Field Note – Backpacking Lucky Lake & Glass Animals Concert

TLDR: Overnighter Backpacking Trip to Lucky Lake Aug 14-15th, Van Camp By Deschutes River Aug 16, Sparks Lake Exploration & Glass Animals Concert Aug 17 (Bend). Good quick overnighter with Emmett, fun filled weekend with Cascade Lakes recreation, exploring and met Rain in Bend to see Glass Animals in Concert Saturday Night.

  • Trip Type: Quick Overnight Backpacking
  • Trip Dates: 14th – 15th of August, 2025
  • Trip Location: Cascade Lakes Hwy
  • Permit Required: Central Cascades Wilderness Permit
  • Distance: Approx 1.3 Miles Each Way (2.6mi roundtrip)
  • Party Members: Emmett, Chris
  • Camping Options: Limited (2 Main Spots, Fair)
  • Weather: Sunny Transitioning to Cloudy/Raining
  • Other Conditions: Dry, No Major Insect Issues, No Huckleberries or Many Wildflowers
  • Bonus Points: 0
  • Demerits: 0
  • Pack Weights: Unknown

Emmett wanted to go on a backpacking trip, and due to Rain and I contracting COVID from the recent work trip to Milwaukee for NATIA – we had to push back the original plans to go on a longer trip to Winopee to meet Devon. I quickly grabbed a permit for Lucky Lake starting a few days later, as it was one of the only options that was available and had a short distance involved – supporting the rest of our weekend activities.

The general plan was for us to leave on Thursday and get to Lucky Lake, staying through the weekend. One small issue with Lucky Lake is that there are limited options for day hiking, exploration or other activities – and those that are available are a longer day hike than we were prepared for. I have been recovering slowly from a bout with Plantar Fasciitis on my left foot for most of the summer and was not interested in compounding that issue (it has been steadily improving over the last month or so). It is an unfortunate ailment in that it can linger for months or years, as you basically continuously reinjure it daily if not actively managed and monitored – so I plan on keeping a close eye and being mindful to continue seeing improvement. The main backpacking plans were flexible based on weather and how we felt – with the original idea being that we’d stay at the lake until Saturday, then day hike out to drive over to Bend and meet Rain for the Glass Animals concert. With the hiking being short and a place to sleep that night not yet determined, we figured driving back and hiking up to our tent at the lake would be no biggie.

That plan changed after the first night for a few reasons. The first of which was a failure of 1/2 of my Sea to Summit sleeping pad – making it quite uncomfortable. Secondly my Float Tube failed – so no real great fishing options other than a little bit of shore fishing. Note I was able to catch a nice 14″ brookie off of the shore, so that part wasn’t a total bust – but Lucky Lake does have limited options available due to the shallow depth and lots of in the water in many areas accessible from a shore cast. Third the weather was supposed to turn and rain between 1/4″ and 1/2″ overnight on Friday – which we weren’t well prepared for. So what made more sense was our plan to explore around on Friday and play some Wilderness Disc Golf up towards Williamson Mountain and back, then slowly pack up and leave around sunset for the Van. We then simply drove the Van down to a spot that was luckily open (no pun intended) by the Deschutes river. We were dry and comfortable for the night!

On Saturday we woke up to a nice partially cloudy morning by the river. As usual Emmett was slow get up and going so we didn’t leave the camp until around 1PM. That didn’t leave enough time for the original plan, which was spending some time at Newberry Crater / Obsidian Flow – so instead we ended up going up the Cascade Lakes Hwy and swung into Sparks Lake for a short visit. As usual it was spectacular at Sparks – there was not too many people, due to the slightly less summertime weather. We hiked around the memorial trail and played just a quick couple of holes of Wilderness Disc Golf, taking a couple of nice pics along the way.

From Sparks lake it was a short drive to Rain’s cousin Laurel’s house – where we showered, ate and got ready for the Glass Animals Concert. It was the first time we have been concerned about getting rained on at a concert there – as it was absolutely pouring before the show for about an hour. The weather service also issued a short term flood watch it was so robust! For the second show this year we ended up getting there too late to get good seats – similar to the Black Keys concert, the place was absolutely packed! The show was a great time (though pretty short, they only played just over an hour). The affogato and roasted strawberry gelatos were wonderful on the humid afternoon and music, fun and dancing were plentiful. After the show instead of having to drive up and hike back into a backpacking spot – we were able to stay at Lor’s in Bend… Then Rain got up super early to drive to work that morning in Eugene and Emmett and I took our time home, arriving Sunday afternoon.

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