Hike Tam McArthur Rim to Broken Top For a Different Approach to No Name Lake

Each year we hike to Broken Top from different trailheads, often arriving at our final destination at No Name Lake, the beautiful glacial aqua blue lake located on the eastern edge of the mountain. One of our favorite hikes includes first a trek to Tam McArthur Rim overlooking Three Creeks Lake outside of Sisters which in itself can be the destination for many. For us, this extended hike passes Tam McArthur Rim on the well marked but "not maintained" trail to Broken Hand and then to the rim overlooking No Name Lake. The total trip for us includes a side trip north of Broken Hand into the safer, but longer path around Broken Hand and then up to the rim. This hike exceeds 10 miles and 2000 feet of elevation gain, but is well worth the trip for the beauty of close views of all Three Sisters and Broken Top. At one point on the hike, views from Mt. Bachelor to Mt Hood are visible - 9 total Cascade Peaks.

We have hiked Wickiup Plains in the past, reaching it after first traveling to Sisters Mirror Lake. Another time we hiked through it on our way to Moraine Lake, a wonderful destination or pass through for those hiking to the top of South Sister.  Last Saturday we had a break from the smokey air resulting from several forest fires and we capitalized on hiking to Wickiup Plains once again, this time with new plans. These included climbing two hills overlooking Wickiup Plains - Le Conte Crater and The Wife. 

Wickiup Plain is mostly a cinder plateau through which the Pacific Crest Trail passes. However, there are fabulous views of the western flanks of South Sister and Broken Top from the plain that many never see. The trip up to the top of Le Conte Crater had a social trail we found which is not on any map and was worth the hike.

The Wife, however, was a difference experience.  Many have heard of The Three Sisters and Mt Bachelor, four of the well recognized Cascade Mountain Peaks in Oregon. But besides the Sisters (also named Faith, Hope and Charity), there is Little Brother, The Husband and The Wife. Little Brother is part of the Three Sisters, its flank abutting Middle and North Sister. However, The Husband and The Wife stand alone without much recognition. The Wife is next to the Wickiup Plains and after coming down from Le Conte Crater, we trekked across the plains to The Wife. Rising over 7000 feet above sea level, The Wife is still drawfed by South Sister, which is the third highest peak in Oregon at over 10,300 feet. But having hiked both now, I can honestly say that the steepness of The Wife felt greater than what we experienced on South Sister. One review said the last 1/2 mile to the top of The Wife was at a 65 degree grade. But unlike South Sister, this grade is on small pumice stones in which tufts of fescue and other vegetation live. South Sister is nothing but pumice rocks and scree at the top. There was no trail to the top of The Wife whereas there is a clearly defined path to the top of South Sister. But the hike up The Wife was far shorter than that to summit South Sister.

Despite the steepness of the hike up to the the peak of The Wife, the slopes to the north and west of The Wife are dangerously steep and we were careful at the top to avoid getting too close.  However, the views were amazing. The Husband was to the north and South and Middle Sister were to the northeast. The air was clear despite recent rain, which probably helped immensely with our forest fires.

When we climbed down from the top of The Wife, we checked out what we think is a set up by the US Geological Survey to measure uplifts in the ground around South Sister. We have heard for years about the growing bulge near South Sister which is believed to be caused by build up of magna under the earth. We think the machinery we found is part of what is used to measure this. Hopefully we won't have another Mt. St. Helens in the near future!

Crater Rim Trail Lightly Traveled

Newberry Crater, including Paulina Peak and Paulina Falls, are often our go-to hikes when the weather doesn't cooperate in exploring the Cascades. At a lower elevation, we can often hike this area well into early winter when snow stops our adventures in the higher mountain regions. And its location, between Bend and La Pine, is an easy drive from home.

Last Saturday, we ventured into Newberry Crater to avoid the choking smoke much of Central Oregon has been experiencing from the Bedrock fire and now Lookout and Petes Lake fires as well. We were fortunate that the air stayed relatively clear during our day there and we could enjoy a great hike.

We found a hike we had never done before last Saturday.  All Trails named it "Lost Lake to Crater Rim Trail" and it was a loop. The suggestion was to park at the Obsidian Flow parking lot, but we drove further down the road to an access point off the main road about a mile past.

Our initial hike was through a lodgepole pine forest, but as we got further away from the road, we began to gain elevation and the trail got closer to the obsidian flow. We saw larger obsidian stones on each side of the trail as the hike got gradually steeper. 

