I decided to do the 6 ½ mile trip into Donaca Lake via the Chimney Peak Trail as an overnight because of the long drive (3 hours from Portland). Roads into the area are frequently washed out, in no small part due to the prevalence of clearcuts. Half a mile before the trailhead, I realized I had a flat tire, probably because of some large, sharp, fresh aggregrate that had been laid at one of the washout areas. I changed the tire and then – aargh! – saw that my spare was virtually airless, down to about an inch of rubber between the rim and the gravel. My pump was broken, but I trundled down to the trailhead anyway. It was a Sunday afternoon, and two parties who had visited Shedd Camp Shelter were leaving. Neither had a pump. They told me there were two young fellows down at the shelter setting up camp for the night.
I decided to rest my chances with them, and put on my pack. When I got to the shelter, they said that they also didn’t carry a pump but, as we were leaving about the same time the next day, they’d be willing to drive me out to Sweet Home to get assistance. With that, I was on my way. I hopped Shelter Falls to cross the Middle Santiam, and then wound my way around through (mostly) old growth outside the wilderness to the crossing of wide Pyramid Creek, just a rock hop at this time of year.
Once I crossed the abandoned section of FR 2041, I came to an old trailhead sign and entered the wilderness. This is not a big elevation hike, and there are no significant views, so the pleasures are in the massive trees, mainly Douglas-fir and western red-cedar, and various details along the trail. A moss-capped Forest Service sign designates little T and W Creek. A bear had dug out a yellowjacket nest, and the insects were busy with repair. Old boardwalks crossed skunk-cabbage bogs. A large blaze on a Douglas-fir commemorates a 1988 bear mauling. At the Gordan Peak Trail junction, the Chimney Peak Trail sign is slowly but relentlessly being consumed. Nearby, a sugar pine has released a scattering of big cones. A few wire insulators for the old Chimney Peak lookout line remain attached to the conifers.
I crossed Swamp Creek, again using exposed cobbles, and found myself tripping along the shore of secluded, alder-lined Donaca Lake. There are three good campsites at the lake shore, each quite private. It looked like I was going to be the only person in the wilderness that night, so I set up camp near Donaca Creek under huge old cedars. After it got dark, my window to the sky revealed a few of the Perseids streaking across the filament, and I feel asleep to the burbling of the little stream.
I hiked out the next morning, and encountered the two Shedd Camp shelterees down by the Middle Santiam, where they had moved their camp. I told them that if there was still air in my tire, I would try to get out on my own, but would take up their offer of a lift if they passed on the road. My one-inch cushion was still there when I arrived at the trailhead, so I got in and, in my lowest gear, began my slow trundle out. Eighty minutes and thirteen miles later, I reached paved Highway 20 and still had my inch of air so, with my hazard lights flashing and pulling off every now and then to let backed up traffic pass, I motored the 25 miles in to Sweet Home and filled myself with air at the local Les Schwab!
The trail in to the lake is in good condition. Outside the wilderness, the Chimney Peak Trail is used by mountain bikers, who sometimes use the abandoned, washed out section of FR 2041 and a lower trailhead to make a loop to the wilderness boundary. Inside the wilderness, the trail is brushy in places, usually just with low overhanging salal, and major blockages were fixed earlier this year. There are still about six or seven trees down, but easily negotiated, between the boundary and the Gordan Peak Trail junction. The road is good all the way in, but check the tire pressure in your spare before attempting this drive!