Day 3 720ft gain/2856ft loss 9.47 miles, 25,152 steps
Having all survived last night without a tent blow down, we emerge under a fine layer of dust, blown in under the rainfly and screened by the mosquito netting. I feel like I have mud in my mouth, so nothing better than a nice cup of Joe to get the day started…
We break camp around 7:30, and bid Warm Lake farewell and dream of burgers and beer once we reach Packwood…
I look back on my writings of the area in 2012, and I make mention of how the trails here are either disused, or barely traceable, as few people seemed to have ventured here. Now, except for most of the way from Warm Lake to the cut here in the Klickton divide heading down to trail #1120, the trails are well worn and visible, even though the spur up to Warm Lake does not appear on any TOPO map.
We chose to go back the way we came, past Surprise Lake, mostly because as I mentioned before, I think there’s just a little more to look at, which helps the miles to melt away a little quicker…
Our trod back to the car over dusty trails is quick, partly fueled by easy tread over mostly downhill trails, but also by the desire to eat a burger then be home to a warm shower and clothes that smell eminently better that the ones we’re wearing now.
A great hike, with lots of scenery capped off by a nice lake to swim in and the solitude of having it all to ourselves. Thanks to Kipp, Blair and Joe for making it a memorable journey!
Hey there! Do you happen to have a GIA GPS route for this up to the lake?
Hello, Bryce, I have a GPS route only, which is a .gpx file format, I’m sorry, but I am not familiar with the GAIA platform…I am assuming it will use the same format? If you can tell me what it uses as a file format, like the .gpx format, I can send it to you.