Trip Reports

There isn't much snow left, only a few patches here and there. This trail is now accessible with tennis shoes. The lake if fully melted, and looked beautiful with the sunshine!we had a nice day sunning ourselves on the rocks and logs. Great for the family, or someone new to hiking. Or, if you want a challenge, try scrambling partway up Baring. That was fun, too!

The good news is that the trailhead is now easily accessible. Once you get on the trail the first part is fairly easy, with a clear view of the trail. As you go on things get a bit trickier. There is still quite a bit of snow and in many areas the snow is melting and getting weaker. Be prepared for slippery footing and expect to often find your leg going through 3-4 feet of snow, as there are still multiple snow bridges on the path 4-5 feet above ground. Going around the snow is sometimes an option, but the ground is very muddy and soft.

Often times I found my self sliding into the snow and having to leverage myself out with my walking pole. In other parts of the trail where snow has melted the ground is extremely muddy and many small streams running through. Since I am new to the trail, I don’t know what the normal conditions are. I can tell you that it took nearly 1.5 hours to get to the lake. If you are a novice hiker looking for an easy trip, I would not recommend hitting this trail in the next two weeks.

Also important to note, as we got closer to the lake we ran across a pair of hikers who could not find their way back to the actual trial. Apparently the normal trail down to the lake is still covered and there are rocks everywhere it would be very easy to slip and break an ankle or hit your head on a rock. We took a different route to the lake and couldn’t make it down.

Based on a basic knowledge of geology it looks as though there may have been a small avalanche during this past winter that will be more apparent as more of the snow melts. More experienced hikers may have an easier time accessing the lake and campgrounds, but we saw no visible campgrounds. Hikers arriving at the lake didn’t seem to stay long.

We left our car at about 12:30pm and made it back at a bit after 4pm. Our slow time was probably due to navigating the snow bridges and trying to determine where the trail continues. Had I read a trip report before going I would have waited until later in the season, as this trail presented some challenges that I felt were a bit above my skill level, but I did gain some new experience which is why I committed to completing the hike.

The trail head is still inaccessible, I'd say even for those who have big trucks, however I suspect it will be melted out within the next week or so. It was going fast in the hot weather we've had lately.

As it were, there was about a 1/4-1/2 mile walk to the trail head. Once there, the trail is easy enough to follow but is still covered by about 60% snow. At about 1/8 of a mile before the bridge, that goes up to about 95% covered and in places it looks to be many feet deep (like 5-6). Lots of good fun making post holes. A few blow downs here and there, but nothing you can't easily step over/under. Stream crossings are all easy and the main bridge is looking good.

Only one camping spot is melted out at all on the north side of the lake. Not the big one by the toilet sign, but the one about 1/8 of mile past it. That's where we camped and it was big enough for our 4 man, but just barely.

The lake is about 50% frozen. The east (outlet side) has all the frozen stuff. The west end is thawed.

The trail is certainly doable as it is now, but in a week or two, I think it will be mostly clear. There should also be a good boot path up it now as there was a group of about 6 people heading up as we had just gotten back to our car.

Sorry for the impersonal TR, but this is better than nothing.

Enjoy!

Headed up here hoping for a short and easy walk into my favorite Wild Sky. I noticed that a comment on the Hiking with my Brother site said it was clear by mid May last year; I thought with the lower snowpack this year, we'd be OK now. Unfortunately, the road was snowed in probably just less than half a mile from the trailhead, as was the rest of the trail.
We went ahead and walked up and continued down the trail. Probably less about a mile up the trail, there is quite a disaster of blowdowns and overgrowth. I went into "the jungle" about 100 feet and then could see it only got worse, so we turned around and headed down. A bit disappointing but still a nice little walk.
If you want to go up, I would recommend wearing YakTrax (or similar) and taking treking poles to help with the snow. Snowshoes are unnecessary. Also, there were several drainages where the trail is washed out; they took some minor scrambling to get through, so keep that in mind before taking the kids and/or grandpa.
Anyway, I suspect this trail'll need a few weeks of melting and then a full work party before it's back to the way it's described. I'm looking forward to trying it again. It's a beautiful spot!

The top of the FS road 6024 that heads to the parking lot is currently inaccessible, blocked by snow. I have an all wheel drive, full sized SUV and it almost got stuck. Was unable to do the hike, but thought i'd warn others.

Attempted a family hike (toddler in a backpack) everyone else on foot.... Road to the trailhead is impassable to cars about 1-1.5 miles short of the trail head (snow varies between 12" and 4') - Snowshoes would have been a good idea.

We just hiked up to the trailhead (by then the toddle had had enough); other hikers that were there continued onto the Barclay Lake Trail (no snowshoes).

I would come back again, but I'd bring snowshoes for the approach... and probably plan on using them at least occasionally on your way to the lake.

FOUND: Digital Camera on the Barclay Lake Trail (Hwy 2)

Found a nice little point-and-shoot camera with 30 pictures taken between Jan 21-24. Looks like three friends went on a little snow camping trip and dropped their camera on the way out.

Is this your camera? Go to the craigslist link below and respond with the type of camera it is so I can return it to you!

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/pho/3574513319.html

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Trip Report-
We only made it maybe 2 miles up the forest road before having to stop and hike/snowshoe the rest of the way to the trailhead. Too much snow and a few blowdowns will prevent most vehicles from making it up there any time soon.

The trail itself is (of course) covered in snow, but pretty easy to follow nonetheless. Saw a bunch of HUGE icicles growing off of some large rocks during the first half of the hike. The snow on the bridge across Barclay Creek is 3-4ft deep - which meant no help from the hand rail. We just took it slow and made sure our snowshoes remained nice and centered on that mound of snow!

The big pillows of snow covering the boulders at the outflow of the lake were super fun to tromp around on. We ended up eating some lunch at the East end of the lake under some trees while quarter-sized snow flakes dumped down around us.

After making a loop around the lake, which at times saw us hiking out onto the frozen lake itself (attempt at your own risk - it felt soft and slushy in places), we followed the South side of Barclay Creek (opposite side of the creek from the trail) back to the aforementioned bridge where we rejoined the trail and hiked hard to stay warm all the way back to the car.

Aside from that camera and the snowshoe tracks at the lake that appeared to be just a few days old, we didn't see any other evidence of human beings the entire time we were out. Just the way we like it!

We tried to snowshoe up to Barclay, however we weren't able to get to the trailhead. Even with 4WD in low, we couldn't go further than about a half mile down the logging road so we decided to turn back.

Wonderful hike for the family (me, wife and 2 boys, 11 and 13 yrs old). We left late on Saturday and got to Barclay Lake around 6pm. Most spots were taken but we still found a nice one past the lake overlooking the lush grass field (marsh?). The hike in was easy and flat, perfect for carrying heavy backpacks.

On Sunday we did a day hike to Eagle Lake, which tested us and our dog, especially the bolder field. A couple of hikers gave us excellent directions, and we in turn helped another couple find their way when they had gone too far up the bolder field. Beautiful day hike and I'm not sure I'd like to do it with a big pack on.

Next time we'll try to go Friday night and maybe bring a light pack for a Saturday overnight at Eagle Lake.

I was worried about the availability of camping sites at the lake considering Labor Day weekend, but was able to get a great site despite arriving around 4pm on Saturday and there were still a number of other good sites available.

Fly fishing was active on a dry fly (elk hair caddis).

Lake level is low, and don't rely on any other water sources along the way, the river is dry in most places.

Make sure you have a forest pass or pay for a day pass for the trail head.

On a somber note two Sheriff's deputies hiked past the lake apparently to the location of someone who passed away. A number of campers noted a helicopter the evening flying overhead and again the next morning. Someone who hiked part of the way with the deputies said it was not a base jumper, while at the trail head forest rangers said they heard a story that there was a base jumper that crashed into the trees.

A group of friends and I did this hike on a Saturday morning. We backpacked the short ~2 miles to Barclay Lake and set up camp. This hike was nice and easy, all 12 of our group had no problems. There is very little elevation gain and is really just a stroll through the woods.

After setting up camp along the lake the group decided to continue on and do the Eagle Lake hike as well. We left our backpacks at camp and just took up some day sacks for the hike. The initial hike to the trail head from the lake was easy and a bit misleading.

The hike up to Eagle lake is extremely steep. We did something like 1400ft elevation in a little under a mile. For some members of our group this was too extreme and had to turn back about 1/3rd of the way up. At about 2/3rds of the hike, there is a boulder field that you need to traverse, this was probably the hardest part for the dog that was hiking with our group, but we were able to help him over the more difficult parts. After about Stone Lake the trail flattens out and it is a more enjoyable finish to Eagle Lake.

The lake is very peaceful and not as cold as you would expect. We were able to take a nice swim and refill/sanitize water for the trip back down the trail.

The lake at the end made the hike worth it, however be warned that it is a pretty difficult hike. It is extremely steep and will be difficult for some to complete.

Why do we all keep going back to Barclay Lake? Because we love it. Its the comfey old sweater you just cant throw away. Barclay Lake as always is wonderful. Its short but not quick, it invites you to linger, to contemplate, to wonder what those funcky coloured fungi are that show up in late August. Im out there at least 6 times a year. I dont mean to do it, it just happens. Its like visiting an old friend. So go visit your friend. The trail is in great shape and the lake is down a bit so there is plenty of beach area. No bugs or blow downs. Plenty of great camping.
Enjoy

After finding the road to Lake Elizabeth blocked, we shifted destinations and met my sister and her family at the Barclay Lake trailhead.

