Obsidian/Scott Loop Backpack

This will be a three-day, two night adventure hiking through the striking volcanic landscape of the northern Three Sisters Wilderness. The 17-mile loop can certainly be done as a single-night outing, but a more relaxed pace should allow us extra time for exploration of some of the area’s most remarkable features – Four-in-One Cone, Collier Cone, Sawyer Bar, Arrowhead Lake, and Obsidian Falls, to name a few.

On Day One, we’ll drive 3-4 hours down to the Obsidian TH near McKenzie Pass, then hike approximately 6 miles along the Scott Trail and PCT to Minnie Scott Spring, for our first camp. On Day Two we’ll move the camp 4 miles to Arrowhead Lake and spend the afternoon exploring. Day Three will be a return to the car via the Obsidian Trail, approximately 6 miles, and the drive home.

Since this has been a year of unusually low snowfall in the mountains, and promises to be a very warm El Nino summer, my hope is that an early season backpack will avoid some of the wildfire danger and hottest temperatures of late summer. Be prepared for some mosquitoes, however, even though the campsites have been chosen to (hopefully!) avoid the worst areas where they like to hang out.

Participants should be self-sufficient with basic backpacking skills. Sturdy boots will be encouraged, as there are areas of sharp obsidian glass underfoot, which can damage regular shoe soles.

For more information and to sign up for the backpack, contact Tom Thrall at:  <>