply down to Lake Lenore departs from the ridge crest between Big Slide, whose summit is only 130 feet above, and a knobby prominence I’ll call Little Slide. I hiked over to Little Slide and scrambled up, surprised to find an old helipad. The views again were all-encompassing and also gave me an impression of the state of Lenore, sparkling below in its burned bowl.

Well, the trail down to Lenore was never a walk in the park, but the distance is brief. I soon lost the route in a dense swath of fireweed and began to pick my way through the fallen snags and flesh gouging boughs and twigs. Lenore itself can no longer be considered an attractive destination for most: there’s no shade and I’d hate to stumble down that slope with an overnight pack. The newts can now float lazily and procreate without much human disturbance.

Back at the ridge (It was faster going back up than down), I eschewed the side trip to Big Slide’s summit as I knew I was already pushing the bounds of my curfew. When I got to Big Slide saddle – surprise – I ran into my first fellow hiker of the day. H., searching for the lookout, was about a mile and a half off track and only had the trail sketch of the Pansy Lake-Lookout Loop in Paul Gerald’s 60 Hikes to go by. With all the other trails in the area, except for remote Dickey Creek, rapidly dissolving into a state of abandonment (as I explained), she realized she had been fortunate to bump into me. We walked together up to the lookout, and I dropped her off at the Dickey Lake connection so she could return to her vehicle. A teachable encounter anyway: we talked about bringing good maps, saving a topo screen shot to the smart phone, not to expect trail signs at every junction, etc. The good thing was she realized she had gone off track, and I hope if she hadn't met me she would have retraced her steps in short order. H. is a good hiker and may she prosper on the trails!

[RobFromRedland]

Neat trail report. I've never seen that old sign before at Schreiner/Dickey Creek - that is a cool find.

And nice to see Lake Lenore beginning to recover a little bit. We went down there shortly after the fire and it was pretty barren - nothing like what it used to look like (this was in 2006):



I never saw that helipad either. It is on my list of "to do" hikes to make it up to the top of Schreiner.

How is the lookout doing? Last time I was up there it was definitely showing its age and lack of attention. One of the shutters had been blown off. The outhouse looks a bit worse for wear too. It used to have 3 sides!

[acorn woodpecker]

Nice to see a report here. Seems you've been getting to the area lately since you visited the Geronimo Trail the week prior.

Haven't been to the area since 2013 when I ascended Schreiner Peak from the north starting at the confluence of Dickey Creek and the Collowash. I walked through the Welcome Lakes burn first where it hit the ridge at about 4000ft. It was early July and the wildflowers were stunning. Later, along the ridge between Schreiner and Knob Peak, I went through the Lenore Burn. For being a high point in a wilderness, it sure is a lonely one as it has a summit register which I estimate sees 5-10 visits per year. Unsurprisingly, the trail to Schreiner is completely gone a couple hundred yards east of the Lake Lenore junction.

Having never seen Lake Lenore prior to the fire, I can imagine it would have been a coveted lake with nearly ensured solitude. For now, it's an exposed death trap with all those burned snags waiting to fall on you! Both times I've been to the lake, it was early July and the north slope where the trail descends from the Schreiner Trail still held snow. Lost the trail both times among the downed logs, as well.

The west ridge of Big Slide Mtn is very enjoyable (the north ridge is a rhodie death trap below 4500ft!) and is a good way to do a lollipop loop with the trail below. There are some big krummholz conifers periodically along the ridge spine to take shelter in.

[greenjello85]

Great trip Bobcat! I went up here a couple years ago and decided viewing the lake from above was good enough after seeing the "trail" heading down to it The views up there are awesome though! I've still got to get up Schreiner peak one of these years. Interesting about the lost hiker, I know there was a search and rescue in the area earlier this year as well. The whole area must be getting more interest of late. Good for the trails!
~Dan

[RobFromRedland]

Haven't been to the area since 2013 when I ascended Schreiner Peak from the north starting at the confluence of Dickey Creek and the Collowash. I walked through the Welcome Lakes burn first where it hit the ridge at about 4000ft.

