Pamelia Lake and no Mt. Jefferson

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Pamelia Lake

After Susan and I ran the Three Sisters Loop, Susan asked me if there was a loop around Mt. Jefferson. I told her I didn't think there was, but of course once I got home I pulled out my Mt. Jefferson map to verify. There isn't, but looking at the map it jogged my memory of previous Mt. Jefferson backpacking trips I have done in the past. Knowing that I was going to have a low key Labor day weekend, I thought if by chance I could get an overnight pass to Pamelia Lake, I would go camp and do a run and head back to Portland. 

By some luck I was able to secure a camping permit for Friday night. I originally thought that I could run the Hunt's Cove loop but come to find out the trail is closed due to a forest fire. However the PCT North and South were open, so I thought I could run to Jefferson Park and back which is ~15 miles. I emailed Karrla and asked if she wanted to join me on this short trip, we backpacked Hunt's Cove years ago, but we haven't trail ran together. She was game!

We got to Pamelia Lake around 5pm and most of the campsites were open, which was really odd given that it was Labor Day weekend. We found the perfect huge campsite with a great view of the lake and a nice fire pit. We hung out by the lake and drank beers and had a campfire as the evening  started to cool off, it was the perfect camping evening.

Beer!

Beer and filtered water - need to stay hydrated 

We were both woken up to drizzle on our tents, but by the time we actually got up the rain had stopped. There was only a 20% chance of rain, so I expected it to clear up by the time we started running. After a little coffee and breakfast we were on our way running on the PCT towards Jefferson Park. But shortly after we started it started to rain, but more than that the trail had over growth which was wet from the early morning rain, so we were getting soaked running through it. After about 2 miles we were drenched and cold, we decided to turn around and head the other way on the PCT to see if the trail clear of over growth. Luckily it was, we were able to get 10 miles of running in. We never got to see Mt. Jefferson, but that is even more reason to go back next year.

back tracking

Waterfall off the PCT


Location: Pamelia Lake, Willamette National Forest, Oregon 97350, USA

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