Oh the Dog Days of summer. At this point I suppose they have come and gone, this being the first day of meteorological fall. But, I digress, back to the dog days. Those days in summer commonly associated with the hottest days of the year, but more precisely those days corresponding to the dog stars (namely Sirius) rising in the southern sky with dawn. We hiked our way through several weekends up to high mountain lakes just a bit before, during, and just a bit after said dog days this summer. This is a short look back at those glorious high mountain miles.
First up was a stroll to Fawn Lake. Or you might call it a slog. Either way, after not quite making it in January, due to heavy snow and an unbroken trail, we arrived there a few months later in late July.
It was a good get away from fish that had lockjaw at Odell Lake, to see the other side of the hill, high above Crescent Lake. We also looped past Pretty Lake along the way.
Next up was another side trip and break from fishing Odell. Fish this year seem to stop biting at 9 a.m., freeing up time for hiking. This time it was an afternoon hike to Rosary Lakes. Three lakes in close succession make up the Rosary Lakes and they are overshadowed by Pulpit Rock. Do you sense a theme here? We enjoyed the trail up to the lakes and found lots of fish jumping and campsites to pick from. Looks like a future backpack trip if I’ve ever seen one. Stay tuned on that.
Next up, as we go ever higher in elevation to get out of the heat (yes, there were only 4 days below average in August, the rest were above average, with no rain recorded in July or August here in Bend), and head to Paulina Lake. We have visited Paulina Lake frequently, and it is a go to source of kokanee. This year didn’t let us down in that regard either, but sticking with the hiking theme, we left our lakeside campsite Saturday morning and headed out for the round the lake tour. It is always good to see something from a new perspective. Instead of water level this time it was from the lake side trail.
Finally to cap off our tour of the high lakes, we went back to the Rosary Lakes, this time for an overnight trip. That’s right, the backpacks went along to afford extra time listening to the water lap the shoreline and watching the moon rise over the lake.
After dropping the packs, we were also able to make the trip to Maiden Lake.
I’m grateful for the miles of dusty trail and the lakes they led us to. Here’s hoping for a long, cool colorful fall.