Note on the directions (both online and in the book): The forest road to the trailhead is 6024, not 6034, as noted. All the same, not too hard to locate.

Our nephews are 4 and 7 and they did awesome. They do not hike very frequently, and we thought that the entire trail may be too much for them. But a kid on the trail is a good thing, no matter how far you go, right?

We made it to the bridge over Barclay Creek and stopped there. The kids did awesome! My wife was in her element talking about the plants and flowers to them, pointing out different types of mushrooms and fungi, and picking huckle-, salmon-, and thimbleberries for them to sample.

Great dayhike, and look forward to going further on it in the future!

Nice sunny day. Trail conditions were very good. This is a popular trail for families and dogs. It has enough elevation changes to give you a light workout. You reach the lake in about 1.75 miles. You can stay on the trail to loop around or continue the steep 4 mile hike up to Eagle Lake. We chose to go down to one of the several beaches around the lake. There were a few campers and it is a nice area to hang out. Make sure you bring insect repellant. Many big, black, flies were out biting in force.

Reached the trailhead sometime after noon. The road was in good condition, just a few potholes. Found 30 cars parked at the trailhead (and along the road). Almost half of the cars were showing a Discovery Pass instead of the required Northwest Forest Pass.

The trail up to Eagle Lake was in great condition. Some wildflowers were still blooming. Encountered quite a few people on the trail, and saw more camped along the lake (though some good sites were still available).

Found the trail for Eagle Lake beyond the sign for the second toilet. The trail was rough but well-trodden and marked with a lot of flagging tape and cairns. Even so, we managed to lose the flagging for a short while on the way up. Turned around soon after reaching the boulder field, as we had run out of time and the weather was turning bad.

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/eric.jain/BarclayLakeJuly2012
Tracklog: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199278521

We wanted to do something easy, especially since one of my dogs had double knee surgery last fall and the other just had knee surgery on one leg three months ago - I wanted something easy as their first hike post-surgery - and so we chose Barclay Lake. The hike to Barclay Lake is very pleasant and easy to do. The hike starts out in the woods and weaves along the river for a bit, then crosses it via man-made bridge and slowly leads away from it. The weather was in the high 70s and wasn't too hot, which was perfect. We go to the lake pretty quickly and saw several people hanging out and one or two actually camping. The dogs enjoyed splashing in the water for a few minutes before we decided to head up to Eagle Lake... yeah... that part got steep in a matter of seconds... it was really brutal on the dogs and I am ever so grateful for the doggie suitcase handle on my little Sparrow (a Mini Aussie) because I was able to lift her over logs and rocks. Bheria (a White German Shepherd) was doing okay up until we got to the really rocky sections. That was a very hot area and very difficult to cross with dogs who were not at their peak conditions. After about the third section of rocks, near the very top of the ginormous hill, we decided to turn around while two other friends went ahead to Eagle Lake. Those friends later reported it was still a difficult climb and that the lake wasn't that showy - which is why I was okay with turning around and heading down.
One thing to really take note of is the trail markers - both ribbons and cairns/rock towers - it is really easy to miss them going both up and down, especially down over the rocks... so if you can, bring some more ribbons or pay super close attention to where you came up as there's a section that is easy to pass without seeing the way down.
When we came back the dogs played in the water a bit and I actually took two dips - brr - but it felt great after that crazy attempt to climb up to Eagle Lake.
Overall, Barclay Lake is great for beginner hikers or those who need an easy hike. The lake is really pretty and we could see some snow up at the mountain tops. The dogs loved it - up until the point where it was a steep climb and they began to have a difficult time.

Well worth the search. This was our second attempt at finding the Barclay Lake Trail. We didn't have the guidebook the first time and gave up on the drive in just short of the trailhead. The road in was in better condition than it was a couple of months ago.

The trail is in good condition, very little mud and no water. It was a busy place today, and there were a good number of campers at the lake.

We turned around at the southeast end of the lake and hiked back out. We're not morning hikers and it was getting too late in the day to continue on to Eagle Lake.

A large group (10 of us) did a peaceful hike to Barclay lake to enjoy the beauty of the valley Barclay lake sits in and get a moderate walk in on this perfect first day of Summer (unofficial but I think the first or perhaps second 80 degree day of 2012 in Western Washington).

The trail is mellow with ups and downs but nothing too severe. Some mud holes but these will quickly dry as the weather turns normal (i.e. warmer) and drier.

The lake had many young families camping and wading in the lake but we found a quite spot near the Eastern? end of the lake and had a 2 hour picnic before returning to our cars and retreating to Monroe for DQ burgers and ice cream.

Lots of water falls from the rock faces surrounding the lake which may not last more than a few weeks with the snow chutes melting out.

We were headed out from camping at close by Miller River(off Money Creek Campground). We decided to stop by and hike out to Barclay Lake. It was a gorgeous day(the day after the fourth of July). It was well trafficked and there was minimal parking for our big truck. It was an easy hike, we saw dogs and lots of kiddos. Pretty cool camp sites along the way. At the very end of the trail, we went left to a little creek. We waded through the ice cold water to get to a little rock island in the middle and sat and had a beer and some snacks. My boyfriend enjoyed climbing the trees that had been blown over the creek. It was an enjoyable hike.

Great hike even though the trail was very muddy in spots. We just sloshed through or around them. Lots of rocks and roots sticking up as well. We had mud splashed up to our knees by the time we got to the lake. We had 9 kids aged 8-18 and no one complained or even walked slowly. What a great trip.

Muddy on the way up (or over, because this is a flat trail). Lots of people out on day hikes, some kids with fireworks and some people fishing, but I had the lake to myself when the sun went down. No bugs but it got cold, downed wood is too wet to start a campfire.

It must be summer in Western WA because I hiked in the rain! Because of an urgent errand I ran this morning the rain caught up to me 1/2 way in to Barclay Lake this morning. My original plan was Wallace and Jay Lakes but I knew if the weather caught me I could turn and burn Barcaly before I got cold and wet. I arrived just before 10 and there were several vehicles at the trail head already including 2 that arrived right before me. The road up is fine as far as dirt roads go with no major surprises, just bumpy road. I hit the trail quick and got out ahead of the other group that was just starting with me.

I love this trail for its dark, mossy forest and big trees. There was only one mud hole of mention and a few water crossings that wouldn't even get tennis shoes very wet right now. The trail did have a bit of standing water on the way out as the rain picked up speed. Otherwise the trail was in great shape and I covered ground quickly. I saw one man with two young boys on the way out and when I arrived at the lake there was a group of women camping at the west end of the lake. I made my way about half way down the lake to the big flat area with a beach. The trees kept me fairly dry and the sound of the rain on the water was soothing. About 10 minutes after I got to the lake the group that started with me arrived. We talked for a bit before I moved on to another spot and snapped some more pics before leaving.

I got pretty wet heading back and encountered no other hikers. I didn't get cold as it was a warm summer rain and it was nice to have a quiet walk in the forest. I did the 4+ miles round trip with about a half hour at the lake in 1 hour 58 minutes.

 

Another, drove-by-it-a-thousand-times-but-never-had-the-time-to-hike-it hike. Barclay lake is worthy to wait out the Sunday afternoon traffic blues on Hwy2 or to take your 4 year old out to or just for a quick dose of wet, west-side.

The trail is wide and easy, although fairly muddy at the moment. I was looking for an easy hike with an advanced option for people in the group who wanted more would be able to do more. Romano's book lists going form the lake to Stone and Eagle lakes as an option. It took me a little while to find the trail and more =time to stay on it. It see little traffic and less maintenance so a braided trail meanders up the hill slope. Generally steep but not unreasonable. Stay just west (ascending right) of the creek and you wont get too off track. The talus slope below Stone lake was troublesome. Old cairn piles send you off left and it became obvious later when I found the contemporary trail where it was trying to guide you to. Next time I go up I'll destroy these old piles as they lead you into a dead end on the upper left side of this talus.

Once on track there is a decent cairn pile to follow through somewhat steep and large talus. The final push up the creek is steep and follows directly along the creek line. Watch for a spot ~200' below the pour over were the trail cuts hard right and into the woods. It is easy to miss. Stone Lake is still covered in snow but is melting fast. I did not go to Eagle Lake.

Second half of this trip I would only recommend to bush whackers.

This is not really a trip report - I just want to notify the owner that I found a little doggie raincoat a little way up the Eagle Lake trail a few weeks ago (keep forgetting to post). E-mail me, describe it, give me an address, and it's once again yours.

Trail wet and muddy but snow-free until the end of the lake.  Beautiful views through wispy cloud and mist!

Decided to make the trip to Eagle Lake and spend the night in the cabin. Trail to Barclay was nice. After Barclay the trail is steep. We followed the flags and put up some new ones. About a 1/4 mile from stone lake we encountered the snow. Snow was compact all the way to the cabin. We did fall through where the river was under us. That was kind of scary! (fell about 5ft) At the cabin was probably 9ft of snow. The lake is still frozen over and we walked out on to it and dug a hole to see where the water was. We never found it. At night the temp. got down below freezing and the mice in he cabin kept us up. We left some fire wood in the cabin for the next people. Hike back was very nice. Stone lake is still mostly frozen over.

Used my new ENO hammock from REI, hung it from the beams in the cabin and it worked great!