I really want to summit Schreiner and have been going back and forth on what the "best" route is. One route would be more on the east side, heading up a ridge from the 130 spur. We could also come in from the east up Pine Cone Creek, but that looks rather ominous. Another would be to try and follow the old Schreiner peak trail from Big Slide Mtn. How was the route from the confluence up? And how did you get down there? There are very few roads that are close to that.

Sorry for the thread drift....

[bobcat]

I've never seen that old sign before at Schreiner/Dickey Creek - that is a cool find.

Except it's for the Welcome Lakes Trail, so it's at the wrong junction (unless they shifted trail names some time in the past). There are a few funky old signs in Bull of the Woods, but I've never seen anything that exact design (nor have I seen that sign before at that junction: someone dragged it out from somewhere). Definitely from the era before numbered trails.

How is the lookout doing?

It's holding up. Completely shuttered with a locked cable keeping the shutters in place. Only a matter of time before those balcony timbers begin to crumble, though, and it will be very unsafe to go up there.

Thanks for posting the photo of the old Lake Lenore!

I ascended Schreiner Peak from the north starting at the confluence of Dickey Creek and the Collowash.

Whew! I always thought I'd get to Schreiner the leisurely way: camp overnight at Lenore and tootle out along the ridge. Well, that plan doesn't look so enticing any more . . . West Lake looks very inviting down in its unscorched forest, so that might be an alternative place to overnight.

[gratefultrails]

Looks like a great spot, haven't seen a Lenore report in some time. The lake doesn't look so deep from the photos, though I see it reported it at 11 ft., great for a swim. Do wildfires impact swimming quality?

I also wonder if those burned our ridges will become something like Silver Star, or just begin to reseed a subalpine forest naturally. Either way, the photos have that classic Cascades feel to them.

[acorn woodpecker]

I really want to summit Schreiner and have been going back and forth on what the "best" route is. One route would be more on the east side, heading up a ridge from the 130 spur. We could also come in from the east up Pine Cone Creek, but that looks rather ominous. Another would be to try and follow the old Schreiner peak trail from Big Slide Mtn. How was the route from the confluence up? And how did you get down there? There are very few roads that are close to that.

The "best" route would probably be via the Dicky Creek Trail to Schreiner Trail, but that's a 15-17 mile day as an out 'n back and you gotta travel through the Welcome Lake Burn twice. I believe Pablo did an ascent to Schreiner from the 130 spur. Looking at a map, I believe using the western ridge of Pine Cone Creek would provide the most direct access. Then, you could make a loop out of it and come back via Schreiner Trail to Welcome Lakes Trail. I think the loop would still be close to 15 miles, but less off trail and route finding than my route and a bit more of a road drive.

I got there from the first hairpin turn on FR 6340 around 2 miles from FR 63. I parked just before the turn, crested up and over a small ridge, and dropped down toward the confluence using a set of animal trails and setting a bearing. Surprisingly, just north of the confluence there's a large log across the Collawash (which could provide access to the unnamed twin lakes to the northeast). The route is good. Minimal bushwhacking save for one short rhodie thrash. Here's a link from my TR : http://www.oregonhikers.org/forum/viewt ... 10&t=16243

Whew! I always thought I'd get to Schreiner the leisurely way: camp overnight at Lenore and tootle out along the ridge. Well, that plan doesn't look so enticing any more . . . West Lake looks very inviting down in its unscorched forest, so that might be an alternative place to overnight.

Now, that's the best way I could think of to do the peak as an overnighter! Echoing Rob, sorry for the thread drift.

[Swede]

Meanwhile, back at Lake Lenore.....the real tragedy of the fire was that the outhouse, such as it was, burned down.

[bobcat]

Well maybe I will camp there then, since it offers a convenience (although no longer the privacy). Which shore is the outhouse on?