Joe Graham Horse Camp, and Frog Lake, Oregon

It's been an overly hot couple of weeks in Central Oregon, a great time to get away from it all for a few days. July is sometimes a tricky month to horse camp, due to the mosquito population and also still not quite being able to get into a lot of the high country.
But Joe Graham, otherwise known as Timothy Lake in the Mt. Hood National Forest was a good choice.

Mt Hood from Timothy Lake.

This was a revisit for me, I had been there before, but when I thought back about how long it had been, I realized it was seven years ago! How time flies. Back then I had only had my current horse for just over a year, and she was not in the extremely good shape that she is in now.

I was sweating at 7:30 am in my tank top and shorts as I was packing the last things into the truck. After a two hour drive, as I was getting closer to camp the weather was looking gloomier and gloomier and the road was wet. What a drop in temperature, it was now only 60 degrees but I found the sudden change rather refreshing.
There were quite a few people camped there on a Sunday morning, but I got a spot, actually the same site as the last time I was there, and tacked up. Still wearing the tank top, while others I saw were wearing coats and sweaters, I got onto the PCT heading southbound.

On the PCT.

At one point I passed a girl riding solo, we said hi, and I trotted on ahead.
A little while later I had to stop and sample some of the local cuisine,
big beautiful ripe huckleberries.
As I was munching away the same girl caught up to me. I explained about the berries, she said she had no idea they were edible, and so we sampled them together for awhile. As we talked I found out she was riding from Joe Graham to Triangle Lake Horse Camp that day, a total of about 26 miles. We ended up riding the rest of the way to the Warm Springs River before we went our separate ways. Her story: she is 22 years old and trying to do a thru ride on the PCT. Coincidentally I had heard of her from a post on Facebook, when she was looking for a farrier in my area, since she goes through shoes extremely fast. She was having a lot of trouble trying to get certain sections done at this time of the year, and had to do a lot of back tracking, but she is determined to get the job done one way or another. Good for her! Update: She did get the whole trail ridden, although she had to drive back and do sections she missed. And she has since ridden it again a couple of years later.

Gillian and her mare Shyla.

Warm Springs River, our turn around spot.

On the way back, the weather which had been a little iffy took a bit of a turn, thunder, lightning and some rain. I was forced to put on a sweater and hide under a tree for a little while to avoid getting completely soaked. This is a 16 mile out and back ride.

When I got back to camp I realized not a single other soul had stuck around, the weekend was over, and I had the place to myself.

Joe Graham has 14 sites, with spots that have either 2, 3 or 4 corrals, drinking water out of taps, and garbage dumpsters. There is no manure bin and it is expected that you put the manure in the dumpsters, so it's best to come prepared for that. The camp is very shady with tall trees, which is nice for the hotter days. This is supposed to be a horses only campsite, but it seems they are allowing non horse people in on occasion, and there is no longer a host on site like there used to be. It is $20.00 a night and reservations are definitely recommended especially for weekends, as it can get very busy.

Joe Graham is flanked by a meadow, the camp is situated in the trees.

Sunset and fog rolling in.

A little cabin in the meadow.

On the main road there is an historical ranger station that is now a visitors center, and a bunch of other buildings and cabins. Joe Graham is actually a couple of miles away from Timothy Lake, and there is another camp on the same road just a mile farther, called Clackamas Lake which has access to all the same trails. It is a combination horse and people camp which is another option if you can't get a spot at Graham.

Monday dawned sunny and clear and I got an early start on my loop ride around the lake. Heading northbound on the PCT for about 6 miles, you then leave the PCT and continue to follow the Timothy Lake Trail, or for a short side trip follow the PCT another 1/2 mile to get a look at Little Crater Lake. You can't actually ride right up to the lake, but there are some convenient hitching rails.

The trail to Little Crater Lake, through a non horse friendly gate.

The path to Little Crater Lake.

I actually decided not to leave my horse tied up with no one to watch her, due to her extreme hatred of insects, and her just as extreme itchiness. I was not convinced my saddle would survive if she thought it was a mighty fine idea to rub on the post, and I did not feel like untacking, so I continued on my way eventually reaching the dam on the far side of the lake.

The dam at Timothy Lake.

Riding across the dam at Timothy Lake.

The loop around the whole lake is 13 miles but that is not including some added mileage to and from the horse camp, and in one area past the dam there is a section that is for hikers only, and the horse trail veers off and takes a slightly longer route. There are some views of Mt.Hood along the way.

It was getting pretty warm, so after my ride I put my pony away, and drove over to the day use area at the lake for a lovely swim. Then I drove to the Little Crater Lake Campsite (not a horse camp) and took the short stroll to see Little Crater Lake which I had missed out on earlier. Although it is called a lake, it is actually an artesian spring, the sides suddenly dropping off to a depth of 45 feet, and the water temperature is a chilly 34 degrees. It is hard to do it justice with a camera, but it is so interesting, definitely a must see.

Little Crater Lake.

Little Crater Lake.

Tuesday I packed up, and decided to drive in the opposite direction from home, to the Frog Lake Sno Park. I had ridden from this PCT trailhead before, back when I used to live close enough to the area to do it as a day ride.

I rode to Lower Twin Lakes first, then to Upper Twin Lakes, very similar lakes, hence the names.

Lower Twin Lake.

I then veered off on the Palmateer View Trail which only had a temporary sign on a tree. This trail gets a little narrow, and there is a 100 foot cliff beside it. I did find the viewpoint, but I chose not venture onto the rock hanging out into in mid air.

The drop off viewpoint.

After that the trail popped me out by a junction, and I saw a "closed to horses' sign pointing back from where I had just come....oops I guess I wasn't supposed to go that way...a little late now.

Oops, they didn't have that sign on the other end of the trail.

At another junction I took the Palmateer Point Trail that leads to a close up view of Mt. Hood.

 Palmateer Point.

Mt. Hood.

Rina checking out Hood.

This could be a little longer of a ride by taking another side trail and visiting Devils Half Acre in the valley below, a very pretty peaceful primitive camping spot, but I had done that route in the past, so instead I got back onto the PCT and rode back to my truck. This is a short ride, a total of just over 9 miles. After hanging out in the parking lot for some time, while a fellow borrowed my lug wrench to change a tire on his travel trailer, I finally hit the road. As I drove out of the forest onto the Warm Springs reservation, the smoke was really bad, apparently many more fires had started while I was away, the smoke and heat on the drive home made me wish I had stayed out camping another day!
But it was a really fun trip, just what the doctor ordered!


GPS COORDINATES TO JOE GRAHAM

GPS COORDINATES TO FROG LAKE SNO PARK