Hiked into Barclay with my 3 kids (ranging from 5 to 12) and had a great time. Found an open campsite near the lake with established fire pit. Day hiked/scrambled the next morning near where the lake empties down the creek and had a great time. A bit cold at night but very few bugs. Easy trip - trail in good condition and my 5 year old had no trouble. Enjoyed listening to the rock falls/avalanches from the peak across the lake. Good destination to break in kids on an overnight trip.

Trail is in reasonably good shape. A few tiny patches of snow on the upper parts. Campsites and north shore of lake are snow-free. Lots of campers this weekend, some generously leaving behind their cans, food scraps, and underwear. Thanks!

Nice view of Baring, which I only got up as far as the notch at 5500' where some very steep, soft snow, rain, and lack of an ice axe and gloves turned me around.

Trail overall is in good condition. Found that there was about 3 blowdowns, all easily passable. There was some snow/slush on the trail, but it was all easily traversed. The northern side of the lake had patchy snow, but we were able to find a snow free campsite. Finding dry-enough wood for the campfire was difficult, but after splitting some downed branches, we were able to get one going.

At the lake there was quite a few small avalanches tumbling down the mountain on the south side of the lake. Made for a great rumble that kept startling our dogs.

Lastly, we didnt find any snow on the forest road to the trailhead.

Got to the service road around 11am Saturday and it was clear until the last turn which had snow that forced most vehicles to park about 200 yards from the trail head.

The trail to Barclay had 3-4 small trees to crawl over and slushy snow on parts of the trail but overall the trail was in good condition.

Once at the lake the ground was mostly covered in snow and we saw few hikers throughout the day. We found a flat dry place to put our tent and collect enough dry fire wood to last the through dinner and before bed. The temperature was around 35 degrees Saturday night but was comfortable with layers and 5 degree sleeping bag.

Fished on Sunday but with no success and didn't spot any fish in the clear water.

I headed out on what turned out to be a very nice day. About 1 mile from the trailhead the road became inaccessible due to snow. There was one other car parked at this point, so I began to follow footprints. At the trailhead it became evident that there were several feet of snow covering everything as the picnic table was almost entirely buried. I began following footprints which wandered at times, however the easygoing terrain made route finding pretty easy and predictable. Once I reached the bridge over the creek it was a fairly easy ascent. I completed the hike without any traction devices, snowshoes, or trekking poles, but poles would have been helpful. About 1/4 mile from the lake I ran into 2 guys who had attempted to find the lake and camp, but instead set up their tent right in the middle of the trail. I continued onward in very deep snow and at times was almost crawling through it to stay afloat.

Once I reached the lake I discovered that it was almost entirely frozen. The weather had been quite warm on the hike, but at the lake the wind dropped the temperature quite a bit. Both Baring Mountain and Merchant Peak were awesome. I witnessed several small to medium scale avalanches on the upper reaches of these peaks as the warmer weather began to melt the snow. Overall it was a beautiful, quiet hike. From car to lake it took 1.5 hours.

We wanted to get an early start. We knew the forest service road 6034 would have snow on it. The Ford Explorer only got about a hundred yards up the road before it got stuck. After many attempts we decided to hike forest service road 6034 all the way to the trail head of Barclay Lake, about 4.2 miles. Not to far in we came to our first tree across the road. There were many more later on. I ended up turning around at the trail head with a friend. He twisted his hip pretty bad and we needed to get medical advice. We started the long trip back to the bottom. Meanwhile the other two kept going to Barclay Lake. They said the trail was difficult to follow but eventually made it. All four of us had on snowshoes the entire time. I would not attempt it without them.
The next day I went up in a lifted truck with off road tires to attempt the Forest Service road. We ended up removing some of the trees off the road. It was slow going and we eventually gave up, due to a lack of daylight.

Like many say, these are the current conditions, but as soon as the next long overdue snow shower hits, condtions will drastically change.

I was cautious about hiking this trail based off of the previous report. Road is very smooth with only about 3 potholes until crunchy and icey snow starts 1/3 mile from trailhead. I stopped a few hundred yards short of the trailhead as my Honda Accord started to slip and slide at an uncontrollable rate.

Snowshoes are not necessary on the trail yet. Patchy compacted snow throughout trail. Lake frozen over, almost solid. Beautiful trail and a great time to visit this winter wonderland with Mt. Baring draped in snow.

A Late start and an old dog influenced my choice. I've always wanted to climb Baring so I though that I'd go to Barclay Lake to do a mini-recon. The road was slicker than snot as I climbed in elevation. Just as I started to get concerned...oops. I spent an hour digging the car out and backing down the forest service road.

Lesson learned (again) that shoulder season is difficult in the roads. Pack your shovel and chains.

I drove over to Heybrook Lookout. The trail was snow free the whole way. Lots of water, no views.

Beautiful, beautiful hike. The trail was basically snow-free the whole way, but everything around the path was covered in white. The snow we did encounter was soft and not slippery at all. I suspect in a few weeks this will all be snowed over, but go this week to catch it before that happens.

This is a lovely hike, very easy, and the trail was maintained extremely well. It was pretty frosty up there and about 35 degrees, the lake is starting to freeze over and was making funny cracking sounds as the ice repositioned itself. Snow on the nearby peaks was spectacular. The lake was very still where it had not frozen and the reflection was so perfect it was disorienting. Had a hawk swoop over my head, it must have been close because the swoop was loud enough to be a bit surprising.

This is a two-part report. Part I covers Barclay Lake; part II covers Eagle Lake.

Barclay Lake:
The directions on the website are pretty accurate, with one exception. One turns left on Forest Road 6024 (not 6034). The Forest Service road is in pretty good condition with few or no potholes. There is enough parking for 10-15 cars at the trailhead, and we were able to find parking, though it was a partly cloudy/slightly drizzly Saturday.

The hike to Barclay Lake and back has some up-and-down to it, which makes it more interesting. It requires some effort, though it is not difficult. It travels alongside Barclay Creek and affords impressive views of Baring Mountain and Merchant Peak. The trail is easily passable and in good condition. There were some patches of water and mud on the trail, but not problematic.

From the lake, we could see reflections of Baring Mountain and the trees along the shoreline. Low clouds flirted with the surface of the lake. We followed the trail along the north side of the lake until we reached the "Toilet" sign next to one of the small wooden bridges near the end of the lake. There is a trail that leads uphill, with an open-air wooden toilet to the left. To the right, the Eagle Lake trail begins, marked by orange and pink ribbons tied to trees. We could not find the directional cairn placed by Janice Van Cleve on 8-5-11.

To read of our attempt to reach to Eagle Lake, see http://www.wta.org/[…]/

Our group began this gentle trail in the mid morning and the timing turned out to be just right as the mountains were socked in when we were driving to the trailhead, but the clouds lifted by the time we got to the lake and we had a grand view of Mt Baring.
On the return, a fog settled into the forest making an already somewhat mystical old growth look even more so.

This is a great hike for kids as it offers an interesting trail along Barclay Creek on the way and a great view at the lake.

I zipped out to Barclay Lake for a quick after-work hike. The clouds in the low-lands were thinning somewhat that evening with building high presuure, but they got thicker as I got closer to the mountains. It was a drizzling very lightly when I got to the trailhead, but that stopped quickly enough. The grey weather actually added some to the romance of the hike...it gave it a nice, fresh, peaceful quality.

This was hike 19 of my 30/300/30000 @ 30 challenge.

1. Deception Pass
2. Wallace Falls
3. Spencer Island
4. E. Fork Foss River
5. Lake Serene
6. Wallace Falls
7. Goat Lake (N. Cascades)
8. Boulder River
9. Third Beach to Toleak Point (Overnight)
10. Big Quilcene/Marmot Pass (Overnight)
11. Lake 22
12. N. Fork Skokomish (Overnight)
13. Welcome Pass/HIgh Divide
14. Golden Lakes/Sunset Park
15. Glacier Basin
16. Sunrise Area Trails
17. Park Butte
18. Mt. Pilchuck
19. Barclay Lake

So far: 19 Hikes, 165.1 Miles, 36300' Elevation Gain

The directions to the trail head say FS road 6034, the road is actually 6024. It is the only road, except some power line access roads, so no worries about getting lost.
There were about 7 cars in the parking lot when we pulled in at about 1030 (we would have been there sooner but the traffic in Monroe was, as usual, awful.) The trail is fairly level but it is rooty and rocky in places and there is some slick mud in spots, but overall very manageable.
There are lots of interesting things to see on the way to the lake. The trees here grow in some amazing shapes and everything is covered in bright green moss. The bridge over the creek is in great shape-make a sharp right to continue on the trail after you go over the creek.
Barclay lake is very pretty and Baring mountain is right there, in your face. There is also one of the biggest cedar trees I have seen in a long time. One lone Vine Maple along the lake has turned scarlet, but other than that not a lot of fall color yet.
We saw lots more people on our way back to the car, including several families with small children. Also saw some folks out mushroom hunting-they said it was not a very good year for mushrooms.
This was all in all a fun hike. This would be a good, slightly scary Halloween hike for kids, what with all the tree caves and big rocks hanging over the trail. Who knows what types of hobgoblins might be hiding in there.

Wet! I went on the "nice" day of the week. I have hike this trail offten and love the location and ease for a relaxing day hike. There was mud on the trail and it rained. When I arrived at the lake it was flat and calm but I could not see Barring Mountian due to the fog/rain mix. I had a nice lunch while I enjoyed the wildlife and fall colors as they are starting to turn. There were lots of cars in the parking lot but the trail did not seem crowded.

