I guess this is my week for reporting on short hikes to lakes off of Highway 20. Cutthroat Lake has always been a favorite from the time when we had little children. It's short distance, minimal elevation gain, and lake destination make it perfect for the kids. The bugs, however, are the biggest detraction.
We arrived at 11:30 am and were on the way back to Mazama by 2:00. We had guests coming over for dinner so couldn't do a long hike today. Parking lot was less than half full. I've never had trouble with parking here even on weekends. Cutthroat road remains full of potholes but if you are going slow and paying attention its navigable.
The trail itself is in good condition overall. Some of the small streams in the first few miles have dried up. The large log bridge across Cutthroat Creek has washed away and been replaced by a smaller log that is navigable. We chose to hike about 0.13 miles from marked trail to the lake heading toward the pass. We came upon a sign indicating that we were 2 miles from cutthroat road with the trail to the pass off to the right and another trail to the left. Taking the left trail leads to a boot path along the lake where you can walk across a few rocks and find yourself on the lakeshore.
We opted to stop and snap a photo and move on due to swarms of mosquitos. We found a nice spot for lunch about a mile up the trail toward the pass from the lake. There were two sturdy bridges across the creek followed by some small streams across the trail. I was wearing waterproof low top boots and had dry socks when I got home. The hike up to Cutthroat Pass this direction is quite nice ableit less often used than the PCT from Rainy Pass. I can't report on anything more than the first three miles from the trailhead today, however.
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