Obsidian and Scott Trails

Last weekend, Greg and I decided to go backpacking in the Three Sisters Wilderness. Greg had reserved our limited entry permits for the Obsidian Trail, so we swung by the ranger station on our way out to the trailhead.

Saturday was sunny and HOT. The shade of the forest for those first few miles was nice. Crossing the lava flow, we got pretty toasty. But we were also treated to our first nice views.

We were very glad to drop our packs in the meadow on the other side of the lava flow and filter some water from White Branch Creek. The flowing water, last stragglers of the wildflowers, and trees were a welcome sight after the barren lava flow.

After huffing and puffing uphill along Glacier Creek, we got to the PCT trail junction at the meadow that Bill Sullivan calls Sunshine. This name isn’t on the maps, so I’m not sure where it comes from. The wildflowers are long gone, of course, but I imagine this must look pretty spectacular in August.

Hiking south on the PCT, we were treated to an up-close view of North and Middle Sister, looking naked and bare in this late season.

This is lovely Obsidian Creek, flowing out of a spring at the base of that huge rockpile. This scene was a little bittersweet, though. It was at this point that we asked a passing hiker where Arrowhead Lake was, the place we had intended to camp. They told us it was up and over that ridge. We got out the map, which we hadn’t looked at close enough before, and sure enough, we were nowhere near where we intended to be.

We were too tired to backtrack and take the side trail we had seen that must have led up the hill to the lake. There was a dusty campsite right next to the trail above Obsidian Falls and we set up there. I was in bed by 7:00, ready to call it a day.

Frankly, at the end of the day I was left wondering: what is the big deal about the Obsidian Trail? The views are nice, yes, but so are the views along a lot of other trails in Three Sisters. What makes this particular trail so popular that the Forest Service has had to enforce limited entry permits? Is it all about the August wildflowers? I can see how they would certainly be nice (although the wildflowers we’d see on the PCT the next day would give the Obsidian Trail a run for its money, I think). Or maybe it’s the area around Arrowhead Lake?

Anyway, moving on. The morning was overcast, but not cold. We made breakfast, filtered water, and took some pictures of nearby Obsidian Falls.

The clouds looked like they were burning off….

…but then again, maybe not.

We took the long way out, heading north on the PCT and then taking the Scott Trail back down to the highway. The weather would play games with us all day. We did get a relatively good view of naked mountains to the north a few times.

The landscape around here is pretty wild. The lava flows and rocky barren land is crazy. I’m impressed with the quality of the trails here. The trails could potentially be really rocky and difficult, but they’re not.

It started sprinkling off and on, and then it turned to pouring rain off and on. We hadn’t brought rain gear, but I doubt we would have worn it if we had. It wasn’t cold and wearing the rain gear would have been too hot.

The meadow where the Scott Trail and PCT hook up must look pretty fantastic in August. The light was wretched and my pictures turned out pretty bad, but I’d love to come back here in August when the flowers are blooming.

This was our last view of the Sisters before the clouds swooped in. This is right near Four In One Cone, which we decided not to hike up since the views were getting to be pretty much non-existent at this point.

We hiked about 10.5 miles total on the way out on Sunday and boy was I glad to see the trailhead! Greg, sweetie that he is, hiked fast ahead of me to go get the car and bring it over to the Scott Lake trailhead, so I would have a little less further to walk. We had pizza dinner at Ike’s on Highway 126. If you’ve never been there, I recommend it. Very good pizza! Call ahead as soon as you get a cell signal, and your pizza will be waiting for you, hot and tasty!

Lovely area we hiked through, and I’d like to come back during wildflower season. We saw millions of lupine leaves on Sunday. How spectacular that section of the PCT must be in August. I know the bugs would be bad, but I’m a sucker for carpets of wildflowers! For future visits to the area, I think we’ll plan on longer 3-day or 4-day stints, a combination of day hiking, backpacking, and car camping. It’s just too far to drive for a short weekend, especially since I get carsick on long car trips.