Standing atop the ridge just above No Name Lake, face-to-face with Broken Top in the midst of an alpine wonderland, I came to a realization. I was all alone. I had seen only about 15 other hikers on the 3-mile journey to the lake from the Broken Top Trailhead, compared with about 50 hikers the last time I had made this trek in 2020.
The U.S. Forest Service's Central Cascades Wilderness Permit system , implemented in 2021, seems to be working.
While hikers must now plan ahead for their trips, the newfound solitude afforded in those outings makes them all the more enjoyable. Day-use permits, available on recreation.gov 10 days and two days before the trip date, are required at several trailheads in the Mt.
Jefferson, Mt. Washington, and Three Sisters Wilderness areas from June 15 to Oct. 15.
(All overnight visitors are required to have a permit in these wilderness areas.) I secured my $1 permit online two days before my hike on Monday along the Broken Top Trail. No Name Lake sits nestled below the craggy spires and strata of 9,177-foot Broken Top on the peak’s east side in the Three Sisters Wilderness.
To the northwest of the ridge above the lake, the Three Sisters jut into the sky just a few miles away. No Name Lake, at 8,150 feet, is no secret, and the hike became so popular a few years ago that it was mentioned prominently in the plans for the permit system. But reaching the Broken Top Trailhead is not easy.
From Todd Lake (23 miles southwest of Bend off Cascade Lakes Highway), a 6-mile drive along bumpy, rocky, sketchy Road 370 and Road 380 is required to reach the trailhead. (For a longer hike, start from Todd Lake, or ride a mountain bike along the roads to the trailhead and stash the bikes there before hiking.) A high-clearance, four-wheel- or all-wheel-drive vehicle is necessary to make the drive.
My Kia Sorento ended up a bit dirty and battered, but it made it to the trailhead on Monday morning. I left the unhealthy air quality in Bend to find fresh air and blue sky in the Cascades. The trail started out through the trees but quickly rose above the tree line.
At the first junction I made a right turn to continue along Little Crater Creek toward the lake. A left turn there leads to Green Lakes, another high-use area of the wilderness . I searched for the safest route to cross the creek atop some rocks and made it across without getting wet.
From there, the trail ascended steeply past Ball Butte with no shade — sunscreen is a must for this hike. Wildflowers of a variety of colors — but most distinctively the red Indian paintbrush — lined the creek along the route toward the lake. Small waterfalls trickled here and there as snowmelt filled the babbling brook.
Eventually I reached some snowfields that I crossed relatively easily, following the boot prints of previous hikers. After the last snowfield along the trail, the path continued up through a rocky shale area just below the lake. There, hikers should use caution as loose rock and sand can make for difficult traction on the approach to the lake.
Once I crested the final ridge, I took in the unforgettable sight: No Name Lake — with large chunks of ice still floating in it — sitting at the base of snowy, rugged Broken Top. I continued along a trail that led to the right and skirted the east shore, walking past an impossibly beautiful red-dotted meadow filled with Indian paintbrush. At the north end of the lake the trail continued up a steep slope to the top of a ridge.
I topped the ridge in about 10 minutes and was treated to dramatic views of South, Middle and North Sister and more glacier-carved slopes of Broken Top. After taking my time atop the ridge and soaking in the mountain views, I turned around for the downhill trek back to Broken Top Trailhead. The 71⁄2-mile hike included about 1,300 feet of elevation gain and required about 31⁄2 hours.
But plan for longer to linger at the lake, perhaps finding yourself all alone in one of the most scenic alpine areas in Oregon..
