A group of Chemeketans recently celebrated the start of the 2025 backpacking season on May 15th, with a trip to Fish Lake in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. The group included David Anderson, Katy Dockter, Helen Zwl, Karyn Pressel, and Ken Roley, Trip Leader.
There are several Fish Lakes in Oregon. This one is in the South Umpqua drainage basin, about 50 miles north of Canyonville, Oregon. Our trip leader, Ken Roley lived in this area many years ago and has fond memories of catching fish out of Fish Lake when he was much younger.
The first day the group hiked about 4.5 miles into the lake and made base camp. The sky was overcast, but the day was warm and dry. About 30 trees greeted us across the trail and had to be navigated on our way to the lake. Most of the trees could be easily stepped over, but a few required some significant effort to crawl over, under, or around with a full pack. We found a large, beautiful campsite at the lake where we woke up the next morning with sunshine and clear skies.
The goal for Day 2 was to summit Grasshopper Mountain, with an elevation of 5,523 feet, and about 5.5 miles from camp. The day was warm and sunny, with more trees to navigate. Snow patches were encountered above 5,000 feet. Bear scat was found near the top of the mountain, heightening our awareness, but no bears were observed. Finally, we were greeted by great views from the top of the Grasshopper Mountain, where we took a much deserved break before heading back to camp.
That night we were awakened by the down pour of rain. Weather reports indicated the possibility of worsening conditions over the next two days with the possibility of mixed snow and rain. The group decided the best alternative was retracing our route and heading back to our cars and cutting our trip short, by a day. The weather remained dry, while we packed up our gear, but rained on and off throughout our trip back to the trailhead.
On our way home, we stopped for burgers and fries at Ken’s Sidewalk Café in Canyonville. The food was great and tasted so good after eating “trail food” for several days. (And no you don’t get a discount if your name is Ken, I asked!)