Mertens Cassiope
[18]. CHAOS CRAGS AND CRAGS LAKE
| Starting Point: | The trail leaves the Manzanita Lake Camp road about 100 yards south of the store and near the creek crossing |
| Distances: | 1.8 miles, one way |
| Topography: | Uphill about 700 feet |
| Time: | 3 hours, round trip |
| Features: | Forest, flowers, recent volcanic activity, dwarfed trees |
Chaos Crags were formed by lava being forced upward and hardening in place, similar to squeezing toothpaste out of a tube. Considerable volcanic activity took place in the crater at the north base of the Crags. As a result of this activity a huge landslide occurred, strewing rocks over 2½ square miles, including the area around Manzanita and Reflection lakes. This rock slide is called Chaos Jumbles.
The trail follows through pine-fir forests close to the edge of the Jumbles. Many saprophytes can be seen along the trail, together with pipsissewa and pyrolas.
The crater at the base of the Crags is filled with snow early in the season, later melting to form a small lake which may dry up toward the end of the summer.
The trees in the Jumbles are small, but in spite of their size, many are over 250 years old. From the age of the oldest trees it is estimated that the eruption and landslide occurred about 1690.