Eventually we reached the Crater Rim Trail. This trail circles Newberry Crater fully and is over 20 miles in length. We didn't want to take this hike today, but rather followed the route we downloaded. This involved a section of Crater Rim, and then a loop which dropped into a canyon that came up by Pumice Flat and rejoined our original trail.  This seemed a bit short for us, so we went back up the loop and then hiked toward Paulina Peak, not fully reaching it but found a terrific lunch spot to enjoy the views of Paulina Lake. We then returned back the way we came. The entire hike was just over 13 miles with 2350 feet of elevation gain. We only saw 4 people during the entire hike - all of them riding mountain bikes.

We hike Three Fingered Jack yearly and always enjoy our experience. Our 2023 hike was no exception and the air was clear, a challenge this summer with the smoke from the Bedrock fire near Eugene coming and going for weeks. 

The Canyon Meadow/Three Fingered Jack hike is one of our less strenuous summer hikes, the entire route taking less than 8 miles with roughly 1700 feet of elevation gain. Traveling through the forest recovering from the 2003 B&B fire, it is nice to see the growth of new vegetation and young trees, and it was easy to sample huckleberries growing along the path. Once you enter unburned forest, it isn't far until hikers reach Canyon Meadow with its green grass, wildflowers, and views of Three Fingered Jack. The "unmaintained" spur path to the mountain had a number of fallen trees to traverse, but past that it was easy to reach the base of the moraine which holds the blue glacial lake. 

It is harder to scramble up the loose rock of the moraine (going down you have to be careful), but we always do this and reach the saddle between Three Fingered Jack and a nearby peak which we have nicknamed "Dragon Mountain". From there, stunning views of the Three Sisters, Broken Top and Mt Bachelor can be seen. Looking the other way, views of Mt Jefferson can't be missed. During this trip, we also saw a nearby mountain goat; these goats were reintroduced to the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness around Three Fingered Jack in 2010 and have grown in number.

Tarn Lakes at the Base of Broken Top are Hidden Treasures

We have hiked to Golden Lake several times in the last few years, and have always enjoyed the experience despite the length of the trek. We have accessed Golden Lake via the Green Lakes trail, hiking past the last lake deeper into the Three Sisters Wilderness before turning off the main trail into the little used Golden Lake Trail and enjoying the gem of this beautiful, isolated mountain lake. However, we noticed several years earlier that the lovely series of waterfalls which feed the lake have a faint path next to the creek traveling higher up the lower slopes of Broken Top. We had never taken this path before due to the length of our day hike via Green Lakes already exceeded 16 miles.

The first weekend in August, 2023, we hiked to these remote lakes through Park Meadow, a hike we had never done before.  The trailhead for Park Meadow is located near Three Creeks Lake, a few miles from Sisters, and the first four miles of trail were through the dry, dusty dead forest which was the result of the 2013 Pole Creek Fire. Volunteers had cleared the first 2.5 miles of blow down, but the next 2 miles were slow having to hike over and around fallen trees. Despite the dead snags, there are signs of life with young trees, wildflowers, grasses and mountain shrubs growing in the burnt forest, especially near water sources such as the several creeks which flow through the area.

Once we reached unburned forest, it was a short mile or so to reach Park Meadow, a beautiful meadow with wildflowers, green grass and views of Broken Top. Crossing the East Fork of Park Creek was a little challenging for those of us wishing to keep our feet dry.

Past Park Meadow the trail gained elevation at a greater rate until we reached Golden Lake. We walked around the lake to the lovely waterfall at the far end and traveled up the faint path another mile or so, following the unnamed creek which had many small waterfalls and wildflowers all the way to the spring from which it began at the base of a glacial moraine. Hiking up the moraine to the top we reached the first tarn lake, which had a beautiful ice blue color we have seen at other glacial lakes. Up the second moraine we reached the last tarn lake where we ate our lunch and enjoyed the views of Broken Top, including the ridge which overlooks NoName Lake. We spotted several people walking along the ridge, but from the distance we were at, the figures were too small to identify.

With the extra mile up and back to the tarn lakes, our total trip was just shy of 16 miles and roughly 2000 feet of elevation gain. Outside of the volunteers clearing the blow down 2.5 miles in, we saw no other people until we returned to Golden Lake. It was a wonderful day exploring Central Oregon's beautiful hikes.