The trail to Barclay Lake is accessed from Forest Road 6024 out of Baring, WA. The gravel forest road is in pretty good shape at this time, but will likely deteriorate as the fall rains blow through.

The trail itself is a fairly flat grade from the trailhead to the lake with very mellow ups and downs. There are several puncheons on the trail and a nice bridge to cross Barclay Creek about 1.75 miles from the trailhead. There are some muddy spots and some areas are slightly overgrown, but nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year. There are a couple of interesting places near the lake where the trail crosses rock fields from landslides.

Once you are close to the lake, there are several areas where the trail branches off to the lake and some nice nice picnic areas. We were able to walk along the beach as well, but I'm not sure if this is an option later in the winter when the lake rises.

All in all, a great hike for adults and children alike.

the Barclay Lake trail is one of the easiest I have hiked, which makes for a nice warm-up period. Not much new info to post here, except that it was (like others have posted before me) challenging to keep fully on the route up to Eagle lake, especially now that the brush is at its tallest and the streams are also mostly dry, I got off track going up a couple times but it's pretty easy to find the way trail again in most places. Barclay lake is really low now and about half its normal size, the top half is all a big meadow with grasses growing heartily.

There were lots of little fish jumping after the millions of bugs at Eagle lake, and I saw one guy out on the other side with an inflatable raft; he might have been fishing but was definitely drinking. The meadows are worth the climb up, and I was thinking about going up Townsend but ran out of steam due to being out of shape and out of sunlight just after I got to Eagle lake.

All-in-all I would say this is a good hike for the fall when it gets a little cooler; I was drenched with sweat the whole way up the hill toward Stone and Eagle lakes, and the brush dying out after the first frost might make the going a little more pleasant. There will be some amazing colors on the sides of Mount Townsend and in the meadows as well, and I may go back there in October to see what it looks like.

Went to Barclay Lake today with my 2 boys. Trail conditions were pretty good. A bit rocky in areas and some roots over the pathway. It took 1 hour to hike to the lake and 50 minutes back to the trailhead.

It was pretty crowded at the parking lot. Lucky for us we got a late start and most of the people were leaving as we were hiking to the lake. This hike is popular and there were many campers as well, so don't expect to be alone.

Beautiful hike through the forest. Lake was calm. Great views of the lake and Baring Mountain. The water was cold but the kids still had fun jumping in. Check out my full review at http://livinthehikelife.blogspot.com/[…]/barclay-lake.html

The trail to Barclay Lake is in great condition. The trail continues along the shore of the lake, and this portion of the trail is a bit more rocky/rooty and there is one tree down to step over.

The views of Baring Mountain are incredible, the sound of the Barclay Creek is peaceful, and the foliage along the trail is interesting to look at.

The intent was the trek to Eagle Lake via Barclay Lake (I have never hiked either trail). Finding the trail to Eagle Lake was a big challenge and my first clue this was probably not going to happen today (go past the "toilet" sign, cross a small bridge and veer left in case you are interested). Got past the Wild Sky Wilderness sign but the trail was less than obvious (hiking alone + GPS without coordinates+ having trouble finding the trail= statistic). So, dogs and I turned around.

However, the hike to Barclay Lake was great (an addition to my "hikes to do with my grandkids when they get a bit older" list). What a beautiful lake with a great shoreline for camping, dogs, kids--there were a few families up camping and having a terrific time. Surprisingly, there were few bugs. In great shape, the trail was easy and the area was very clean for a popular hike. The drive up has a few potholes to watch out for but, all in all, not a wasted trip.

Arthur, my brother Jerry and I attempted to go up Merchant Peak. We decided to turn back below the second waterfall due to very loose rock and a late-season snow cave/bridge. We scrambled back down to the Barclay lake trail (#1055) and decided to continue on to do Townsend mountain above Eagle lake.
The trail up to Stone lake is not always easy to follow but there are some flags and cairns that help guide you there. The trail from Stone to Eagle lake is easy to follow but it can be hard to avoid the mud in Paradise meadow. This marsh is alive with wildflowers seldom seen on other hikes. We decided on spending more time in this area instead of continuing on to the Townsend summit. We did not want to traverse the trail back to Barclay lake in the dark. So we took more wildflower photos in the meadow before heading back to the Barclay lake trailhead.
We saw about a dozen others at Eagle lake and some came in from the SE on the 2.2 mile trail near Eagle creek..
Bugs were out and bothersome but occasional breezes helped keep them grounded. Best to bring some repellant and wear waterproof boots in the meadow marsh.
http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

The trail to Barclay Lake is short (2 miles), easy (only 200 ft. gain), and very pleasant. It has recently been brushed and cleared and is very popular. Lots of nice campsites next to the lake with stunning views of the soaring north face of Baring Mountain. Just beyond the campsites, the vegetation does encroach on the trail and there are a couple of blowdowns, but nothing insurmountable.

Eagle Lake, however, is another matter. It is a strenuous 1400' gain, most of which is in the first mile up from Barclay. If you really have to go there, cross the bridges at the far end of Barclay but stop just short of the last little water crossing. I put a triangle of three stones at the beginning to point it out. The first third of this route climbs steeply through forest with minimum underbrush. The path is barely discernable and intermittant. Flags on the trees are some help and the colorful clumps of coral root help take your mind off the pain. Near the top the trail is a bit more obvious as it approaches the rock slide. The middle third is the rock slide itself which is marked by flags and cairns. It is nasty, thickly overgrown in places, and very steep. At the top of this is another stiff climb over rocks through woods along the edge of another rock slide, but at least this portion is clear of underbrush.

Finally you reach Stone Lake, a pleasant little pond nestled in the trees. From here a much nicer trail takes off to the left over a hump to Paradise Valley. This is a very pretty place and possibly good for autumn colors. Lots of blueberries just budding right now and shooting stars and marsh marigolds share the bogs and rivulets with the frogs. No real trail here. Cut across country, spotting faded flags if you can, with Merchant Peak as your goal. Eventually you will come to a forest with a clear trail. This leads to the shore of Eagle Lake, wonderful views, and nice campsites. There is no snow and the bugs were not too bad. There is a cabin at the lake but we did not get to it. Round trip is 9 miles.

Eagle Lake and Paradise Valley are beautiful enough to justify at least a little improvement to the route to get to them. Even consistant, clear marking for a safe route would be very helpful.

We had a clear summer day for this hike and set out from the trail head around 12:30. There were a few cars in the parking lot, but we found a spot right at the top. The trail is soft forest floor with a lot of roots, but very easy to walk on and no water on the trail. There were two rocky points during the hike where it looks like there was a slide, but they are short and easy to make it over. Some areas of the trail are a bit overgrown, but easy to get through single file. The light through the trees was beautiful highlighting the new growth on the trees. About half way to the lake there is a bridge crossing the creek. This is a great spot for a water break. The bridge only has one railing, so walk with care especially with young children and spirited dogs.

Once we made it to the lake there were many campsites open and we found a little beach to stop for lunch. The bugs were present, but not persistent. This is a great hike for a warm day.

On the way to the parking lot there is a dirt road that is in good condition, but does have some large pot holes. The road lasts for 4 miles.

Left trailhead at 9:30 AM, parking lot was full or so I thought, I learned otherwise upon returning, cars went clear down the road. It was a great day for lunch at the lake. Many Many people at this small lake. All campsites were more than full. The lake is a little higher than I remember from past trips (it has been a few years). The bridge and creek are always one of my favorite spots, love the clear running water.

Trail is in amazingly good shape given the amount of foot traffic, not hike for solitude but none the less a beautiful day.

So we had a very memorable time. Going up to the trail head the only way on is over a train track and they were repairing it. It can take over an hour. and it happened going up and going down. the people at the store are very nice.the hike was great i'm a large woman and i was tired but it was worth it. it rain the whole night and my beloved husband did not want to carry wood so no fire so double check the weather it was nice in town and wet the higher we climbed. my 10yr old and my nephews age 11 and 14 came too, we did not swim due to weather but the water was clear. I do it again for the hike. it made me want to plan our next trip. also think before you pack if you cant burn it in the pit you have to carry it out!!!! paper plates not the metal ones we learned a lot.

Decided to add Barclay Lake to my hiking today July 17, 2011. This was hike 27 of 50 planned at age 50. It is located near Baring, Washington off Highway 2. The trail was about five miles round trip if you go to the end of the trail on the east side. Barclay Lake is at elevation 2422 with a gain of only 300 feet from the trail head. This was a nice little hike but I would recommend you add it to another hike the same day in the local area. Do not drive far to just see this lake. It is a nice lake but relatively average in size compared to others in the mountains of Washington. There is lots of mud on this trail from beginning to end. There is lots of water if needed and you will not be alone on this trail as a lot of people with dogs and kids on this trail since it doesn't required much stamina to get to it. The best views of this lake are at the west end as you first see the lake from the trail. Hike out to the log jamb or on the boulder right behind them. Views from the east end are obstructed by too much brush. All and all I nice little hike to add to the Lake Dorothy hike I did today also. Check out the videos of this hike or others I have done on my youtube channel at lmm3181 or click on my direct link of this hike below. They are safe to click on but if worried go to youtube and type in lmm3181 on the search engine and check out almost 100 other hikes I have done in Washington State.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULP5scikrsA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKgc6heqApg
Enjoy your hiking and get outdoors! Mike

The trail was beautiful, but our car was VANDALIZED. There were 7 or 8 cars when we set out in the afternoon. Upon our return at 5 PM, there were only 2 vehicles in the lot and both had windows smashed. We had suitcases and a laptop in the trunk. All was taken; the mat in the trunk was picked up and searched, glove compartment and compartment over radio was searched as well. Luckily, we had all of our money, ID, credit cards,passports,cell phones, hiking gear and raincoats with us. Unfortunately, we had to spend a day and a half replacing all of our clothing, luggage, medications, etc. (Spare eyeglasses were also lost.) Simple things you put in your suitcase.

