The Ice Challenge: A Quest to Divide Lake
Photo courtesy of Ammon Gallup
Bags were packed, hopes were high, and the first mosquito of our trip had already got a taste of my sweet blood, probably already passing it around to all his blood sucking friends. This was the start of a three day backpacking adventure to Divide Lake, a beautiful lake outside of Oakridge, Oregon found right at the foot of the impressive Mount Yoran. Four of us had met on the morning of July 1st and carpooled to the trailhead; my trusty companions Clayton, Derrian, Blake, and myself made the journey up together. Kelsin, our fifth, had plans to meet up with us the next day at Divide Lake.
Clayton and I arrived at the carpool location that morning set for our trip. We had our own backpacking gear and felt prepared for the upcoming journey. Derrian and Blake, however, showed up to the parking lot with a few average-sized backpacks, sleeping bags, pillows, and water bottles in hand. Not exactly ideal for a trip of this length. I teased them about how “well-equipped” they looked, but didn’t really think it would be too big of a deal. It was just a few miles to the lake, and we were in no rush. We squished into Clayton’s car, and headed for the trail.
Our drive wasn’t long, and was filled with familiar views of Dexter Lake, rivers and creeks, and all of the seemingly endless forests that the Willamette Valley has to offer. About a mile east of Oakridge we turned right on Hills Creek Reservoir, heading deeper into the unknown. Soon the paved road turned to gravel, and after back tracking one wrong turn, we arrived at the Vivian Lake trailhead, the trail that would take us to our destination. As we got out of the car the mosquitos were on us like bees on honey, and we all applied the first of many thick layers of bug spray. I jumped into the bushes briefly for a quick bathroom release, we threw the backpacks on, and began the short four mile hike into the Diamond Peak Wilderness.
We started in the early afternoon and the sun was already starting to come down hard. Not too far on the trail we came upon Notch Lake. We admired it for a second, drinking some water, and continued forward, not allowing the mosquitos to swarm us for too long. We eventually connected onto the Mount Yoran trail, hiking over and around some downed trees and small streams. About halfway through, the trail quickly began to disappear and eventually became hidden under large patches of snow and debris. The four of us spent a second collaborating and searching in different directions for any indication where the trail had went. Finally, we found where to go; the trail had snaked up and gone to the right of the hill we were stopped at. Relieved to have found the trail, we were feeling good again back on track. But soon, we’d be facing even more obstacles, patches of snow, and—even more snow.
Not expecting to encounter snow in early July, the three of us were not prepared with any sort of micro spikes or traction devices. The large, sloping fields of snow made it quite difficult to navigate or find our footing as we passed them. Frequent stops were made to relocate the trail, and we moved at a slow pace trying to traverse along the snowy ridgeline. But, finally, we made it beyond the snowfields and onto the last half mile of our hike. Later, we’d look back on this leg of the journey and name it the “ice challenge,” the only section of our hike that made us question whether or not we should turn back. We stopped and rested for a minute at an amazing wide-open viewpoint of Diamond Peak, threw our packs to the side, and shared some well deserved dried mangos on a nice big fallen tree, taking in the scenery.
Mount Yoran. Photo courtesy of Ammon Gallup
The first sight of Mount Yoran came around the corner, and we were nearly to our destination. We came down a small rocky path into an open area with some patches of snow, Mount Yoran to our left, and finally, Divide Lake in front of us. We were here, but we weren’t done just yet. Getting to our campspot next to the lake was a task that was certainly not as easy as we had hoped for due to, once again, more snow. We were definitely all feeling pretty beat after our hike; it had taken double the amount of time we had thought it would. However, the area surrounding us was very beautiful. We all took a moment and enjoyed the view of the lake. It was still partially frozen. Mount Yoran loomed above it, looking down at us. Then—as if it were the theme of our trip—the skies became grey, and the first lighting and thunder was seen and heard. We quickly dove into action, setting up our tents and getting a small fire started for the elegant hot dog feast we had plans to cook. The rain machine decided to turn on right as we began to roast the dogs, so we quickly cheffed up our ketchup, relish and buns, and brought it into the tent to eat in hopes of staying dry. We were getting a bit nervous with the lighting seeming so close, so we came up with a plan of what we should do if things got really bad, and discussed whether or not it would be best to turn back. Luckily, the rain didn’t last long. The storm seemed to pass, and we were able to relax for that first chaotic night.
We spent the next morning eating instant oatmeal and finding a spot to filter water. This was supposed to be the day our friend Kelsin had planned on meeting us at the lake. After experiencing the trail conditions on the way up, we decided to meet him halfway back on the trail so he wouldn’t get lost. We had a rough idea of where we would be on the trail and at what time, and we set out on our mission to go meet him. As we navigated over the Ice Challenge and towards the trail, we soon heard country music
playing in the distance. Sure enough, Kelsin emerged from the bushes with a fishing pole sticking out of his backpack, sleeping bag in his left hand, and a JBL speaker in his right. The rest of the day we explored our camp area some more. We tried to fish in the small lake that I’m convinced has no fish. We enjoyed each other’s company. And our time in nature allowed us to leave behind some of our stress and responsibilities back at home. Even just for a night or two. More hot dogs on the menu for that night, and a competitive game of cribbage to wrap things up.
We woke up early in the morning having some more oatmeal (along with some pretty bad coffee) and started packing up camp and hiking out, trying to beat the heat. On the way back we kept to a pretty good pace. Having most of it be downhill, and remembering which way to navigate the trail made it much easier. We made it back to the cars in half the time it took us to hike to the lake; I think for most of us, seeing the cars again was the best view of the trip.
Driving back we were all definitely worn out. The “easy” four-mile hike had quickly turned into a challenging, mosquito-filled snowy traverse. Although looking back I’m glad we pushed through the hard parts instead of turning back early, and even though the trail conditions were a lot more difficult then we had hoped for, I would say we all felt accomplished that we went on such a crazy quest. It certainly made for an exciting memory and story amongst us friends. We stopped in Oakridge on the way back and rewarded ourselves for not dying, with cheeseburgers and blizzards at the local Dairy Queen before heading home. Even then, only a short while after our return to civilization, all of us were very excited for the next crazy adventure; just as long as that adventure didn’t come too soon.
The journey across the ice. Photo courtesy of Ammon Gallup