The Blue Canyon Trail (USFS 982) [the Forest Service website calls this the #976 buts it's the #982 in all the guidebooks] shares this TH with the Cat Hill Way Trail (USFS 992), allowing us to make a loop through the Blue Lake Basin. We started down the well-maintained Blue Canyon trail through open forest.
As I noted before, this is an area for forest and lake-lovers, as there are very few views to be had along most of these trails. We passed Round Lake,
which was presided over by a juvenile Bald Eagle (above arrow).
Then on past Blue Lake itself,
Meadow Lake (which is more a meadow now than a lake),
Horseshoe Lake,
and then Island Lake.
Judge J.B. Waldo was an early voice for conservation of the Cascade forests (JB Waldo). In 1888, during an extended journey along the Cascades, the Judge carved an inscription in a tree on the shores of Island Lake (1888 Trip) - one of several trees he inscribed in the Cascades. The tree is located on the S shore of Island Lake and is accessible via a short unsigned use trail (now covered by several fallen trees) off of the Blue Canyon trail. It's obvious - it's fenced - once you get within about 50' of it but I'd managed to miss it by a little more than that on the last go around.
The sign points toward the lake and is invisible from either the main or use trails.
The inscription was (to us at least) largely indecipherable but we could make out "Judge JB Waldo." A really neat piece of Oregon history associated with one of the earliest proponents of forest conservation and stewardship.
However, after enjoying the sublime beauty of Island Lake and this charming piece of Oregon history, we turned around to find a fire ring - not more than 20' from the tree - filled with someone's breakfats trash!
Ignoring the fact that now is NOT the time for campfires in the forest, most of this trash isn't even flammable! How to describe the individual who would do this? Ineffectual? Impotent? Inspid? Idiotic? Indolent? Perhaps just as a TOTAL FREAKIN' LOSER!
So we packed up a pound or so of this drolling incompetent's trash and headed back via the PCT and the Cat Hill Way trail. All of this was along gentle trails through the forest but shortly before we got back to the TH, there was a big view of Mt. McLoughlin.
Our chore as sanitation engineers aside, this was a very pleasant hike past a variety of lakes to an interesting historical landmark (13 mi RT, 1400' EG). If you were to just go out and back along the Blue Canyon trail to the Tree, you'd knock 2 mi off the hike. Full bluebird weather and, except near some bogs on the SE side of Island Lake, no more than a few mosquitos - that's amazing!