So please, if you are hiking and have to have your luggage in your trunk as we did, make sure you have your valuables with you. (Don't make it profitable for the criminals.) Luckily, some of our sandals and extra shoes were left in the car and they did not take that.

We have replaced the laptop with a netbook. We like to make reservations online when we travel across a state. The netbook will be in our backpack next time we hike.

Finally, we did have our camera with us, so this act did not cause us to lose all of the great memories we gathered while hiking the great state of
Washington. Just be careful out there; this can happen at any trailhead.

Visited Barclay Lake before heading over to Heybrook Lookout. There were only two other cars in the parking lot. After letting the second group start ahead of us, it was a nice solitary and easy walk to the lake. Saw the first party camping and the second party again having breakfast by the lake. There were plenty of spots to stop and admire towering Baring Mt. The lake was so still. The trees and mountains were perfectly reflected in it. A few mosquitoes on the trail. One area where a rockslide occurred, some trees downed, and some mudholes but nothing problematic.

We headed to eastern Snohomish County this morning to hike on the Barlcay Lake Trail. We were not disappointed. Here are the highlights of this 4-mile roundtrip hike.

* 1 hour 15 minutes from our home
* 500ft elevation gain (great for families)
* 2 miles, 2 miles out (We didn’t spend our entire day on the trail)
* Beautiful hike through a mature forest (really beautiful and serene setting)
* Mostly parallels Barclay Creek (we love hikes along moving water)
* Beautiful destination at Barclay Lake with a great view of Mt. Baring

We spent a few hours on the trail, ate lunch and explored. While we saw only a couple groups on our hike to the lake, we passed more than 15 groups (90% with kids) on our way back to the trailhead. I think for the same reason we enjoyed the hike these groups were on the trail. Also, we saw a couple dads with their kids backpacking in this area.

Read more, and view photos, at http://www.brettandlaura.com/2011/06/12/barclay-lake-hike/

Arrived at the trail head about 10am. One other car parked, but I guess thats the bonus of going on the Tuesday following a 3 day weekend. The avalanche debris/snow field mentioned in earlier posts is easy to cross. Snow is well packed, and the dog loved the crossing. While at the lake, was graced by some thunder, wow, what a rumble. The lake valley caused it to echo throughout, almost deafening, but wouldnt have wanted it any other way. All in all, trail was in good condition, a little mud, and no blowdowns remaining.

Happy Hiking!

Hit trailhead at about 10:45, 3 other cars. Trail starts snow free but as you go way more than I expected. Slippery/icy and yak trax/spikes would be helpful and I definitely rcommend them. Snow was packed to somewhat loose not much postholing but tricky in spots, quite a few blowdowns some removed (thanks volunteers) some not, not too hard to get around but some are a little tricky. Poles were really helpful.The bridge is clear and dry but a blowdown right on the parking lot side of it to step across. Across the chute the trail fades and picks up due to snow but its very obvious which way to go. Sprinkled a bit, lunch at the lake, couldn't see much of the mountain which really makes this hike-too bad. On the way out saw lots of people, kids and dogs of all kinds. A lot of people said they couldn't believe there was so much snow up there this late. Always a good short hike but I would wait a couple/3 weeks for the snow to go. Road up is really good with one washout easily crossed with 2 wd truck no problem.

Well I hate to tell everyone the news, but Barclay lake is accessible to the trail-head. The road is clear. The trail is great for the first mile or so then a blowdown on the bridge (did not hurt the bridge) then after that about 5 or six more. All are easily crossed. Very little snow left on the trail.
There is an older avalanche spot to cross, it can fool you. Just head straight across and you should see the trail ahead. many have bushwacked off the trail because it just a very short jaunt to the lake from there. The lake is clear and the sites are great.

I met two boys who camped the night on the south-end. They heard cracks of avalanche all night across the lake. I heard and saw one while I was there.

There were 4 cars in the lot at 10:30 and when I returned there were 12. so go early to get a good spot to watch for Mt Baring nature works.

In spite of the NFS Road / Trail Status report at the absurdly long URL:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/[…]National%20Forest-%20Alerts

Forest Road 6024 is NOT blocked at MP 0.5 by a downed tree. In fact, there are no downed trees at all on the road.

That's the good news; the bad is that you can't drive to the TH due to deep (2-3 ft), wet and heavy snow starting about 0.5 mi from the trailhead at about 2300'. 4WD won't help right now - you'd need a SnoCat to get through this stuff. So imagine what the snowpack is like up high!

But, the Barclay Lake trail is only two miles to begin with, so road-hiking the last 0.5 miles to the TH is not a big deal. It just changes a lazy 4 mile hike into a not-quite-as-lazy 5 mile hike. Turns out that, as a bonus, there are also great views of Merchant and Gunn Peaks along the way, views not seen along the actual trail.

The trail itself is snowy all the way, though packed down by previous hikers / snowshoers. But don't put on your snowshoes at the TH - you'll have them off within minutes as you begin to encounter the numerous blowdowns along the way. Though the downed trees are mostly large, none present any problems getting around. There's even a big blowdown across the bridge over Barclay Creek about 0.5 miles from the lake. It's such a big tree that at first glance, I was afraid that the bridge was wiped out. But we got lucky - the bridge is intact, though it is a bit awkward getting over the tree and down onto the bridge.

The trail is easy to follow until you get to the avalanche slope near your first glimpse of Barclay Lake. There was a very recent avalanche here, covering the trail in deep snow. From here on it's bushwhack city through deep snow if you want to go further. There are several boot tracks leading on, but I don't think any of them actually follow the trail. So strap on the snowshoes and continue through the fairly open woodland around the lake to gain the glorious views of mighty Baring Mountain, always an impressive sight.

The snow here is quite deep; I postholed up to my waist once, and spent a frustrating few minutes extracting myself from the heavy snow and tangled shrubberies underneath. It's harder than you might think.

Judging from this hike, it looks like it's going to be a while until we can get up into the high country.

Back at my car I noticed footprints all over my car, probably racoon or opossum, left by some hungry animal trying to get at the bananas in the trunk. Good thing it wasn't a bear....

Forest Road Report: Forest road from highway 2 is clear and dry up to within about a quarter mile of the trailhead. Slushy snow from there on. Road closure sign at that point. It was cold, rainy, and nasty so I did not hike the trail.

Trail was snow packed about 1/2 mile from lake. No need for snowshoes. Blown down trees, made it to the lake. Nice short hike.

I had some time open up on this Saturday afternoon, so I loaded up my 2 dogs and headed out for what I thought would be an easy afternoon hike. My 50# dog landed wrong about a half mile in and was not able to take another step. I wrapped the front "ankle" in sheets of moleskin to stabilize it, but still she could not walk. I called in a few friends who feared they could not arrive before dark. Knowing that I did not have the strength to carry her, I was resigned to wait until THE MCMULLEN family appeared. They graciously offered to carry Cutter. She remained passive as they handed her off back and forth. I raced to the vet and we went through xrays, etc. Hopefully it is just a bad sprain. My lessons learned? When hiking with dogs, carry a sling to support their weight while they try to walk and a splint and tape. Secondly, when you are the recipient of this level of kindness and generosity, make sure you pay it forward. Thank you Steve Jane and Beth!

The road to the trailhead is in decent shape, not many potholes. There are some larger rocks and a lot of fallen leaves so if your car has puny tires like mine you probably want to take it slow. There were also some small branches that had fallen onto the road.

Started hiking at 8am, only car in lot. Hike to Barclay Lake is really easy and not much water on trail. There is mud in spots but nothing shoe-sucking. I was going to go straight up to Eagle Lake but could not find the trail at first. I wandered around for 10 minutes before going back to the toilet sign, then I remembered it was supposed to be 100 feet past the sign. Easy enough (and marked, not sure how I missed it).

The trail up to Paradise Meadows was really difficult. You start out in the woods, in what is very steep terrain. The path is not maintained and I lost it several times. There are many tags tied to trees to keep you going the correct direction, so I found my way without getting totally lost. You come out on to a boulder field that is really easy to cross/climb (you're still going up fast), lots of markers here. Good views of Mount Baring as well.

After the boulder field you go back into the woods and ascend more steep terrain. This was truly the hardest hour of hiking I've ever done. You come out to Stone Lake, which is more of a pond, and was reflecting Townsend Mountain. The meadows had a lot snow covering places and the entire place was one HUGE mudhole. There was literally nowhere to walk without getting your feet wet on trail or off.

My intent was to head to Eagle Lake and start up Townsend Mountain a little ways to get a nice view, but my progress was stopped by a stream that was really deep and really wide, not crossable without taking my shoes and socks off. I had nothing to dry my feet with after a crossing and my feet were already pretty wet. The wind was also very present with decent gusts making me colder. I turned back after taking some pictures.

The way down through the upper forested section was very difficult and I slipped many times. The boulders were easy enough and I noticed way more markers on my way down. Back in to the wood where things got very tricky. The path I took down was clearly not the one I took up. It was much easier in-fact, and was further to the east a ways along the creek that empties out of the upper mountain. Came out at the same spot though.

