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Knowing the snowpack in the wilderness is quickly going, going, gone, we targeted Four-In-One Cone in the Three Sisters Wilderness for our first training hike of the season. Located near McKenzie Pass, the trail follows a route blazed by Captain Felix Scott, who led wagon trains through the high-elevation pass into the McKenzie Valley in 1862.

The hike along Scott Trail climbs the 1,500-foot relief gently for the four-and-a-half mile trek -- with a few exceptions -- and is mostly forested, providing welcome shade on a hot day. Having hiked these parts before, I was shocked by the fact that there was no snow whatsoever. Normally, snow remains until late summer. Not this year.

In a rather bad news/good news sort of way, the lack of snow also meant no mosquitoes either, always a welcome respite when trekking in the wilderness. The beargrass (above) was out in force in the forested sections of the trail until reaching the intense lava flows, where the scenery suddenly changes dramatically.

Once on top of a bed of barren, blocky lava, the trail ultimately crests into a broad cinder flat, where the views open up to the southeast with virtually unobstructed perspectives of North Sister and Middle Sister. The hike traces Scott’s footsteps to a junction with a short trail to viewpoint atop four connected cinder cones.

From the top of Four-In-One Cone, you can see how the lava flows breached each of the four craters. The initial eruptions spewed cinders, with the prevailing winds from the west building the cones highest on the east rim. Once the magma released its gases, a quieter basalt flow then oozed from the cone’s base to the west.

From the highest point on the southern summit, a nearly level trail skirts the rim of the other three cones to a viewpoint of Mt. Jefferson, Three-Fingered Jack and Mt. Washington, with even a little of Mt. Hood peeking around the eastern flank of Mt. Jefferson. In short: an enjoyable hike (nine miles roundtrip) with great rewards.