Marble Mountain Wilderness

Marble Rim 

Marble Mountain Wilderness, in northern California, has long been on my list of places to explore.  I finally made that happen during a four day backpack last weekend.  Thanks to the wet and snowy winter of 2016-17 the place was in rare form with lush vegetation, plentiful water, and an impressive show of wildflowers.  We set up a base camp in Sky High Valley and spent two full days exploring ridge tops and lake basins.  On one of those days we observed seven black bears including two youngsters who were playing on a snow bank below us for an hour.  We came away from the area impressed by the amount of biodiversity and the rugged views, but as we were leaving we encountered the beginnings of a cattle drive at the trailhead.  Why the USFS continues to allow cattle grazing in the Sky High Basin is beyond me.  Tradition, I suppose.  Let's return this beautiful place to its highest and best use, which certainly does not include running cows through paradise.

Looking down on Sky High Valley

Cascade Lilies

Mt Shasta in the distance

Man Eaten Lake

Cliff Lake

East Lake

Paulina Peak from East Lake

Newberry Crater, which is a caldera, is a good place to go to escape the heat.  With temps in Bend forecast to hit the mid 90's we loaded up the Eurovan and headed for Paulina Lake.  Unfortunately, most of Bend had the same idea so we struck out at Little Crater CG and had to settle for one of the few remaining spots at Cinder Hill CG on East Lake.  Still, at 6,400 feet and in the shade it was pleasant.  Way too many boats and fisher folk for my taste, but a nice getaway none-the-less.  And the evenings were very pleasantly cool. 

View from Crater Rim Trail