Tale of Four Lakes (Timothy, Little Crater, Clackamas, Olall

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jeffstatt
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Tale of Four Lakes (Timothy, Little Crater, Clackamas, Olall

Post by jeffstatt » May 29th, 2008, 8:49 am

This is a post test-copied from our old website. This trip report is from August 2006.

It's never ceases to amaze me the contrast between backpacking and family camping. How come I can fit 4 days worth of stuff in a pack when backpacking, but I can't fit two night's worth of stuff in a minivan when taking the family out?

That editorial aside, we had a great weekend in the Timothy Lake area. We camped at Clackamas Lake campground with the rest of the people who couldn't find a spot at the four Timothy Lake campgrounds. It was crowded and a bit loud but the kids had a great time and there were several short hiking options to be had.

First we did the loop hike around Clackamas Lake. We started off with the trek out the boardwalk over the boggy Clackamas Meadow. The Lake is very shallow and clear and has than greenish hue like a lot of spring fed lakes...

Boardwalk out a viewpoint on Clackamas Lake
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Clackamas Lake - the source of the Oak Grove fork of the Clackamas River
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The hike around the lake was very nice...much more interesting for Mom and Dad than the kids. This is a popular horse trail - as was in evidence. We passed the stables along the way. I loved the meadows and the dry creek beds all around the lake. The kids did find the spring fascinating - "Dad! How does the water come right out of the land??"

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One of the springs that feed the lake

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Morning on Clackamas Lake facing due West


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Clackamas Meadow near the PCT

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What a contrast from the other end of the river, eh?

We then headed up to see Little Crater Lake. Thanks to the write-up in Paul Geralds's "60 Hikes" book, we knew ahead of time to hype it up a bit for the kids before we got there. The book describes it better than I could:

"...The Lake is less than 100 feet across but it is an astonishing 45 feet deep. It's also crystal-clear and a constant 34 degrees. That's because a tiny fault line opened up eons ago..."

(It was a busy place this day. I had to wait a few minutes to get a pic with this few people. In fact, one guy actually got in the water and swam just long enough to say he did it. Two degrees above freezing, huh?)

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Little Crater Lake

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Fallen trees extending dozens of feet into the depths!

We spent the rest of the day swimmming at Timothy Lake.

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Yike! it's cold!!!

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Sunset on Timothy Lake

We wrapped up our weekend by driving down to Olallie Lake Resort to rent a row boat and to do some hiking out there. The kids had a blast on the boat and catching salamanders and water bugs on the shore. We never did around to hiking - but we'll pick that up on our next adventure!

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Rowing on Olallie Lake. Mt Jefferson in the background

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mattisnotfrench
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Re: Tale of Four Lakes (Timothy, Little Crater, Clackamas, Olall

Post by mattisnotfrench » June 17th, 2008, 3:13 am

That's awesome...I somehow missed this the first time around. I've never seen pictures of Clackamas Lake, and it definitely looks like the kind of place I'd like to visit.

The new board is mighty nice, too.
Author of Extraordinary Oregon!, PDX Hiking 365, 101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region, and Off the Beaten Trail. Website: www.offthebeatentrailpdx.com

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Paul
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Re: Tale of Four Lakes (Timothy, Little Crater, Clackamas, Olall

Post by Paul » June 17th, 2008, 9:10 am

is this from Spring 2008? Is Olallie lake free of snow?
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."
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jeffstatt
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Re: Tale of Four Lakes (Timothy, Little Crater, Clackamas, Olall

Post by jeffstatt » June 17th, 2008, 11:29 am

Hi Paul,
Nope this is from two summers ago. I just realized that the date got cut off in the title.

I meant to remove these "test" copied trip reports before go-live.

I'll go modify the post to clarify this

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retired jerry
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Re: Tale of Four Lakes (Timothy, Little Crater, Clackamas, Olall

Post by retired jerry » June 17th, 2008, 11:42 am

I read from the forest service site that the Timothy Lake campgrounds were open as of about a week ago.

Probably still some snow around.

Great area to go to.

Do the trail around the lake which is about 12 miles.

pdxgene
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Re: Tale of Four Lakes (Timothy, Little Crater, Clackamas, Olall

Post by pdxgene » June 17th, 2008, 12:42 pm

Just a note.. The Olallie Lake resort will not open this year. However the campground will open when (if?) the snow melts. According to the forest service website thr resort will be renovated and reopened under new management next year...

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Delfiin
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Re: Tale of Four Lakes (Timothy, Little Crater, Clackamas, Olall

Post by Delfiin » June 19th, 2008, 9:00 pm

Wow, these are places I definitely need to visit. I have to admit I am looking for a good trail for an overnight backpack this weekend and I got a little excited when I saw the trip report. I guess I will just have to wait for a little more snow to melt.

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retired jerry
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Re: Tale of Four Lakes (Timothy, Little Crater, Clackamas, Olall

Post by retired jerry » June 25th, 2008, 5:11 am

I've walked around Timothy Lake several times. It's about 12 miles.

It's at about 3200', and it's a little East of the Cascade crest, so I bet there are just minor snow patches at worst. The Forest Service said that all the campgrounds were open a couple weeks ago so there was only minor snow then at worst.

Timothy Lake is more of a boaters camping place than a backpackers, not that you couldn't do it, probably on Meditation Point or the far side from the campgrounds.

It's a nice place to car camp and then walk around the lake as a day hike. The campgrounds fill up un summer weekends. You can reserve a campsite on http://www.recreation.gov/. Campground names are Gone Creek, Hood View, Oak Fork, and Pine Point. Or Clackamas Lake is a couple miles away. Or North Arm and Little Crater Lake are on the opposite side of the lake.

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