Marion Lake offers berries and spectacular views

Marion Lake is a little farther away than some hikes, but it's still less than an hour from Sisters. Actually, there are a number of ways to reach Marion Lake by trail. The most common hiking route is a short 2.3-mile jaunt from an access road to the north. Much longer routes from the south tally 12 to 14 miles - one way. We opted for something in between.

The Pine Ridge trail, from Camp Pioneer, is a "just right" hike of about 10 miles round trip. Camp Pioneer, on the shore of Pine Ridge Lake, was founded as a Boy Scout camp in 1936. The trailhead is just a short distance beyond the camp entrance.

We ended up calling this the "berry hike." I've never seen so many berries along a trail, including three different species of huckleberries. The real treats, however, were the wild blackberries growing beside the trail in one of the burned patches. We ate a lot of berries on this trip.

This west-side hike passes through a lush mixed-conifer forest. Most of the woodlands along this route escaped the B&B conflagration. Still, about a mile of the trail passes through the burn. The trail is in excellent condition and has some modest ups and downs of a few hundred feet, but tends to stay close to the 4,000- to 4,500-foot-level all the way to Marion Lake.

There are some giant Douglas firs along this trail, but they are much shorter than their towering, but similarly wide-bodied, relatives at nearby lower elevations. It appears that these trees find the 4,500-foot elevation to be something of a challenge. As thick as their trunks are, they are a bit stubby by Douglas fir standards.

Several other small lakes lie near the trail and can be accessed fairly easily; most notable is Temple Lake, at the end of a marked side trail of less than half a mile. Temple Lake is on the north side of the main trail, about two miles from Camp Pioneer. Another spur trail, 3.2 miles into the hike, ascends to the summit of Marion Mountain; that possible side trip climbs an additional 700 feet of elevation in less than a mile. The summit is the former site of a fire lookout.

We took about 2.5 hours to hike all the way to Marion Lake and just two hours on the way back. The difference was primarily attributable to the amount of time devoted to berry picking. We were not the only ones enticed by the berries. My companion spotted a bear along the trail, but it quickly hightailed it out of there.

There are magnificent views of Mt. Jefferson along the way, and there is also a preview of Marion Lake from the ridge above. We were surprised by the color of the lake. With a full, late summer algae bloom, it was about the color of an old surplus army blanket.

The last stretch of trail leading down to the lake passes through a rock slide. It is easily passable but is a little rough in spots. The trail crosses a beautiful outlet stream at the northwest corner of the lake. The bridge across is wide and strong enough to accommodate a small automobile.

We did not see a single person on the trail and lunched in private seclusion on the shore of the lake. On our way out, we did see a couple of people who had come in on the shorter, more heavily traveled trail from the north.

Marion Lake's shoreline escaped the fire, but the landscape all around is badly scorched except to the west. The lake is an excellent place to spend some time if you or members of your party are seeking some wilderness downtime or just a mid-hike lunch break.

The trailhead is easy to find, 37 miles west of Sisters. Head west on Highway 20; and, at the Santiam "Y," take Highway 22 toward Salem. The trail access is off Forest Road 2261 on the right. If you reach Marion Forks, you went about three miles too far. Surprisingly, the single-lane access road is paved all the five miles to Camp Pioneer, leaving only a few hundred feet of good gravel to the end of the road and the trailhead.

Our vehicle was the only one in the parking lot that day, so this is a hike where crowds are not likely to be an issue, probably due to the popularity of the shorter Marion Lake route a little farther down Highway 22. This is not a fee-use area, so parking passes are not required. Free wilderness permits are required and are available at a kiosk a short distance up the trail from the parking lot.