Hiking out I encountered a party of three, the only people I'd seen all morning. Was at the car just past noon. Hiking poles would probably be a good idea for this one, along with some better shoes. I was really disappointed in not being able to gain some vertical feet for a nice view on such a nice day.

Hiked to Barclay Lake with a girlfriend who has just a little bit of backpacking experience. We pitched our tent on the sand bar at the east end of the lake. Very few biting bugs, but plenty of may flies at night.
Weather hiking in was perfect - probably mid 70's and sunny.
We attempted to day hike to Eagle Lake, but at the big boulder field ~1 mile up we decided to soak up the views of Mt. Baring and head back to our camp. It was a pretty serious slog (as my hike books suggested it would be) and we didn't bring enough water. We encountered a group of group of guys with full backpacks and fishing gear heading to Eagle Lake - one of which had a prosthetic leg. He won the badass of the weekend award!
Most campsites around the lake were occupied, but never felt crowded.
Sunset was gorgeous around 8:30!
All in all, easy hike and great way to get friends out for a night.

Great hike for my wife (infrequent backpacker), two kids (8 & 10 yrs-old son and daughter) and another family with a 6-yr old son. The view of the adjacent mountain and hillsides was really something. With almost no elevation gain we negotiated the trail in just over an hour with almost no complaints of being tired. The river next to the trail about a half mile in made a nice break and the bridge just before reaching the lake was a real hit. Of course, the great weather was a bonus. I was pleasantly surprised to have a choice of campsites even though we didn’t reach the lake until early afternoon on Saturday. We found one that would accommodate 3 tents (I take two for my family since I don’t have one big enough to fit the four of us). The lake was convenient from almost all of the campsites. The pit toilet is at the end of the trail at the east end of the lake. We bush wacked around the west end (outlet end) of the lake to the “big rock” and found quick swims in the small pool behind the rock to be a fun and refreshing afternoon activity. The water level was just right to make the sandy beach a perfect (and less risky) place for a wade/swim. Bugs weren’t a problem. They came out in the late morning and after dinner, but not in quantities sufficient to require bug juice. I tried a little fishing, but the fish were surfacing near the middle of the lake so we had oatmeal for breakfast. I’m sure I’ll go back to Barclay Lake again.

Great hike for my wife (infrequent backpacker), two kids (8 & 10 yrs-old son and daughter) and another family with a 6-yr old son. The view of the adjacent mountain and hillsides was really something. With almost no elevation gain we negotiated the trail in just over an hour with almost no complaints of being tired. The river next to the trail about a half mile in made a nice break and the bridge just before reaching the lake was a real hit. Of course, the great weather was a bonus. I was pleasantly surprised to have a choice of camp sites even though we didn’t reach the lake until early afternoon on Saturday. We found one that would accommodate 3 tents (I take two for my family since I don’t have one big enough to fit the four of us). The lake was convenient from almost all of the camp sites. The pit toilet is at the end of the trail at the east end of the lake. We bush wacked around the west end (outlet end) of the lake to the “big rock” and found quick swims in the small pool behind the rock to be a fun and refreshing afternoon activity. The water level was just right to make the sandy beach a perfect (and less risky) place for a wade/swim. Bugs weren’t a problem. They came out in the late morning and after dinner, but not in quantities sufficient to require bug juice. I tried a little fishing, but the fish were surfacing near the middle of the lake so we had oatmeal for breakfast. I’m sure I’ll go back to Barclay Lake again.

On the first upper-70's day since Noah landed the ark, DestinationUp headed for Barclay Lake. Travelling with me today were my 13YO son (DestUp 2.0), my 8YO son (DestUp 2.1), and the Wonder Pup (who is *so* important that he gets his own name).

2.0 headed straight down the trail, and 2.1, the Wonder Pup, and I followed. Trail is in great shape, with just a few dribbly little streams to cross. Only one blowdown, which is easy to duck under. But as 2.1 will tell you, be careful of the branches sticking out of the bottom. Almost no bugs, but a quick spray of low-strength bug dope wasn't amiss.

We met a hiker who was looking for the Eagle Lake trail; he saw something, but it only went up a ways before petering out. I wasn't there myself, so that's only secondhand.

2.1 and I were here last August, and it was fun comparing the water levels. We saw a log sticking some 75 feet out into the lake; we remembered climbing under it last summer.

Of course, 2.0, intrepid and slightly crazy Boy Scout that he is, decided to swim out to the end of that log. He would like all of you to know that yes, the water is still a bit chilly, but after twenty-four hours, he's mostly thawed out.

It was a beautiful, warm day on the Barclay lake trail. After reading about this particular trail on the WTA website, we decided to give it a try. Parts of the trail were still quite muddy from the recent rain, but for the most part the trail was quite solid and dry. The road, like most forest roads, was quite heavily potholed, and people were going way too fast on their way down, especially around corners, so be very careful when you drive up the hill! (The parking area had the best-smelling and cleanest Honey Bucket I've ever used as well!) The only downside to our hike was the inability to get close to the lake to take photos. There were *so* many people camping that there was just no where to go. We walked all the way to the end of the trail but it was packed with screaming kids destroying a lot of the undergrowth as they ran up and down the hill, and also with large groups of teenagers and college students drinking and being *extremely* loud. (Also with people fishing that walked right into my tripod-setup scene I was taking a picture of, started fishing, then saying "oh, sorry, were you taking a photo?" when the camera was pointed right into the area he walked into, and just went back to fishing!) We were a little frustrated, and saddened to see people not respecting the land!

When you first turn off of highway 2, and start on the forest road 6024, the first quarter mile is full of potholes, after that the road is in fairly good condition. We arrived at the trailhead around 11am and already over 50 cars parked. The trail was in good condition, and crews were doing maintenance on it. If you are hiking with children under 10, could take a while and in places will need to carry them. Lots of campers hiking in, and many tents already set up at the lake. Great day to go, although slightly crowded. Lots of dogs, and dog poop. Watch were you step when you get to the lake.

It was our first hike in Washington, the weather was cloudy and the clouds were low enough to cover the tops of the hills on the sides of the trail, but still we enjoyed the forest and when we arrived - the lake. The weather wasn't that great, so there were not so many cars - when we came there at around 12, I counted 7. It was a little wet on the trail.

I counted around 50 cars at the trail head at 1:30pm. The rest of the hike was nice in that I didn't run into all 50 cars worth of people <G>. Trail was in good shape. I usually do this hike on a week day.

I took a group from work on a hike to Barclay Lake. All were non-hikers, but found themselves enjoying the trip. This trail is an easy introduction to the wonders of hiking: moss covered trees, noisy creek, interesting bridge, lovely wild flowers, impressive mountain peaks, peaceful lake, etc. On the way home some of us stopped at Eagle Falls. I was surprised to find such a lovely falls right there beside Highway 2!

For photos: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

We hit the trailhead at around 11:15. The hike to Barclay Lake was a nice warm-up for the ascent up to Stone and Eagle Lakes. We were the only ones to head out to Eagle Lake that day, although Barclay was fairly busy.

The snow wasn't a problem until just after the boulder field on the approach to Stone Lake (pond). Taking a few short stops and finding our way back to the trail a few times, we arrived at Eagle Lake around 3pm. We grabbed some chairs from the cabin and bask in the sun, which was reflected off about 4 feet of snow-(which we didn't need snowshoes for.)

We left around 4pm and pretty much ran down the mountain, passed a few families camping at Barclay and were back at the car by 5:40. A fun hike!

The perfect time of the year to go. Trail is snow free in great condition with little mud, Mountains still have plenty of snow to view, Great time to watch snow avalanches off of Bering while at the lake.

We could not have wished for better weather, blue skies with interesting clouds, warm temperature, to early for bugs and an easy trail with a great pay off of a view of Barclay Lake and Mt Baring. There werw a few wild flowers in bloom and lots of bright green new foliage coming out. The trail is in good condition with a few muddy areas. At the lake our group ate lunch and listened for and saw several avalanches coming down chutes on Mt Baring. Some found their way down the paths of water falls which obliterated the water for a bit and then the falls would once more continue with just water cascading down.

Like other WTA members, I combined these two hikes into one day of hiking. It was great!

The Heybrook Lookout trail was a bit muddy, but nothing as bad as the last trip report indicated. Glad the trail has recovered from the 100-person group.

I was pleasantly surprised by the scenery on this hike. I assumed that since it was right off Hwy 2 it wouldn't be great, but the mossy green forest at the start of the hike is beautiful. The views from the lookout are also wonderful. It took me about 1:10 to do this hike, which included climbing the lookout and hanging out up top for a few minutes.

After Heybrook, we drove over to Barclay Lake. The WTA driving directions tell you to turn on FS 6034, but it's actually 6024. Not too hard to figure out, though.

As with Heybrook, I was pleasantly surprised by Barclay too. I usually prefer hikes with some elevation change, but the scenery kept me interested enough that I didn't mind the flat "boring" stroll. The trail runs through a valley with snow-capped mountains on either side, and when you can't see mountains you can enjoy the creek and the forest. Before you know it (45 minutes), you are at the lake. It's gorgeous there, especially when the water is glassy and reflecting the surrounding trees/mountains. We stopped and had lunch along the shore.

We loved this hike. It would be great for visiting family/friends who aren't interested in a long slog, but want to see what the Cascades are about.

I'll comment on just the Eagle Lake part of the hike.

