Ken's idea with his glasses :) |
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. |
Leave it to Ken to come up with a perfect trail name for Sammy. Love it! Sounds like a great hike and a good time!
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