Sammy the Sloth (Trailname: Samsquatch)

My friend, Beth, inspired me. Yes, every ounce matters when you hike; but playfulness matters too. And the fun pictures she'd take on our trips of her various stuffies made me think, "I need one too." 

I looked a long time, but couldn't find the right fit. Then after I finally bought a sweet faced sloth on a wintry day in Winthrop, I lost him on our first outing. Maybe I was just too much of an irresponsible sloth mom to be entrusted with such cuteness?

Then Sammy came into my life. A gift for my 55th birthday, it was an easy choice to name him after the rock legend who made "I Can't Drive 55" famous. Sammy immediately came with us on my B-day hike, and right away he felt like a good luck charm.

"Welcome Pass" was our second hike together, where he cheered me on to get up those unrelenting 66 switchbacks so he could get his picture taken at the top. (I knew I shouldn't have trusted Heidi's promise of "it won't be so bad"...I've told the same lies myself. We hiker addicts live in elevation gain denial ;))

And of course I had to buy him his own post hike beer, even though being carried really shouldn't earn you one.

Though Sammy did earn my undying gratitude when he convinced my husband to come on a spontaneous road trip for Father's Day, where we did our first hike together in five years. In 2018 Ken came with me to hike the last few days of my Appalachian Trail adventure (buy the book here - 5 star rating with 36 reviews and counting!) but those final cruel downward 8 miles did a number on his bad knee. Blue Lake was a good test to see if the surgeries have helped much, and though the knee hurt a little, he was in great spirits.

Ken even came up with "Samsquatch" and had some great ideas for a few photo shoots, which surprised and delighted me. Playfulness is infectious, and we need more and more contagion the older we get. May there be an epidemic! Happy "be even more silly as you get older" trails. 

Ken's idea with his glasses :)

Things to know about both trails below. 

WELCOME PASS

1) Heidi blamed the "moderate" rating for fooling her, but 2,800 feet gain in 2.3 miles should have been a big red flag. Hey, I ignored it too...it's not like I haven't done that kind of elevation gain before. But the first mile is pretty flat, so it's even worse than a thousand foot gain per mile after that. Prepare to suffer.

2) Don't use a driving app to get you there...Google and such are very confused about this area. (The same is true for Church Mountain, btw) Turn onto forest service road 3060, which will be on the left between milepost 45 and 46. It looks like you are driving to nowhere, but I promise there is a decent trailhead there.

3) Still a bit of snow at the top, but this hike is one of the few places I can think of to get to 5200 feet this early without hitting snow. Lots of ridge walking opportunity soon, but I wouldn't want to do it mid-June unless you are really comfortable with snow crossings.  

BLUE LAKE

1) This hike is POPULAR - how could it not be? Right off Hwy 20, only 4.4 miles round trip with pretty steady 500-ish foot gain per mile that gets you up to 6,000 feet with a spectacularly blue lake. Plus it allows dogs...I mean, you WILL have company. But it's a NICE trail, with lots of room to pass each other. 

2) Climbers use part of this trail to get up to Liberty Bell. Ken spent his 21st birthday hanging off the side of the thing, so it was fun for him to reminisce; but it's hard to leave the hard core days behind. 

3) No camping allowed at this lake, but I did notice a great spot less than a quarter mile into the hike. You'd have a parade going by; but it could be a good late night or early morning save. 

4) Speaking of camping, and if you are wanting to do a spontaneous trip on a long weekend and don't have reservations; Hipcamp is a great resource. We found a great spot at Silverline Lake Resort in an "overflow" field. 

BONUS THING TO KNOW

There is a nice hike just across from Silverline - unfortunately I can't remember the name, and it's not on WTA. It's more of a biker trail, but plenty of people were hiking it. It has great views of Lake Pearrygin, and so many wildflowers. It would be a wonderful show of Balsamroot in the spring. You can access the trail straight from the campground...here's a pic of where you cross over and bushwack a little up to it. 

I think the cross over board is at site 43. 
You can see the trail up above.