Maybe it was because we hadn’t been hiking in the Three Sisters Wilderness for a full winter and spring. Maybe Doris Lake was having a good hair day. Or maybe it was our overwhelming relief at having stumbled across a big bottle of mosquito repellent along the trail. Whatever it was, the lake was looking good in all its sparkling azure splendor.”I’m left without words,” Map Guy muttered, then promptly launched into an adjective-laden monologue on the pulchritude of nature. He was right, of course. This corner of the wilderness is deep green and blue; a sight for sore eyes, a sublimity, according to Map Guy. And it’s buzzing with unbridled life. Butterflies flitting and lighting and flitting off again. Ants the size of stink bugs. Horse flies the size of small woodpeckers. And mosquitoes everywhere (but mostly on us).The trail to Doris Lake via Blow Lake involves a couple of mild uphill grades. Blow Lake comes into view after about a mile of walking (contrary to the sign at the trailhead) through a forest dominated by ponderosa pine. The shore of the small lake is a nice place for a picnic or pit stop. But don’t quit here. The trail between Blow and Doris lakes changes character, with higher elevation fir trees dominating. A stream chuckles along not far from the trail for most of the trip, and hikers cross over a couple of footbridges along the way. It was enough to render Map Guy speechless for a second or two. Those looking for something a little more juicy can continue on the trail to Senoj Lake (Jones spelled backward) or take the uphill fork about a half-mile past Doris and continue up and over the Pacific Crest Trail. Just to the west of the crest, there’s a bounteous collection of standing water: Zowie and Boot and Porky and Nightshade and Gnat lakes, to name but a few. From Bend, drive west on Cascade Lakes Highway to Elk Lake. The trailhead and parking area are just past Elk Lake on the right side of the road. It’s about a six-mile round trip to Doris Lake and back. A Northwest Forest Pass is required.