The trail is marked only by surveyor tape and rock cairns, and gets more difficult to follow near Paradise Meadow where the snow is deep. The markers here are either non-existent or covered by snow, but there are some boot tracks leading to Eagle Lake. It's not difficult to find the lake from the meadow area, though - just follow the creek through the meadow until you hit the lake.

Apparently this unofficial hike is getting popular, as evidenced by the condition of the trail. I was here in early Dec. 2009, and the trail was a bit difficult to follow as it was rather faint. Now it's almost impossible to miss, showing some wear and tear. Since it's pretty steep, boots slip easily on the treadway, ripping off chunks of the upper layer.

Our destination was Eagle Lake, but first we had to go to Barclay Lake. The trail to Barclay is a pleasant stroll through moss and lichen laden trees and boulders with little elevation gain. Baring Mountain was spectacular with it's fresh dusting of snow. Near the end of Barclay is a toilet sign and a bridge. On the other side of the bridge is the steep old trail to Eagle Lake. It climbs and climbs past a tumbling stream and through many boulder fields well marked with cairns. We encountered snow that kept getting deeper as climbed until near Eagle Lake it appeared to be about four or five feet deep. However we did not need snow shoes or traction devices.

At lower levels, the trail to Eagle Lake braids up the mountainside. I recommend staying to the right and following the pink or orange tape.

Eagle Lake was beautiful and very peaceful. We had the lake and the lovely views all to ourselves as we ate lunch. Given the popularity of Barclay Lake, we were surprised to only encounter sixteen people all day.

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Hit the trail head about 11am, two other cars in the parking area. Trail is clear to Barclay Lake, although there is patchy snow on either side. Lake is almost totally frozen over, which is odd because I was here about a month ago and less than half of it was covered with ice... Looks like old man winter got one last punch in up here. Disappointing to us anglers because I was really hoping to get a line wet. After lunch we decided to take an adventure and try our hand at the Eagle Lake hike as well. Found the trail just past the toilet and headed straight up the hill. Wow! That hike is no joke. Tough going for two amateurs and a dog with day packs on. Took us an hour to make it up to the snow line, where a major rock slide is (old one). I'm guessing this is about 2/3 of the way to the lake, but I've never actually been there so it's just a guess. Hike down is even more treacherous than the hike up. Watch your knees and ankles!

Super bowl Sun.-a super day to go hiking. The day started with breakfast at the Sultan Bakery with a few friends. For some of us it was too much food to finish if we wished to keep up--there were some that we were trying to bloat to slow them down.We meet the rest of the "hikers" at the trailhead at 9:30. What little rain we had on the way to Sultan had now stopped. It would not get as sunny as I expected but you take what is given and we all know that any day on the trail is great and sometimes even better because you are not carrying in tools. A last minute check around Mike's car confirmed that we would be empty handed. This trail has been worked by WTA and is in excellent shape.
 We decided on this trail because of its distance and ease of walkiing. It did not disappoint. Along the way we talked about the many good times we had out here--even though it was not Thur.,We TAlk Alot. Along the way a few people went where they had not been before but eventually we all made it to the lake.
We moged about while having lunch. We must have stopped before the best spot on the lake as there was no one else here. Lots of people passed us going in.
After lunch we headed out and even more people were coming in. WOW! This trail is busy-I think there were at least 20 other people out today. A fine time on the trail. Thanks to all. Let's get our boots sometime. Dick

We got an early start, thinking the weather would improve, and headed out to climb Merchant Peak. The fresh falling snow (above 3000')and the blocking cliffs and waterfall at 3400' made us turn back. We decided on heading to Eagle Lake. After going back down and hiking trail #1055 to the junction of the Eagle Lake trail we followed the flags through the forest, by Stone Lake and on to Eagle. The cabin at Eagle was a great place for our destination and lunch as the snow continued to fall.
There were some icy areas above Stone Lake so several used crampons, starting at the cabin, for safely going down. Temperature was around 30°F at the cabin (3900').
There was a surprising lack of snow around Barclay Lake and it was only partially frozen over. The road to the trailhead was also snow-free.
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In the mood for a quick and easy outing, we set out to Barclay Lake, just outside the town of Baring. This was the first time up forest road 6024, and found it to be in great shape. There were lots of side turn offs on the road to explore, so looking forward to going back. Mt. Baring, was an impressive sight, rising tall above the lake. A surprisingly large number of campsites circle the lake, and a surprising little amount of garbage. Overall, a pleasant stroll through dark mossy forests with the accompanying chatter from Barclay creek.

Jer
http://www.hikingwithmybrother.com/

Last hike of 2009 for me! I thought Barclay would be a perfect little hike for New Years Eve. I've done it before in the summer and loved it. Winter was no different! The forest service road(#6024) had about 3 inches of snow all the way up. Had to throw the chains on half way up. There were no recent tire tracks which concerned me at first but ended up being a blessing. Reached the trail head and saw that the trail head signs were covered for the winter. The trail was bare in places but mostly 3 inches of snow and a little bit of slush. I wore YakTraks the entire time and didnt have a problem at all with slipping. I took my dog and our tracks were the only ones I saw in the snow. Quiet and peaceful afternoon. Made it to the lake which was completely frozen solid. Started to snow and only got worse as I was hiking out. It gets pretty dark in those woods around 3pm so if you go, plan accordingly. A big storm blew thru there yesterday so I'm sure there is probably a foot of fresh snow. Beautiful winter hike. I will post pictures soon.

Having seen Barclay Lake only during dark and foggy weather, I wanted to see it on a clear sunny day. It was well worth the effort.

I also found, after a bit of poking around, the boot path to Eagle Lake and headed up the trail for an extended workout (it forks off to the left just before the Barclay Creek inlet at the end of Barclay Lake). The "trail" is hard to find and often hard to follow (think Mailbox Peak, but steeper and with deep snow). There are occasional red tape markers but, for the most part, you have to follow subtle trailsign. The snow-covered avalanche chute is more difficult; I was lucky to find a set of fresh bootprints from a hiker who apparently knew the way.

After a strenuous 1.5 hour bushwhack I finally got to tiny Stone Lake. Unfortunately the shadows were growing long and, not too enthusiastic about backtracking the route in the dark, I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and headed back down without seeing Eagle Lake. But the great views of Baring Mountain and Merchant Peak along the way made it worthwhile.

My wife and I took a drive up to the Barclay Lake Trail Head yesterday 12/02/09 with our Yorkie and it was a gorgeous day on the trail. No other vehicles were there when we arrived at 10:30am. The hike was cold but well worth it. The mud on the trail was frozen so it made for an easy clean hike to the lake. The lake had alot of ice on it but wasn't frozen completely. On the way back we passed 5 hikers headed to the lake. Nice time of year to get those last snowless hikes in without the crowds.

With the gravel approach road in very good shape and relatively little elevation gain, this is another good winter hike. You won't get much of a cardio workout, but the mountain views at the lake are worth the easy hike and there is even a small beach on the lake.

There is supposed to be a trail extension leading up to Eagle Lake, but I couldn't find a way across the inlet creek to get there.

Talk about mushrooms! The Angels Wing mushrooms were so plentiful that after I filled two sandwich bags, my hiking partner had to keep me in check with the command "Leave it!"

Barclay Lake is an easy 4 mile round trip with little elevation gain and plenty of lush mosses, deep dark forests, little holes under tree roots that any hobbit would enjoy. The trail to the lake is dry and well maintained with lots of fresh turnpikes. There is only one spot where an upended treeroot damaged the path. The lake has many good campsites, pleasant beaches, and the stunning face of Mt. Baring overhead. That's the easy part. The way to Eagle Lake is altogether different.

At the far end of Barclay lake is a sign for a toilet, then a wood bridge. Just after the bridge is a faint, unmarked trail going uphill. In fact, there are several faint trails evidenced only by the relatively thicker collection of autumn detritus and the occasional pink ribbons. There is a Wild Sky Wilderness sign and thankfully little undergrowth. In general keep the gurgling creek to your right and climb steeply. Evenually the various traces come together to ascend the first big rock slide. Follow the cairns. The way is steep, gnarly, and occasionally overgrown with young trees and nasty sticker bushes.

Finally we arrived at a pleasant flat meadow at the base of the second rock slide. The trail is easier to find and navigate here because it goes up the right hand side through the trees. At the top is little Stone Lake which already has a veneer of ice. From here the trail contours easily around the west side of the lake and down to Eagle Lake. We did not get beyond Stone Lake because it was already getting late. It is 8.5 miles round trip to Eagle Lake from the trailhead with 1700 ft. elevation gain - most of that in the cruel mile up to Stone Lake.

