lostlake.html

History of Early Pioneer Families of Hood River, Oregon.
Compiled by Mrs. D.M. Coon

LOST LAKE D.M.C. 1880

The daily Oregonian of August 27, 1880, contains an account of a visit to Lost Lake. Dr. T.L. Eliot, one of the party, furnished the story, which is given in full below.
VISIT TO LOST LAKE. A party of eleven, among whom were Mr. L. Henderson, Rev. T.L. Eliot and brothers and Messers E.L. Smith, Clark, Lyman Smith and others of Hood River, have lately visited "Lost Lake" near Mt. Hood. The trip was a very enjoyable one, and possesses great interest for those who relish camp life and fairly rough traveling.
The forks of Hood River were swollen too high for fording, and were crossed by felling trees. The finest of trout were found in abundance, both in the river and in the lake. The lake is a beautiful piece of water, about four miles in circuit, of a triangular shape, very deep, and surrounded by the grandest forests of fir, white pine and hemlock. A small swamp is at the head and another at the outlet. Some rich lands are in the vicinity and on the line of march. Above the lake on the south is a hill, from which a sublime view of Mt. Hood, six or eight miles distant, can be obtained. Profound canyons and lofty hills are surmounted by the glaciers and soaring summit, which on this side is almost a precipice of glistening snow and ice.
The tracks of bear, elk and deer abound everywhere, and with dogs these animals could undoubtedly be found.
The botanist of the party found the region very interesting. The wealth of timber everywhere is amazing even to an Oregonian.
The party returned from the lake in a day and a half, a walk of about thirty miles, and felt under especial obligations to Mr. E.L. Smith, as leader, for the care taken of all arrangements and details of the week's excursion.
As the lake described above has never been named, the one given, "Lost Lake" was suggested. Owing to the smoke and some misunderstanding of routes, the party did not find it easily, and the old story, "Indian not lost, wigwam lost," furnished a basis for a name, at least until an authoritative Indian one turns up.
This story, told in August 1880, immediately after the trip, is clear and accurate. The names are as follows: Rev. T.L. Eliot, of Portland, his two brothers, C.R. and E.C. Eliot, L.P. Henderson, the botanist from Portland, E.L. Smith, Newton Clark, Lillian Hudson, J.H. Ferguson, Milton Odell, Lyman Smith and his son Wm. Smith. The party left Hood River on August 18, and returned about a week later. At the pioneer reunion in 1916, Newton Clark says: "We met with our first real adventure when we reached Hood River near the present site of Dee, where a bridge was made by felling a huge tree across the river gorge. We tied a rope to the stump and to a tree on the opposite side of the gorge and holding to this carried across our outfit. Later our pack pony was roped and carried across the swift current. When we reached the region of the Upper West Fork we found that the country had all been burned over the year before by a great forest fire. Only jagged trunks were left. We called the region a desert. I was axeman for the party and proceeded ahead to cut a path through the debris.
The earth was a soft ash bank, and soon the dry ash soil filled our shoes. Mr. Smith grew discouraged over a heel minus most of the skin, but his wits continued keen. That old saying of Horace Greely's was then going the rounds, and Mr. Smith, to stimulate us as our determination flagged must have remarked a score of times as we pushed on toward the lake, "Go west, young man, go west."
We did not reach the lake the first day, but found it early in the morning on the second. I took Mr. Odell's rifle and went out to get some game, while the others built a raft from fallen log and endeavored to catch some fish. I returned with only my rifle, expecting to find the bank covered with fish. But my companions had not caught a single fish. They declared there were no fish in the lake. We had supper and just as the sun was setting behind Huckleberry mountain lighting up with gorgeous color the peak of old Mt. Hood, I suggested we again try fishing. Everybody demurred but Mr. Smith, who consorted to go out on the raft with me. Pretty soon the surface of Lost Lake was literally alive with trout.
They bit the hook as fast as we could take them off. I soon gave up catching for myself, taking the fish off Mr. Smith's hook, and then after about thirty minutes not a fish was to be seen. Everything became quiet. The lake trout had finished their evening feeding and had sunk to the bottom of the crystal waters. But we had landed all we could eat. They were fine specimens, each about the length of a case knife, handle and all.
On our return trip Prof. Henderson, a botanist, found many wonderful specimens of plants that thrive in the region."

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August 1919. Thirty nine years have elapsed since Lost Lake was given a name and placed definitely on the map. Previous to that time it was known as the "Big Lake" and much mystery surrounded its location. The Indian knew of it and hunted game and huckleberries in its vicinity; a few of the early settlers, mountain climbers, explorers and hunters had seen it, and a party from The Dalles, with John Divers, of Hood River, as a guide had visited it in 1873, but in 1880 there was not even an Indian trail to show the way.
Two experiences surveyors, Newton Clark and E.L. Smith, were of the party and it was expected that there would be no difficulty in locating the lake, but when they traveled to the spot where it was supposed to be, and it was not there, some queries arose and one man said "We must be lost". "Oh, no" said Mr. Smith, "We are not lost, we know exactly where we are, it is like the Indian, he was not lost it was the wigwam that was lost. We are not lost, it is the lake that is lost." They then pushed on a little further south and there lay the lake before them like a beautiful mirror, reflecting the evergreen forests surrounding it like a frame with old Mt. Hood in the background. The name given in jest has remained and it is still Lost Lake, one of the beauty spots of Hood River Valley and the "Mecca" of the tourist.
Of the persons constituting the party, 3 are now living in Hood River: J.H. Ferguson, L.F. Henderson, Milton Odell and E.L. Smith. William J. Smith was accidentally killed at Raymond, Washington, February 22, 1912. His father died in Portland November 10, 1915. Newton Clark died in Portland June l915. William Hudson is in California. Dr. P.L. Eliot is in Portland and his brothers are in the East.