Three Sisters Wilderness: Lucky Lake

View of Lucky Lake as the trail intersects the lake.

 Lucky Lake is a beautiful mountain lake with great views of South Sister and Broken Top mountains, and it's easy to get to. In fact, the hike is just over a mile, and relatively flat the entire way. I hiked in on a weekday, looking for a quick getaway, and hopefully some fishing. The lake isn't as popular as many Three Sisters Wilderness destinations despite its beauty. Because of this (or maybe the hordes of mosquitoes) I had the lake to myself.

Camp, pre bug net.

 Campsites are concentrated on the south side of the lake. I chose the flattest spot with the best views and pitched my tarp. I was using for the first time a bug net/tarp combination. The net stops at the ground and does not have a floor. I was a bit nervous about its effectiveness pitching it in the midst of clouds of mosquitoes. But it worked great. I slept soundly, and no flying blood-suckers got in.

Why is my rod on the ground and not in my hand?

 Fishing didn't go so well. Lucky Lake's waters are crystal clear, and I didn't see a single fish of any size either in the water near shore or rising to the surface in deeper parts of the lake. I doubted that any fish were even in the lake despite what I had read online. Regardless, I spent most of the day circling the lake looking for fish and throwing out a fly absent sign of any. It basically became a day-long casting practice session. Lucky Lake isn't a very easy lake to fly fish anyway. Beaches are basically non-existent. In most places, trees grow right to the water's edge. Backcasting is nearly impossible without wading.

 Later that night I heard something big splashing in the water. From the water's edge near my camp I could see a big brown animal frolicking in the water across the lake. I couldn't tell what it was, and I kicked myself for not bringing my binoculars.

A serene morning on the lake.

After a good night's sleep, I awoke to a very quiet, peaceful lake. The water was completely still and the mountains glowed, spotlighted in the rising sun's rays. It's these moments that draw me to the woods. It's these moments that I sit up at night at home in bed thinking about.