Central Oregon - Three Sisters Wilderness - final descent to Camp Lake + base of Chamber Lakes Basin

3 years ago
30

My goal of these wilderness trail videos is to 1) show reverence for the beauty of the land, and 2) give YOU actionable trail information that can assist you in planning your own hike here.

This was a day-hike in Central Oregon, Three Sisters Wilderness, starting at Pole Creek Trailhead to Camp Lake, with a side trip to Demaris Lake. Total distance was just over 16 miles. Started hike at 6:45 AM and completed around 1:45 PM, about 7 hours. Weather was low of 52 degrees, high of 78 degrees, blue sky day. This was hiked on 8/9/2021, trail was completely clear of snow, and there were NO Mosquitoes! On Alltrails this hike is called "Chamber Lakes Basin". As far as road conditions, the last few miles of the road has gravel, is bumpy, and is a little washboarded in a few sections. Definitely not the worst forest road I've ever driven on, in my opinion the road DOES NOT require 4-Wheel Drive, just drive cautiously and be prepared for a little bumpiness. There were 2 Toyota Priuses at the trailhead if that's any indication that any car can make it. As far as permits, the Pole Creek Trailhead DOES NOT require a Recreation.gov permit for a day-hike like I did here, but it DOES require one if you plan to overnight. Of course you still need to do a Self-Issue Permit at the Trailhead, but that doesn't require any advanced planning and is free. ABOUT THE ENDING - This was my very first video I've ever done, definitely learned some lessons to apply to the next video, among those is proper cellphone battery management. My phone died at the end so I didn't get to finish it like I had wanted. I ended up stopping at the base of the Chamber Lakes basin area since my phone had died. PLEASE BE ADVISED that the Chamber Lakes basin section of this hike is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, only attempt it if you are a very seasoned hiker that knows what they are doing. The Alltrails app has this hike going all the way to the Chamber Lakes, but the vast majority of people stop at Camp Lake for good reason, so only attempt the Chamber Lakes basin if you know what you're getting yourself into. I would say if you're unsure if you want to do it that probably means you shouldn't try it. For that section there are multiple approaches to get up, there are scree fields to the left and to the right, so assess the topography well in deciding your approach.

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