Bull of the Woods via Pansy Lake Loop Hike

Overview

NOTICE: Trails in this area have been affected by the 2021 Bull Complex Fire and the Bull of the Woods Lookout has been burned to the ground. Please check current closures in the Clackamas River Ranger District before planning an outing. This loop hike in the Bull of the Woods Wilderness has most of the highlights that summer hikers seek: wilderness, expansive views, lakes, small wildflower meadows, huckleberries in season, old growth forest, and an antique lookout. The lookout itself is a fairly popular destination, as is Pansy Lake, but you will find solitude on the trails in-between. Reserve this hike for a clear day as the vistas from the ridges take in a large swath of the Cascades. The trail begins across from the parking area, enters the Bull of the Woods Wilderness, and goes up through old growth Douglas-fir, western hemlock, noble fir and silver fir, crossing a few small creeks. Vine maple, rhododendron, and huckleberry predominate in the understory. At a switchback, you can take a spur leading steeply down to a secluded campsite. From here, you can head into the Pansy Basin’s big meadow, which glows golden in the fall below red vine maple bursts on the scree slopes above. Pansy Creek flows through a bog and down the west side of the basin, which attracts elk in the mornings and evenings. There is no easy bushwhack from here up to the lake, so return to the main trail and switchback up past the Pansy Basin-Dickey Lake Trail Junction. The trail rises gently to the short spur that leads west along shallow Pansy Lake’s north shore. On the slope above the lake’s western shore, you can search for Robert Bagby’s Pansy Blossom Mine, where he dug for copper in the late 19th century. From the lake, switchback up scree slopes with two excellent viewpoints down to Pansy Lake. Alaska yellow-cedar, mountain hemlock, and western white pine predominate on the open slopes. Reach Mother Lode Pass and the Pansy Basin-Mother Lode Trail Junction. Go left here. Near a scree slope blazing with vine maple, there’s a mag

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