Canyon Creek Meadow Hike- Three Fingered Jack

(Jack Lake with Three Fingered Jack in the background)

Last weekend my mom was in Arizona with my dad, and I missed out on our weekly trek. I was feeling deprived, and with that being said, I was ready for a challenge! With a little research, I found this great hike, Canyon Creek Meadows. It begins at Jack Lake and gives you a few options depending on how you want your day to go. The main trail, Lower Canyon Creek Meadows, is a loop with 400ft elevation gain. The entire loop (including the beginning out/back portion) is about 4.5 miles. At about the mid-point of Lower Meadows, Upper Canyon Creek Meadows begins. This trail is an out and back with 1000ft elevation gain, and is 1.5 miles one direction. Upper Meadows is a must, and takes you up to a beautiful glacier on Three Fingered Jack. Another detour this trail has to offer is a hike to Wasco Lake. It would add about 2 miles to your total hike, and is an out and back from the main trail. On our hike we didn't take the Wasco Lake trail, but it looked popular. Overall, we hiked 7.5 miles, and didn't run into too many people.

A little history lesson at the beginning of the hike will inform you that Three Fingered Jack is a volcano around 100,000 years old. Three Fingered Jack received its name from Jack, an old gold rusher that only had three fingers!

Getting to the Jack Lake Trailhead: When you're on OR, US 20, from Sisters, head NW for about 12 miles until you see Jack Lake Rd. From there, you will follow NF 12 for 4 miles, and you will see clear signs leading you to the trailhead. You will follow NF 1230 for 1.5 miles, and keep left on NF 1234. Drive for 6 miles, and this will lead you to the Jack Lake Parking area. 

(My mom getting ready to hike!)

Nice Things To Know: You must have a parking pass. There is a self-pay station at the Jack Lake parking area for $5, or you may use a Northwest Forest Pass. The road, for about .5 miles of NF 1230, and all 6 miles of NF 1234 are rough, washboard, one lane, dirt roads. For this road, I would keep the car home, and take the SUV. However, I did see a Honda Civic at the top. One more nice thing to know, there is a vault toilet at the trailhead that was quite clean.

The Hike: We began hiking the Canyon Creek Meadows Trail at 11:50am. There were a lot of horses in the parking lot, and like true Oregonian fashion, almost everyone had their dog. The weather was great! It was warm, not too hot, and with no signs of rain. 

We briefly trekked along in the surprisingly beautiful silver snag from the 2003 B&B fire. This was until we found the "Canyon Creek Meadows 2, Wasco Lake 2" sign. I remembered reading that the Forest Service wanted everyone to take the trail clockwise. This creates a more serene experience for everyone. Genius! With that being said, we stayed left to Canyon Creek Meadows. Continuing, we felt some elevation gain, but nothing too difficult. Surrounding us was a mix of silver snag and lush greenery. Personally, I enjoyed the enormous boulders. They added an abundance of character to the scenery around us. Unbeknownst to us that we were in the meadow, once we got to the meadow, there was a fork in the trail with no signs in sight. So, we made an educated guess to stay left. We were planning on having lunch in the meadow, but I guess I was expecting a bigger meadow. Thus, it didn't dawn on me, and we continued. After the meadow we saw a beautiful view of Three Fingered Jack(we thought we were so close at this point!)

We had to stop and take pictures to enjoy the moment. Full of excitement, this portion of the hike went by quick. Then, we reached a sign clearly stating that the trail went right, but there was an intriguing log bridge to the left. Just past the bridge, there was a sign stating that the trail was unmaintained. At this point we could clearly see that Three Fingered Jack was to the left, and that of course is where the glacier was residing. Timid at first, we took the trail to the left. Quickly we realized we were on the correct trail, and continued with confidence. The views at this point were amazing! We looked like little ants in the foreground of this giant volcano.

This portion of the hike felt exciting simply because the sign said it was unmaintained. We also knew that there would be about a 1000 foot elevation gain during this portion of the hike. We were ready to test our skills on Upper Meadows! Once we trekked past the wildflowers in the meadow, we came upon a winding creek. The creek was cold and crystal clear, but most of all, it brought to life the beauty of the rocks and shrubbery following it through the forest.

After a moment of serenity with the flowing creek, we continued up the trail. This portion of the trail was shaded, but had spots of sun that had broken through the dense trees. We were feeling a bit of a climb compared to what we had previously hiked, but as we say, we were "feeling alive!" The forest then broke open into another big and beautiful meadow. However, this time our view of Three Fingered Jack was even closer than before. We were ready for the climb!

The trail was deeply rutted from the storm the day before, but nothing we couldn't manage. Once out of the meadow, we reached a brief section of forest that was clearly home to our friends Chip and Dale. Continuing through, we were suddenly awe struck. Now on loose volcanic rock, we couldn't believe our eyes, for we were above the snow!

(Enjoying the view from the top)

Full of adrenaline, we climbed the loose rock to the moraine of the glacier. We weren't entirely sure where the glacier was, but we had a pretty good idea judging by the foot traffic. Once we made it to the top, I stood breathless, for more than one reason.

(Left: The unexpected muddy glacier. Right: The edge of the glacier where we ate our lunch.)

I've never felt so good, so accomplished, so happy to be at the top of a 100,000 year old volcano. Granted, we were expecting a pretty blue glacier like others had seen, but the storms from the day prior left us with muddy water instead. We still felt it was beautiful! The views were spectacular, and this experience has greatly influenced me to climb more mountains! This was an amazing time in my life, and I'm so grateful that I shared it with my mom.

(We almost forgot to take a picture together!)

 We were quite hungry once we reached the top so we sat our butts down, and had a lunch of champions! PB&J, dried cranberries, coco roasted almonds, organic grapes, and some water to wash it down. PB&J is our staple hiking food, delicious!

 (Mom eating lunch above the glacier)

After a long lunch we hiked back down Three Fingered Jack. Finally, back to Lower Canyon Creek Meadows, we continued following the loop clockwise. Soon after, in the forested area, we came upon a beaver dam. Go beavs! The water flowing over the bent log looked so beautiful, it was time to take the camera out.

This portion of the trail followed the creek through the forest for about 1 mile until the creek became two small cascading waterfalls.

Just before this point, we entered the silver snags once again. I was lucky enough to have a Monarch butterfly strike a pose for me while I took multiple pictures.

Trekking through the silver snags, on our left we had a picturesque view of Mount Jefferson. Throughout our hike we saw multiple mountains including Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington, and a glimpse here and there of the Three Sisters. It's truly wonderful to be out in nature with the towering mountains nearby.

This was about the end of our hike. Once we arrived at Jack Lake again, we took a moment to realize how far we had come, and took a small walk halfway around the lake. We arrived back at the Jack Lake parking area at 3:49pm.

Our hike was over, and originally planned on camping that night. However, a change of heart, and simply making s'mores is was! They were delicious! As we drove home that evening while the sun was setting, we had to stop and take one more picture in front of a nearby lake.

 What a perfect ending to a perfect day. We are so blessed!