Clear Fork #61,Clear Lost #76
Sep 22, 2007
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Clear Fork-Lily Lake
- Region: South Cascades -- White Pass / Cowlitz River Valley
- Agency: Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Cowlitz Valley Ranger District
- Trails: Clear Fork (#61)
- Avg Rating: 2.50
- Be Aware Of
- Blowdowns
I took my little Hyundai Elantra up the nine miles of the USFS 46 road and got within about 1/4 mile of the trailhead at Clear Fork. The road is rough in spots, and the last few turns were just too rough and consisted of too many big rocks for a car. We walked to the trailhead and found 6 big trucks. Two of them with horse trailers. Most likely, we had stumbled into a favorite archery hunting area.
The Clear Fork Trail is nearly flat and gentle at least until its junction with the Clear Lost Trail #76. The highlights consisted of Lilly Lake, which was more lily than lake and old growth Douglas Fir, Cedar and Hemlock.
We turned west on the Clear Lost Trail and the shelter and began hiking up the mountain. I hiked as far as Lost Hat Lake, but never really found the lake itself. What was on the trail and what was on the map got a little confusing. The #76 trail is clearly not a priority for anybody. There were a lot of trees down over the trail, but it is late enough into the season that there were established routes around or over all of them. If you are looking for alpine views of the Goat Rocks area, this is not the right trail, but the old growth forest in its most natural form is stunning!
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Lilly Lake was more lilly than lake, but it did open up the landscape for a view.
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