Finding the hidden secrets of Yapoah Lake

Yapoah Lake turned out to be a little bit of a mystery for me, and there are probably some folks out there who would have preferred that it remain that way. This remote little lake came to my attention when a reader contacted me hoping that I could help her find it. I told her that I didn't have a clue, but I'd be glad to help her look.

She explained that, about 20 years ago, she had been a volunteer in the Forest Service's Passport in Time project. At that time, anthropology students from Portland State University were camped at the lake and engaged in a project there. She had hiked in each day to assist.

"I've remained curious about the lake," she said, "and now would love to explore the area."

She was hoping to lead her current hiking group into the lake. The only problem was that she couldn't remember how to find it.

I asked around and mostly earned blank looks, but one person remembered something about a marked tree along the Scott Pass Trail. So, one day last fall, we set out to see if we could find the lake. We didn't - but had an interesting time trying. We found the marked tree and spent several hours beating brush and crawling over logs. Finally, we decided that we'd had enough and headed back.

I originally thought that we'd gone too far west and accidentally circled around the lake, since we eventually emerged farther south on the Green Lakes Trail. As I learned later, though, we hadn't gone far enough west!

Looking for an interesting hike a couple of weeks ago, I thought it might be fun to give it another shot. The lake is obvious on any map; it's southwest of the junction of the Scott Pass and Green Lakes Trails. For some reason, though, the location of the access trail seemed shrouded in secrecy; and the Forest Service offered no help, either. I suggested the exploratory hike to a friend and received an enthusiastic "let's go" response, so off we went.

The hike into this area has never been exactly a scenic wonder, and the Pole Creek Fire certainly didn't help. Even before the fire, this portion of the Scott Pass Trail was mostly bug-killed lodgepole pine forest. Some of this area was not burned, but that is not immediately evident because it's mostly dead, anyway. Our destination, on the other hand, well ... that's an entirely different story.

The trail is in good condition, but the forest is extremely dry right now. This hike totals about five or six miles, depending on how much wandering and exploring you do. We saw deer and elk tracks; and equestrians, with whom we talked on our first foray into the area, saw a bear near the first trail fork. That fork is about a mile and a quarter from the trailhead. Be sure to bear left at the fork. Do not cross the creek, if indeed there is any creek remaining at all.

The trail signage is a bit confusing, because the sign for the left fork says "Green Lakes Trail." What it actually means is that it's another half mile to the fork for the Green Lakes Trail. When you arrive at that second trail junction, Yapoah Lake is a short distance off-trail to the southwest.

Generally speaking, the forest becomes greener and healthier as you head west. Between these two trail junctions, the transition from dead lodgepole to healthy young fir and hemlock trees accelerates quickly.

We continued west on the Scott Pass Trail and decided to go farther west this time, then go off-trail to the south and work our way back east. On the way in, it became apparent that the marker we'd spotted the year before had been removed. We saw a couple of possible pathways toward the lake but stuck to our original plan. When we reached a point in the trail where map contours suggested that we were due north of the lake, we decided to head back to the nearest "possible" route. Of course, for GPS users, this trip is probably a no-brainer.

Heading east on the same trail, however, I almost immediately spotted a potential route we hadn't seen on the way in. Wandering less than 50 yards off-trail, I hit pay-dirt and knew I was on the right track when I spotted an official Forest Service "Temporary Sign" that threatened a $200 fine for "Maintaining or marking trail without authorization." Since it didn't prohibit writing about it, I figure I'm okay.

Looking back toward the main trail, I could see that the area between me and the main trail had been swept and camouflaged with logs and branches. Someone wants to keep this place a secret. Stepping around a fallen tree behind the warning sign, however, revealed a well-worn trail about as obvious as a super-highway.

The trail is well laid-out, clear of debris, and deeply cut as if worn by scores of pack trains. From that discovery, it was only a few hundred yards through a dense, healthy, green, hemlock forest to beautiful little Yapoah Lake. Mystery solved.

The trail meets the lake on the north shore under a grove of about two dozen big old cottonwood trees that are now in fall colors. The top of the North Sister can be seen peeking over the top of a ridge south of the lake. We saw fresh footprints, so someone else was in there recently.

We circled the lake counterclockwise and lunched on the south shore, looking back toward the yellow cottonwoods. We could see a few fish rising, and I remembered a tale related to me by a local old-timer. According to the rumor, sometime back in the 1950s, someone had secretly visited the lake and used dynamite to collect the large trophy trout from Yapoah Lake. Not very sporting ... no wonder people keep this place a secret.

After lunch, we continued around the lake on the east shore. Because of the dry year, some of the lake bottom was showing around the shoreline; and we walked along that exposed area. The only tributary to the lake is in this area, and some feeble springs were still feeding into the lake from the moss-covered hillside.

We are accustomed to picking up trash when we see it, and my friend spotted an old beer can on the lake bottom, with the markings all but faded away. When she picked it up, however, we discovered that it had never been opened. We didn't see any point in carrying a full can back to the truck. So, we popped the top and shared a cold beer.

In the spirit of "secrecy," I'm not going to give any more specific directions about finding the "unauthorized" trail. I'm sure there are those who think I've already disclosed way too much. If you can find it, though, you can share in that bit of excitement that goes with making a discovery.

I will, however, tell you how to get to the Scott Pass Trailhead. The trailhead can be reached by taking the McKenzie Highway (242) 5 miles east of Sisters to a left turn onto Forest Road 1018; there is a brown sign pointing toward the Scott Pass Trailhead and other features. About six miles later, turn right onto Road 1026; there is no signage here, but a forest road stake shows the correct number, 1026. From here, it's a little over a mile to the trailhead. This is not a fee-use area, but free wilderness permits are required and available.

And, if you're wondering about the name "Yapoah," which is borrowed from nearby Yapoah Crater, you will have to wait for the answer in next week's column.