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Past Activity

Broken Top Crater Lake/Tam McAuthur

  • Start date: 08/27/2019

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 08/27/2019

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

This hike starts @ Three Creek Lake. We will hike 2.5 miles to the viewpoint on Tam McAurthur Rim then continue along the trail and a user trail 2.2 miles to Broken Hand. We will hike around Broken Hand. This small section of trail is narrow and has drop off on one side, so caution is necessary. Once around Broken Hand we will be able to look down on Broken Top lake nestled in the crater. This lake is sometimes called "No Name Lk". We will be able to hike along the rim for awhile and scramble down a good trail to the lake.
It is a long, but very rewarding, day. If weather is clear we will have up close views of the Sisters.

  • Event Leader: Daphne James

  • Event Leader Phone: 541-683-7488

  • Event Leader Email: daphleej@yahoo.com

  • Assistant Leader: Steven Johnson

  • Event category: Trips

  • Area Type: Mountain

  • Departure Location: South Eugene High School, 19th & Patterson

  • Rating: Difficult

  • Roundtrip total drive miles: 242

  • Season: 2019

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: Take extra snacks and water. We will take breaks at Tam Mc viewpoint, lunch at Broken Hand and a break at the Lake before heading back.

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 11.6

  • Member Fees: 1

  • Elevation Gain: 1900

  • Non-Member Fees: 5

  • Committee: Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

On a warm and sunny Tuesday, we hiked from Tam McAurthur Rim to stunning Broken Top Crater Lake, sometimes called "No Name Lake". We began our hike at the Tam McAuthur Rim trailhead, across from Three Creek Lake, fifteen miles south of the town of Sisters. After hiking 2.5 miles up to Tam McAuthur Rim's cliff edge viewpoint, we continued on an unmaintained, but obvious, trail an additional 2.2 miles. This trail took us over a sandy red cone and along the rim to the base of Broken Hand. Getting around Broken Hand can be a challenge. We choose a narrow, rocky ledge on the eastside. This trail, which drops off on one side and has the mountain on the other, requires caution. Once around Broken Hand, we had our first sighting of the turquoise lake nestled in the crater of Broken Top and a glimpse of the beauty to come. From here we scrambled a mile over the rocky ridge to an 8,300 ft panoramic viewpoint about 200 ft above the lake. We hiked down a sandy path for a lakeside lunch. For our return to the trailhead we found an unmarked trail through the valley several hundred feet below Broken Hand. This trail took us past Broken Hand then rejoined the rim trail we came in on. Although considerably less strenuous and safer then being up on the ridge, this way around Broken Hand lacks the dramatic views found higher up. If you choose to get to Broken Top this way, you might consider taking the short side trip up to the high point above the lake for some of the best views in Three Sisters Wilderness. Anyway you go, this hike is a worthwhile adventure.