Soda Creek - Green Lakes Loop

Soda Creek

Green Lakes is just too crowded.  I have avoided this area, especially on weekends, for years.  Today, a Sunday, dawned crystal clear and wonderfully cool for August, 2018.  I could not resist the idea of a quick day hike in the high country but I didn't want to drive far.  That leaves few options other than crowds.  A bit of a compromise is the Soda Creek Trail.  It starts at the same trailhead as Green Lakes, but gets less use and is, in my opinion, a more interesting trail.  After a 30 minute drive from home I was on the trail in the cool morning air.  The sky bluer than I have seen it in a long time.  The Soda Creek trail follows the creek and wanders through and along numerous meadows as it works its way high onto the shoulder of Broken Top.  I was planning on an out and back, avoiding Green Lakes, but in the end opted for the loop, not wanting to backtrack.  While the Falls Creek trail from Green Lakes was, indeed, busy, it is still a spectacular hike with one waterfall after another.  And after Soda Creek I was able to put up with a few more people (and dogs) that I would otherwise have tolerated.

Broken Top

South Sister from Green Lakes

Disheveled Ouzel