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
[Illustration: Trail map]
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.