Green Lakes is a Stunning Destination

The Green Lakes trail, off Century Drive in the Central Oregon Cascades, has historically been one of the most popular hikes in Oregon.  It has been used by families, trail runners, day hikers and backpackers for years as a beautiful and fairly easy hike to accomplish with the 4.5 miles and 1500 feet of gradual elevation change pretty doable for most. Over the years, we have hiked to Green Lakes many times, usually traveling on the east shore to the northern most lake, but enjoying the views and wildflowers and waterfalls of Fall Creek along the way. We have seen a huge increase of hikers traveling to Green Lakes over the years, but 2021 is the first year access to Green Lakes Trail is subject to the Central Oregon Wilderness Permit system. According to published articles, the Green Lakes/Soda Creek trails allow 120 day use permits during the 2021 hiking season. 

When we arrived at the trailhead at 7 am, we saw that all permits had been sold out.  During the initial part of the hike, we saw just a small handful of people, mostly runners who were coming down from the lakes. The wildflowers were out and the waterfalls on Fall Creek were full and beautiful. Despite the mosquitoes, the experience was wonderful and our hike up to the lakes went very quick. 

Once we arrived at Green Lakes, we looked around for the normal campers we were used to seeing at the 22 campsites around the lake.  We only spotted 2, although there may have been others located on the west side of the main lake which we didn't see as we followed the trail north to the smallest lake.

 Last year was the first time we had hiked deeper into the Three Sisters Wilderness, following the trail past the northern most Green Lake up to the pass between South Sister and Broken Top, gaining 500 more feet of elevation. The views back toward Green Lakes were beautiful, as were the closer views of South Sister.

The trail in this part of the Three Sisters Wilderness is much less traveled. The few people we passed were all backpackers who were traveling multiple days with overnight stops at various campsites in the area. But the views of North and Middle Sister plus Broken Top from a different perspective make for a unique setting few people see . The trail towards Golden Lake is not marked, but if you are looking for it, it is obviously well traveled. It is about a half a mile from the main trail before the lake is seen. Golden Lake is called what it is due to the wildflowers which were past their prime when we arrived, but the basin was beautifully green and the waterfall across the lake its own special oasis.

All in all we hiked over 16 miles, a very full day, but enjoyed many beautiful views and new experiences. There is a reason why we believe the Central Oregon Cascades are among the most special places in the world and we look forward every year to seeing new sights in our local area.

Bend Oregon Real Estate Prices Escalated During Covid

We typically look at Bend real estate trends based on comparisons each month - seeing what the data shows the same month a year previously.  This has resulted in some startling information, especially when trends over the past year are reviewed. The Covid pandemic impacted the Bend Real Estate market in ways we never anticipated when the initial stay at home orders were given. However, to get a full idea on what has happened to Bend home prices, it is often very helpful to look at a longer timeline. 

Ten years ago Bend was just starting to turn around from the Great Recession in which poor lending practices led to the mortgage melt down. Real estate brokerages' businesses consisted of working with short sales and foreclosures. It was a very strong buyer's market with months of supply well over six months in all prices poin...

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What's in the July 2021 Newsletter?

• How High Can Bend Home Prices Go?
• Sparks Lake
• Your Home in Bend is Likely Worth More Than it was a Year Ago.
• Have You Ever Had a "Contraband Pizza Pie?"

How High Can Bend Home Prices Go??

The sales figures for June, 2021 have been published and Bend home prices continue to rise as demand is still outpacing supply. However, there appears to be a slight softening of the market as we enter July with extreme heat and the normal real estate trends connected with graduation and vacations coming back as the state moves out of Covid restrictions. Whether or not these trends continue have yet to be determined.

Bend Real Estate Costs a Lot More Than It Used To

When comparing June 2020 Bend single family home sales on less than an acre to June 2021, the following changes can be seen:

• Average sales price up 40.3% to $842,157
• Median sales price up 38.5% to $640,000
• New listings up 19.1% to 299
• Homes for sale down 75.9% to 181
• Pending sales up 101.3% to 469
• Sold homes up 7.8% to 250
• Average days on market down 84.4%...

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We have hiked to Three Finger Jack's base several times through the NE access to it from Jack Lake via Canyon Meadow in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness.  Last Saturday, July 3, 2021, we decided to hike to Three Finger Jack from the South from Santiam Pass along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).  The route from Santiam Pass takes hikers through part of the 90,000 acres which burned in the 2003 B&B complex fire. 18 years later, the area still has many burned trees, but new growth is abundant with wildflowers, young trees and mosquitos. And the views toward Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters are evident through the burned trees, many of which have fallen across the trail and need to be either walked around or stepped over.

We had planned on hiking 5 miles in to what was described as a "viewpoint" in one of our hiking books. This hike would be roughly 10 miles round trip with 1500 feet elevation gain. However, as we proceeded along the hike and left the burn scars and entered areas of old growth forest, it became obvious that the trail app we were following was different than that which we read about in our local hiking book. The app led us to a "viewpoint" which was located just below the South Pillar of Three Finger Jack. As we climbed toward this extremely difficult location, we were half way before we recognized we had taken a wrong turn, but since we were half way, we became determined to complete the trek.  The rewarding views were worth the difficulty, mosquito bites, and sore muscles.  Plus we accomplished a "bucket list" item which we never had in the bucket to begin with. According to our app, we actually covered over 2300 feet of elevation gain and 12 miles round trip. We would not recommend this mistake to many, having determined that this unofficial trail is what is used by those few who rock climb the mountain, most of whom are much younger than us.