Sub-24 Hour Marion Lakes Trail System Backpacking Trip
After getting in a long training run last Saturday morning, I had an exciting epiphany: both my Saturday afternoon and Sunday were free of obligations. A blur of texts to potentially spontaneous friends ensued, and one of my bikepacking friends from Portland – Seth Dubois – was able to join me.
Of course, this also meant we had to quickly decide on a relatively close trail system to hike. I opted to suggest the Marion Lake Trail system, as I am somewhat familiar with the area, and Seth was all in. We met up Saturday around 3pm at my house in Salem, and then it was a simple 1 1/2 hour drive to the trailhead. We were hiking before 5pm, which gave us hours of daylight to get to our goal spot for the night: Jorn Lake.
The Map
I’ll let the picture narrative do the rest of the talking, with one caveat: my friend and hiking partner, Seth Dubois, is a professional photographer, and most of these pictures (you’ll be able to tell the difference) were taken by him. Check out his work at his photography website.
Seth needed to buy some food, and Gurken was VERY concerned. 
As was Bryn. 
As was Lucy. 
Failed attempt at a group shot. 
Only slightly improved group shot.
Before the Burn Zone
Lake Anne 
Fall colors everywhere. 
The Burn Zone
Seth! 
Seth and Gurken are in love. 
Bryn and I are in love. 
Numerous Mt. Jefferson views on the way to Jorn Lake. 
Lots of micro-meadows on this hike. 
Gurken’s profile pic. 
Bryn’s profile pic 
Three Fingered Jack. 
The last bits of sun disappeared as we got to Jorn Lake. 
Jorn Lake. 
The Campsite
We set up juuust before dark. 
Gurken promptly got in Seth’s sleeping bag. 
Late night dinner and canned wine. 
And some map viewing for the next day.
The Next Morning
Morning water for coffee. 
Bryn was VERY ready to get out of the tent. 
Back in the tarptent for Gurken. 
Lucy, the silent sentinel. 
6 Mile Trail Run!
A quick 6 mile trail run. 
Plus a swim. 
Hiking the Rest of the Burn Zone
As soon as we started hiking, the rain started. 
Rush hour on the trail. 
Out of the Burn Zone
Another traffic jam. 
Very wet dogs at this point. 
Back to Marion Lake. 
And we made it!
The dogs were pumped for the familiar. 
And Seth’s dogs passed out immediately.
We both agreed that this trail system had more to offer. There are trails both to the north and south of where we hiked that look equally amazing, and an extended weekend trip (3-ish days) would be enough to see it all. Something to look forward to!
Categories: Pedals and Packs
Those little dogs are the cutest. I mean, Bryn’s cute too. But the terriers!
Yeah, Lucy and Gherkin are kind of the best, and Gherkin was hilarious (the small one). She would block the trail until Bryn went by and then basically try to ‘pounce’ on Bryn. It was pure entertainment the entire hike.