Oregon Hikers

One of my fave camping spots is up on Benson Plateau at Benson Camp, so I got my pack packed and headed for a solo backpacking trip starting at Wahtum Lake on Saturday morning, August 30th.

The forest road just before Lake Wahtum was in great shape, there was a big mowing operation going on along the road sides. Arrived at Lake Wahtum around 9:15AM.

I loaded up and headed down the long stairway to Lake Wahtum.
That's about 228 happy steps down, 228 steps from hell on your way out with soggy backpack!
I decided to try the "shortcut" up to the Pacific Crest Trail northbound, so I made the crossing over the logs at the Wahtum Lake outfall.
Saw some great campsites along this side of the lake and a water pipe running next to the trail. Does anybody know the story on the water pipe?
After the steep climb up to the Pacific Crest Trail I headed north for Benson Plateau!
There were a few trees across Pacific Crest Trail, but nothing major.

Excellent views!


I'm almost there!
Here's a look at my campsite, Benson Camp. Just a few feet from a creek.
Here's another campsite, this one on the east side of the creek...
I saw 3 or 4 very beautiful meadows near the Benson Camp sites, there are several along this Trail 405.
Hard to believe this kind of beauty is just a few miles down the road from Portland!

My Benson Plateau trip was great, it stayed cool, usually between 40-48 degrees most of the time. Both near Lake Wahtum and while up on Benson Plateau it was pretty windy, misty and cool. Pretty different from what I was seeing on my drive in and back.

It was also very quiet, only saw 2 other hikers, during my first 23 hours of the trip.

Nice! Awesome to have the place to yourself, eh?
Charley

When I hiked across the plateau a few years back it was a mosquito hell and I had almost to run! I'm sure the cool temps kept the bugs to a minimum. Sounds nice in cool weather.

There were mosquitoes up on the Plateau, but not that many. You're right, they lightened up as the temps went down, I didn't really notice them after the sun went down and it cooled off. Plus it was pretty windy much of the time.

I've grown to enjoy the Benson Plateau more and more over the years. It doesn't have as many dramatic views or any lush waterfalls to speak of, but it has it's own charm. My favorite spots are the overlook of the Eagle Creek valley from just down the Eagle-Benson trail, Benson Camp, and Camp Smokey.