The Central Oregon Cascades are scattered with a multitude of high mountain lakes, and with our close proximity up the McKenzie, I have been enjoying getting out there and exploring them. This last Sunday we were on our way across the mountains for some live music in Bend, and since the show wasn’t until later evening, we decided to do a hike along the way. I hadn’t been up the old McKenzie Pass in a while, so we decided to go that route and hike to Benson Lake and the Tenas Lakes. Ever time I heard someone talk about them, I though they were saying “Tennis Lakes.” As it turns out, “Tenas” is a Chinook Jargon term for “small,” which makes perfect sense for this little cluster of lakes. The trailhead is at the Scott Lake Campground, a spot I always enjoy visiting, and the roughly 5 mile round trip with minimal elevation gain was just the right hike to fit into our day.
Benson lake is about 1.4 miles in on the trail, and proved to be a great resting spot. The lake is fairly good sized, and looked like it would be a great spot for backpacking with younger children or for a quick overnight trip when you can’t hit the trail until later in the day.
The huckleberry fields along the trail were a welcome sight, after our huckleberry trip was a total bust the day before. It’s just too hot and dry this year. Fortunately we still have a few quarts leftover in our freezer from last year. With the lean huckleberry season, we appreciated finding a few fresh berries to munch on all the more.
Another 1.1 miles down the trail we encountered the beginning of the Tenas Lakes. There are about 6 of them in all, fairly small, and clustered close together.
With all the large rocks and clear turquoise water, these lakes looked excellent for swimming. Other people seemed to have that idea too, because it was fairly crowded. I would aim for a week day or off season time to go back and camp overnight.
A couple of the lakes were smaller and more marshy, and looked like good places to observe some local wildlife at less busy times of day.
Speaking of wildlife, a bald eagle visited us and made a few circles overhead while we sat out on a large rock outcropping to rest in the sun.Whether he was flying low, or we were sitting high up there on that rock, it was a rare treat to get such a close view.
The longer I live here, and the more I explore the area, I feel like I’m truly coming to know this place. The topography, the lay of the land, where things are at in relation to one another and the landmarks I can recognize to orient myself are all blending together with day-to-day life on the homestead to create a sense of place and home. After a lot of years of rootlessness, moving around and weathering big life transitions; getting to know these lakes, mountain peaks and tributaries feels equally important to planting fruit trees and building garden beds. It feels like exactly what I should be doing at this stage in life to get situated for the years ahead. Branching out and rooting down.
Directions:
Take the
McKenzie Pass Highway (242) and turn at the Scott
Lake turnoff. Drive all the way through the campground to the parking lot and trailhead sign.
McKenzie Pass Highway (242) and turn at the Scott
Lake turnoff. Drive all the way through the campground to the parking lot and trailhead sign.
Here is a link to William Sullivan’s Oregon Adventures:
And the USFS Website:
And an article in Sisters Nugget News:
Beautiful!!! 🙂