Gary-Summer: Sept 20, 2021 - Day Fourteen

Monday, September 20, 2021

Sept 20, 2021 - Day Fourteen - Bend and Sparks Lake

Title: Sept 20, 2021 - Day Fourteen - Bend and Sparks Lake
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking
Trail: Ray Atkeson Loop Trail

Trail head: Sparks Lake Parking Area

Destination: Loop
Distance: 2.38 miles
Start Time: 4:53
End Time: 6:13
Travel Time: 1:20 (1.78 mph)
Moving Time: 1:11 (2.01 mph)
Elevation Rise: 662'
Descent: 366‘
Maximum Elevation: 5,489'
GPS Tracks

Car Mileage: 70 miles

Description:

The reason why we came by Bend was that Andrea and Lawrence will be doing a temporary stay here in a month. Andrea will be employed as a substitute teacher during her stay. But before she does, the local District needs to have her go through a morning of training before she gets into a classroom. That is this morning.

Sherri and Gary in relax mode

I get up first, but quickly followed by Andrea and Sherri. Breakfast is prepared. Then Andrea takes our car to Redmond-you know, that area where we saw the burnt area yesterday. This leaves us with plenty of time just to relax and soak in the sun. The sun is pretty nice, but the air is cool, so we get ourselves bundled up. We spend time reading and gazing around and then reading some more. Also the shower calls us.

Sherri and Andrea-Lunch at McKays

All of this relaxing takes up the morning. Andrea comes back after noon time. She looks a bit like "this was not necessarily a waste of time, but there was very little new here for her." So she is ready for lunch, as we are. And she has a place in mind. There is a place just down the road called McKay’s Cottage. It is a combination of indoor and outdoor seating. We choose outdoors. The food must be good as we wait half an hour until almost 2pm to eat.The tables have a fire pit in the middle of them with a place to set plates around the edge of it. With the coolness of the day, this is good.

McKays is noted for their pastry. So Sherri and Andrea have a scone with some of their berry jam. They are happy. Lunch is served. All of it is pretty tasty. In keeping with the day, it is a relaxing time.

Lava bed around Sparks Lake

After eating, we need to fill up with gas. There is a Costco in Bend. So we headed there. But we miss a vital piece of information: it does not have a gas station. There is one close by, so we fill up. This little excursion probably cost an hour of time, still we got to see a bit more of Bend.

Southern Sister

And now onward to Sparks Lake. We travelup Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway-it is a nice drive. We pass by the Mt Bachelor Ski Area. Then we hit a Forest Service dirt road,Forest, 46-400, going a couple miles down that.it is mostly good. Only in a few places did I have to wander the road to find a semblance of smoothness.

Andrea picking her way through lava bed

There is a wide place and a sign where we park. The trail which we will go on is the Ray Atkeson Loop Trail. This is named after a local photographer. As we travel this trail we understand why. Between the scenic views of the lake and the presence of two of the Sisters, there are plenty of places to stop and photograph. Also the term “Loop” is a bit of a misnomer. The trails go into more of a figure-eight. The first part of the loop is along Sparks Lake. The lake is a bit low, but still holds my interest. There is much volcanic rock, both to be interested in and to be cautious around. Then the trail meets a crossover. We have the time, so we go around the bigger loop. It moves away from the lake into a maze of lava rock and ravines. Interesting seeing these. As we circle around the far side, the Sisters and Mt Bachelor come into view. And then we descend back down to the parking area where the car is.

It is an uneventful drive back to the camp. We munch on a few things, talking for a while before heading off to bed.