Hike to Duffy Lake

Mount Jefferson Wilderness Boundary

After a couple weekends of trying for a wilderness permit, I finally got one!  I had actually been trying to get to Pamelia Lake, but couldn't get it and then found Duffy Lake (nearby) on a map and tried successfully for there.  For those who don't know, many of the wilderness trailheads get super busy because they're easy to access and in turn access beautiful locations.  In the case of the Duffy Lake Trail, the trailhead is right off Hwy 22 a few miles on a paved USFS access road.  In other words, you could do it in a car.  And the hike to Duffy Lake is several miles, but the climb is gentle and the trail is good.  And in addition to Duffy Lake, the trail system accesses a number of other mountains, lakes, and even the Pacific Crest Trail.

Zephyr didn't want to go and I didn't want to drag him along all day if he didn't want to go.  So just me and the girls took off early in the morning.  We got a quick bite to eat in Detroit and then got to the trailhead.  Almost surprisingly, the parking lot was already full.  Whatever.  In just a short bit of hiking, we crossed into the Mount Jefferson Wilderness Area.

The fall colors were terrific in the maple even though all the alder were still green.  It was still t-shirt weather for me, but the girls were feeling just a bit chilled.  And this probably one of the last good days to do the hike, because that evening a rain storm came in.

Headwaters of the North Santiam River

Headwaters of the North Santiam River

Headwaters of the North Santiam River

Headwaters of the North Santiam River

The trail is kinda neat because just before it gets to Duffy Lake, it crosses the headwaters of the North Santiam River which was actually dry this time of year at this elevation even though much farther down the mountain, it's a sizable river.  Once we got to Duffy Lake, we had a quick lunch.  I wanted to keep hiking to Marion Lake, but the girls were done.  Despite all the cars in the parking lot, we had Duffy Lake to ourselves with the exception of a group of folks that we could just barely see at the far end of the lake.  We took a few pictures and headed back down the mountain.  The last mile or so was interesting, because you could tell the weather was changing: everything got real dark and real still and real quiet.  And by the time we drove back to Stayton, the wind kicked up and then it started pouring!

Duffy Butte and Duffy Lake

Duffy Lake

Lunch at Duffy Lake

Duffy Lake and Three Finger Jack

Duffy Lake and Duffy Butte

Duffy Lake