Irish and Taylor Lakes, Oregon, July 2015

[Bigfoot]

These two small lakes are on the crest of the Central Oregon Cascades at 5560 feet elevation. They can be reached by a secondary forest road from either Waldo Lake or Little Cultus Lake. The Pacific Crest Trail passes next to them and enters the Three Sisters Wilderness just to the north. It is one of the nicer mountain destinations open to vehicles near home.

A narrow piece of land separates the roughly 30-acre lakes. A primitive campground is between them with one table and several more-or-less level places to park a rig or pitch a tent. The campsites are rather beat up and dusty as is the road. I saw no fish in either lake. They look good for swimming if Cascade leeches don't bother you. Paddling is possible, too. Mountain biking on the road is an option although I think there are better trails in the area. We hiked on the PCT to wilderness lakes a few miles away.

To get there we drove in from Waldo and left a couple of days later via Little Cultus. Although the major campgrounds at the big lakes were packed, there were only two other trucks at Irish-Taylor Lakes on a beautiful summer weekend. The road has something to do with the peace and quiet.

Access is seasonal, typically around mid-June to early October depending on snow and blowdowns. The Waldo approach is a narrow, winding dirt track through an old, barren burn. The road can be passable in 2WD depending on conditions but high clearance is advisable. It was a tight squeeze for our full-size crew cab, barely enough room to clear downed snags that had been cut earlier in the season. If you come in the spring, a chain saw might be good to have. I saw only a couple of places to pull over in several miles but fortunately the road gets little traffic.

The Little Cultus approach is through forest that is ripe to burn. The fairly good road at the bottom gets progressively narrow and rutted towards the top. Again, 4WD may not always be necessary but good clearance is desirable. I would not want to pull a trailer on either approach.

An excellent summer outing for the itinerant camper. Photos in my WTW gallery.

 

[GroovyDad]

Looks pretty "Squatchy" in those woods...

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Thanks for the trip back in time. It's been years since I was there. How were the mosquitoes?

 

[Bigfoot]

Thanks for the trip back in time. It's been years since I was there. How were the mosquitoes?

A few mozzies during the early morning and evening, especially in the dark woods. No problem in the open. Not bad this year possibly because of the drought. Did not see Sasquatch unfortunately.

 

[4llamas]

It's been years since I've been there also. We used to backpack up to Dennis Lake and explore the area which is the east/west divide of the Cascades. Lots of interesting formations and a hanging lake up there. You can still follow blazes of the old Skyline trail, but much of it is covered by blowdown. I pulled my llama trailer in there once; never got stuck or wedged but it took about 1.5 hrs. from Waldo. Not good for man nor beast. If I ever go back I'll do a long out and back from Cultus past Winopee.

That was an amazingly hot burn. The soil was turned to glass in some areas and the trees still had the tiniest branches, even years later. I don't recall when it burned, maybe 1992 or 1996.

I'm glad you got in there and had a good time. Not a good place to break down.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I think the fire at Waldo was in '96. We had just a few years before, moved north from the Rogue Valley to Northern Oregon.

 

[Bigfoot]

Yes, that was the Charlton Butte Fire. Started by lightning in August 1996 it quickly burned 10,400 acres including the north side of Waldo Lake (the campgrounds were evacuated) and about a third of the Waldo Lake Wilderness. It came within a half-mile of the Irish-Taylor campground. We had been to Waldo a few times--great paddling when not too windy--and learned quickly to go in late summer or fall to avoid mozzies. I remember seeing the fire in the news.

They call it a stand-replacing fire because tree mortality, mostly mountain hemlock, exceeded 90% in much of the area. They are letting it reseed naturally which will be a slow process at that altitude with so few trees remaining. The previous big fire in the area was the Taylor Burn in the late 1900s.

The forest around Irish-Taylor Lakes will have its turn eventually. Given all the fire rings in every possible place to park a vehicle, I just hope it's not human caused. I'm surprised the road has been kept open.

 

[FG-mike-likes-beer]

sorry for resurrecting the old thread. when did you go up and how was the weather? we have a trip planned June 3rd this year.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

sorry for resurrecting the old thread. when did you go up and how was the weather? we have a trip planned June 3rd this year.

Be prepared for significant numbers of mosquitos. Really significant numbers!!!!! You may not get them, but there's a good chance you will.

 

[Bigfoot]

sorry for resurrecting the old thread. when did you go up and how was the weather? we have a trip planned June 3rd this year.

We were there in August last year during a drought. Good weather but very dusty and high fire danger. You could have driven the loop in early June last year but that was atypical. In a normal snow year like this one the road may be impassable until mid June because of downed trees and mud or snow. Recommend you have a chain saw, tire chains and lots of mosquito repellant.

 

[FG-mike-likes-beer]

We were there in August last year during a drought. Good weather but very dusty and high fire danger. You could have driven the loop in early June last year but that was atypical. In a normal snow year like this one the road may be impassable until mid June because of downed trees and mud or snow. Recommend you have a chain saw, tire chains and lots of mosquito repellant.

We were there in August last year during a drought. Good weather but very dusty and high fire danger. You could have driven the loop in early June last year but that was atypical. In a normal snow year like this one the road may be impassable until mid June because of downed trees and mud or snow. Recommend you have a chain saw, tire chains and lots of mosquito repellant.

Be prepared for significant numbers of mosquitos. Really significant numbers!!!!! You may not get them, but there's a good chance you will.

thanks for the info. we'll call the ranger station before heading up. snow and mud wont slow us down. even a downed tree we can deal with. but if the road is closed, we'll have to come up with a plan B.

 

[COExplorer]

We drove up to Irish and Taylor from Waldo and then down to Cultus about 2 weeks ago (June 19th I think). The road had been cleared of deadfall and there wasn't really any snow to speak of. The mosquitoes, however, were intense! I'd like to go back later in the season when they die down a bit...

Has anyone driven up the road just to the west of the lakes that heads up towards the wilderness? There is an intersection a mile or two before you get to the lakes when you're coming from Waldo... On the map the road appears to dead end at the wilderness... I'd like to head up there; looks like maybe a neat place to spend the night. Any info would be appreciated!!

 

[4llamas]

It's a fantastic area for backpacking. Beware the mosquitoes. I've hiked with my llamas and backpacked into the wilderness area several times from Irish and Taylor Lakes. Drove in from the Waldo Lake side, through the stunning burnt area. The trail from Irish and Taylor is easy for walking with lots of swimming opportunities. If you are sleuth enough you can find remnants of the old Skyline Trail which predates the PCT. Our destinations were the lakes up near Irish Mtn., a bit off trail. At Dennis Lake you can sit on a ledge and look over central Oregon. There is a small lake up there hanging on a cliff in a lava pocket that is unique to anything I've ever seen. Plenty of other interesting things to see up there. I've also been in from McFarland Lake. I'm not sure I'll ever again go into Irish and Taylor Lakes with a trailer and llamas, but it is special. I think Rock Rim Lake was another one of our base camps. Sheesh, it's been a long time.

Mark and I backpacked to McFarland Lake years ago, prior to our llamapacking days. Upon our arrival we dropped our packs at a broken stump. While I was absorbed with fumbling around in my gear Mark discovered some ashes and a note in the stump. He read the note and freaked out. It took him all evening to settle down. The ashes were from a long time and lost friend of his. Now Mark's ashes are up there somewhere. Sorry for going down the spur route, but it's good to remember friends.