12 miles of hiking • 1750' elevation gain • 1 night
Lavapalooza, Day Three! This awesome little loop heads out directly from the Scott Lake Campground, our basecamp for five nights. It winds through a pleasant forest, while passing a succession of beautiful lakes. Benson and Tenas Lakes were most gorgeous. We then wound up towards the summit of Scott Mountain, which offered sweeping 360° views across much of Central Oregon, including the High Cascades and the Old Cascades.
Enjoyed lunch on (a well populated!) top, and then wound down through more healthy forest before wandering into a burned area. Lots of fireweed to enjoy right now! Exiting the forest, we encountered the 1500-yo blocky lava flow from Little Belknap Crater. A portion of the Old McKenzie Wagon Trail cuts across it! We followed the wagon route so we could circle around the backside of Hand Lake. As it turned out, the lake was gone, so we just traversed the dry lake bed instead.
All too soon, we were back at a dry bay of Scott Lake, and then our campground. Four of our group of seven had to leave, but the three of us that stayed pulled out the ice cream maker and had a delicious treat before jumping in the lake to wash off all the trail dust! Mmmmm....!!!
