Coming Up Short

It happened again. Second time this year I've been within a mile of my goal and had to turn around. Me no likey. 

I know I'm stubborn - though "tenacious" is a better word, don't you think? Though I do think "curious" is more the quality that drives me forward. I NEED to see it (whatever "it" is)...except we all know what curiosity did to the cat.

Janet needs a sign that says "first day of kindergarten" ;)

But at least I have enough wisdom to call it quits when quitting is required. And so the list of lakes I need to return to when the snow melts keeps growing. (You can read about my other failed attempt here )

Soda Peaks Lake sounded pretty amazing. It is really hard to find anything backpackable in May (and I've searched A LOT) so I was surprised to come across something I'd never heard of before. If I was still listing my lessons learned I'd add this one (number 57?) "Never try a trail that hasn't had a trip report posted in over a year."

Hey, we at least had a trail head map pic, haha

And I knew that! But I couldn't resist. The backpack mentioned back in 2020 in late May sounded great - yes, we should expect a little snow, but it sounded very doable. Maybe we were being a little foolhardy with the bad weather forecast and little info on this mysterious trail, but we were hungering for some adventure. 

First of all, there are a couple of ways to access this trail, which is confusing when reading the trip reports. We went in via Trapper Creek. (192) Do NOT follow the dropped pin on the WTA site which tries to bring you to the Mineral Springs "not accessible anymore" starting point. Plus the Trapper Creek parking lot is much nicer and has a good toilet. The road there is not bad either.

Starting off the trail is awesome (patting back for finding such a hidden gem) and then you hit a stream crossing. Adventure!! We don't mind taking off our shoes! On the other side we quickly turned onto the well marked Soda Peaks Lake trail, and before long things started to get a bit messy. 

First tree hump of the season!

Over, around and through the blowdowns...all doable...until we got to the "biggie." It looked obvious as to where we were to do another "under" to skirt around and find the trail up on the other side, but try as me might, we were not finding it. 

Don't go this way!!

Not "the biggie" but one you need to skirt around at the root

More mess...I got many other pics, but you get the idea

It felt like at least a half hour, but however long it was, it was far too long. We were about to bag the whole trip until I thought I might see the trail up above going in the opposite direction. And sure enough, after pushing through another bunch of branches blocking the trail we could see the still not terribly obvious path switchbacking up. (The giant tree fell exactly at the first switchback, so it really was very hard to figure out...not to mention a sign here that makes it look like the trail keeps going straight.) 

I kept convincing Janet we should keep going, even though we kept encountering these confusing and frustrating trail blockages. "We'll turn around in an hour if we don't think we'll make it to the lake" was my promise. "It will be worth it once we get there" was another one. All lies.

Okay, one more

It was around 6pm when we hit the snow with about a half mile left to go. We were WET. We could hear the scary sounding wind picking up and sounding almost deadly just on the other side of the ridge. Janet's map app was leading us forward, even though the trail was totally gone, and I am sure we could have made it. But the thought of setting up a tent on the snow with wind hitting us after coming across a cold lake was enough to make this curious cat finally say "fuck the lake." Janet was in full agreement.

Are we having fun yet?

Thankfully we had spotted a flat area in the woods a few paces back, and with the patches of snow around, we had our water source. Though I will say that old snow that has been sitting on the forest floor has "earthy notes" that are hard to get past. 

Essence of pine is not my favorite

It was an adventure though! Not the kind we would have chosen, but it filled the thrill tank just the same. And speaking of filling up the tank, do not miss hitting the Backwoods Brewing Company if you find yourself exploring a trail you shouldn't in this area...I promise THAT will be worth it! Next time I'll write about my "bonus hike" I hit on the way home. Until then, happy "worth it and not so worth it" trails!!