Canyon Creek Meadows August 13, 2021
The Canyon Creek Meadows hike in the Mt. Jefferson wilderness is renowned for wildflowers, vicious mosquitos and close up views of Three Fingered Jack, so let’s go! We put it on our calendar for July 29th. The night before, I discovered that the new wilderness permitting system included this entry to Mt. Jefferson wilderness, and there were no permits available- Drat!!! The fallback date is August 13th. The chances of wildflowers seriously diminished, but we’ll make the best of it.
8:15 trail start- early, well I thought it was early! Permit in pack, we trekked off to a very quiet trail that rounds Jack Lake and heads up to the alpine meadow. The smoky skies and drought impacted forest were punctuated with dry stream crossings and vegetation. Either the permit rules, or the heatwave seemed to keep the trail largely unpopulated. I enjoy the wilderness without so many people.
At the meadow, Canyon creek was flowing, bringing life to the meadow, and some late season wildflowers. We continued up the slope to close up views of Three Fingered Jack, and spotted a mountain goat high up the slope. I hadn’t given much thought to the huckleberries until we came across a patch that was fully laden with ripe, delicious berries. I wonder why some plants didn’t produce many, yet others are full. Or maybe the bears wiped out some of the berries?
We came across a ranger who checked our permit, and wrote down the pertinent information. After sharing a few stories of people and COVID-19 restrictions, we continued. On the last leg we encountered a family and shared that we saw the ranger checking permits. They turned back to avoid going even further just to be turned around. I understand the frustration, but it’s our new reality. One problem identified is the large number of no-shows. The Forest Service is doing a great job getting the word out with current web-based information, and notices not just at the trailhead, but on the road to the trailhead.
We got back to the van before the heat of the day really kicked in, and found a nice quiet shady spot in the ponderosas. A tired dog is a happy dog!
