October 7, 2018
I went for a trail run on a beautiful section of the Pacific Crest Trail and also a side trip to Fish Lake. This is one of the best designed sections of the PCT as it was constructed right through a lava flow. This route is described in William Sullivan's 100 Hikes in Oregon Book. In total, I ran about 10.23 miles.
I started from the Pacific Crest Trailhead at the Summit Snow Park off Highway 140 on the North Side of the road.
I took the short access trail to the PCT and turned south.
Pacific Crest Trail
After crossing Highway 140 I quickly reached the High Lakes Trail, a trail that connects Fish Lake and Lake of the Woods. I turned right and headed toward Fish Lake.
The trail went past some lava.
This trail is used by bikes and quite a pleasant trail.
I reached Fish Lake and did a little exploring around the campground.
Then I turned around and headed back to the PCT.
High Lakes Trail
I made it back to the PCT and turned south.
Soon I reached the Brown Mountain Lava flow. The trail in this section is awesome.
So much lava but the trail is so smooth and gentle.
Looking north there was a great view of Mount McLoughlin with clouds over its summit.
To reach the summit of Mount McLoughlin is non-technical and hopefully sometime I will be able to do it.
Mount McLoughlin and Pacific Crest Trail
Panorama of Mount McLoughlin from Brown Mountain Lava flow
I the way back I passed a backpacker heading south. Otherwise, I didn't see many people on the trail.
This was another beautiful section of the PCT and the High Lakes Trail to Fish Lake was also nice. I'm very thankful for all the hard work that has been put in to designing, constructing, and maintaining this portion of the trail.
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