Barclay Lake and Heybrook Lookout are only a few miles apart, and they share more than geographic proximimty. They are also both great hikes to take novices and your non-hiking friends on. They are short, easy trails with no signifigant obsticles but with wonderful scenic payoffs.
Barclay lake is an almost level (50' elevation gain), well maintaned trail that is as water & mud free as any trail in Western Washington can be in November. Since the old growth forest I remember walking through as a child was logged most of the way to the lake, you can use the walk to explain the difference between an intensively managed (i.e. clearcut) tree farm and a natural forest, which you encounter as you near and walk along the lake. Trees were replanted along the trail over 40 years ago, but the understory is still a biological desert, except for the wood fiber. Plenty of sticks, cones and needles carpet the "forest" floor, but little else. The almost total lack of understory diversity gives meaning to the otherwise oxymoronic phrase "can't see the forest for the trees".
As you are just about in sight of the lake you come across an area opened by a small rockslide and get your first real glimpse of the towering vertical wall of Mount Baring to your right. Look to your left for a view of Gunn Peak, source of the rocky rubble on which your stand. For the best view of the lake, keep following the trail to the lakes infall creek, then duck under some thorny shrubs to a small opening at the creeks mouth. Enjoy the trout jumping, rippling the glassy surface.
After this short hike, those who still have some ambition and energy should head to the trailhead for Heybrook Lookout, located about 3 1/2 miles west on Highway 2, just across from the "Leaving Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest" sign. It's only 1 1/3 miles to the top, but the elevation gain is 850', which can be challenging for those not used to walking more than the width of a Mall parking lot. Most of that gain comes in the first half of the ascent, so gently prod your novices with the occasional "one step at a time" or "we're getting close now", and as the grade becomes gentler they'll feel as if they've hit their stride. Before you know it you come to an opening with Mount Index and Bridal Veil falls to your right and the lookout rising from the peak to your left, just a few feet away.
There are seven flights of starirs (68') to the top of the observation platform, from which the views unfold. South is Index, east is the Skykomish River valley winding its way between the mountains towards Stevens Pass, and to the left of that are Mount Baring and Gunn Peak, flanking the valley you just hiked to get to Barclay Lake. Kids faces will light up when they recognize it, a satisfied "I did that!" look on their faces.

This was my first time on the Barclay Lake Trail and I found it enjoyable and rather easy. The worst part of the trip was turning off Highway 2 with 3 or 4 cars behind me; I lucked out in that there was no on coming traffic and making the turn only required slowing and putting on my signal.

The delights of this trip are the forest (some second growth at the beginning but it gets better within a 1/4 mile) and Mt. Baring which is awesome from the lake shore. The guide said the hike was about 1.5 miles to the lake but it seemed closer to 2 or 2.5 miles. The trail is quite flat (rolling might be a better description) and a hike I may do for an overnight with my brother and his teenage son.

Fall was definitely in the air, temperature at the start of the hike was 40 deg. and it may have been cooler in the lake basin.

The weather forecast was favorable so we headed out to the Wild Sky Wilderness area for some exercise and to summit either Merchant or Townsend. Bush wacking up to Merchant was out after seeing how wet the vegetation was so we opted for Townsend since there is a trail much of the way. We bypassed the Eagle lake cabin going in and encountered very wet brush circling to the SE side of the lake and then up throught the boulder field. We made the mistake of continuing straight up over the, often, wet or icy slabs of rock and then gained the ridge around 5300' and continued on toward the summit. We turned back at 5400' since it was slow traveling on the slippery rocks and snow. Coming down we avoided the slippery rock and went down lower on the ridge, at the first tree-line, and cut back under the slab area and over to the well-used gulley.
We stopped at the cabin, since we saw smoke coming out of the chimney. We encountered several inside warming up with a fire. The cabin has been well cared for by someone. It use to be private and was locked for many years but now is open to all. After lunch there we continued down to the trailhead taking pictures of mushrooms along the way. Angel wings are at their peak right now. The trail to Barclay lake is in fine shape and the trail to Eagle lake is not too hard to follow, but not maintained. After Eagle lake a climbers path is visible through the brush and the boulder field is marked to the gulley/stream bed above.
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Kids and I spent a beautiful night at Barclay Lake this weekend. The water temperature is nice for swimming and was a great 'reward' for the relatively easy rolling-trail on a hot day. Talking about the trail, please watch out for a very active bee hive about 3/4 mile from the parking lot: the hive is on left-hand side, and was marked by blue tape; however, somebody removed this marker and we met several groups who'd been stung.

There are many campsites at the lake, even on a busy weekend. Unfortunately, people have gotten 'adventurous' with fire pits - we cleaned up a few, and put one out that was still smoldering. The back-woods toilets are in good condition, and the stream coming into the lake had many great places for pumping water.

And the special surprise in the morning was the group of parachuters who base-jumped off the mountain above down to the beach shore.

There were only a few cars in the lot on this non-holiday Monday; in fact, we only saw a couple of small backpacking groups and maybe ten sets of hikers. I did see several who were woefully unequipped for anything more than lunchtime.

It's a nice, gentle hike with only a little up-and-down...great for kids and inexperienced hikers. The water in the lake is low right now, and the north end isn't more than a few feet deep around the rocks...good for wading if you've got water shoes and don't mind mud.

Minor mosquitos/flies. Bring your DEET and you won't have any trouble.

Three of us, including grandson, started out about 8:30...parking lot was about half full at that point. When we departed at about 4:00, cars were parked along the forest road for a long way.

Hike was pleasant, about 1 1/2 hours in and the same out, with us taking our time. The bridge across the creek was a great photo op and lovely spot.

We fished from the shore for about 3 hours with no luck, but saw several folks as we were hiking in that reported success in the early morning.

The big excitement came with a rock slide at the top of Mount Baring! Thought we were hearing thunder, looked up, and there was a significant cloud of dust, with rocks falling right at the top!

Great hike!

Read lots of trail reviews for Barclay Lake before doing a two day, two night trip on July 11th and 12th. Based on the reviews I was kind of concerned about both bugs and crowds of people.

There were 6 in our group...three of us Dads and three sons/nephews ages 12, 13 and 15. The hike in took just under an hour, the hike back...just over an hour.

Good news; we only ran across five other groups (small groups, couples mostly) the entire time. Bugs...none really to speak of. I was surprised about that considering the time of year.

Great news; we were hiking up a scree field on the East side of Baring peak when we heard the *whompf* of parachutes opening. We were blessed with watching 2 more B.A.S.E. jumpers in wingsuites launching off the West side of Baring peak, arcing across the sky right above us and landing on the lake shore. True professionals!

What would have made a great hike even better? If the hikers down the lake from us had a dog that didn't bark constantly. Day and night bark, bark, bark that echoed across the lake. However, if I have to choose between a single barking dog or the rumble of a single excavator clearing trees. Well, I pick the annoying dog every time. Keep the trails used and let the world know you find them valuable as is.

Enjoy the hike and the lake.

The trail to Barclay lake is easy, with very little elevation gain. Nice lake with Baring in the background.

I planned to climb Townsend Mountain from the Barclay Lake trailhead, via Stone Lake (which is most of the way to Eagle Lake). I didn't make it, but had fun nonetheless. Look near the end of this report for details on how to find the Eagle Lake trail.

The Barclay Lake trail is well maintained and easy to travel, with no problems. There were a half-dozen cars at the trailhead when I got there at 9:30am (when I got back at 5:30pm, there were only a few cars there, but some were parked very far down, attesting to how full it had been in my absence). I didn't meet anyone on the 30-minute hike to the lake, but there were a dozen or so people at the lake. Nice views of the dramatic N face of Baring (which can be climbed by a much easier - though still challenging - route, also from near the Barclay Lake trailhead).

I planned to go to the far end of Barclay and then go on an 80-degree bearing to 3000', then follow Stone's outlet stream (something on the map is wrong, because I crossed what turned out to be Stone's outlet stream almost immediately). This is NOT a trail, but was a fun exercise in compass navigation through forest (I might have a slightly weird sense of fun). There was brush, but it wasn't too bad. Around 2800' I saw skyline at a ~40-degree bearing, and changed course to it. This lead to slopes of moss-covered talus (dry, so easy to walk on), and a break in the trees that lead to awful brush - blackberry and Devil's club, foremost. At one point it took me at least five minutes to go 20 feet - do not go this route. Going west I eventually came across a flagged bootpath.

I got to Stone Lake, which was a very pleasant spot (after putting on some insect repellent), and there was no one else there. I struck out across Paradise Meadow, which is actually a bug-filled bog. The going was slow, and I only reached the lower slopes of Townsend by my turnaround time. Nice views of Merchant from here, though.

On the way back, I followed the flagged trail all the way back to Barclay. It is either distinct or well-flagged (pink) the entire length, and is in reasonably good shape. It's not a maintained trail, however. (There are a few older orange flags that appear to follow the same trail.)

If you want to follow the trail up (a good idea), go to the end of Barclay Lake, but not the very end. You will see orange flagging for a toilet (the second toilet at the lake), and the toilet trail continues on to merge with the Stone Lake bootpath. This is just before a short wooden boardwalk. Just on the far side of the bordwalk is an unflagged beginning to the same bootpath that doesn't go past the toilet. If you start walking through campsites, you've gone too far. The bootpath stays to the west of Stone's outlet stream.

I would not recommend Paradise Meadow or climbing Townsend this late in the year. It would be a nice trip with a good snowpack. (There are some areas of snow now, which were a little sloppy but pretty good to walk on. Not nearly extensive enough, and melting fast, though.)

This is a great little day hike. The trail is easy to navagate, and the terrain is gentle some minor hills. The lake at the end is beautiful, and there is a great view of the peak above and surrounding mountains.

The parking lot was packed and overflowing when we arrived mid day. We saw a half dozen groups on our way into the lake. The lake was secluded and there were only two groups there for the half hour we stayed. One of them was camping there the other group were day hikers like us.

The hike was mostly forrested. It crossed a couple minor stream and one major one. There were several nice rest spots along the way as well as several small meadows. There were both sun and shade available at the lake.

This is a great hike.

Stunning lake as the granite monolith of Baring Mountain soars skyward across the water. As many others have noted, however, you will not have this place to yourself because 1) it is a very easy hike (two short miles to the lake without any elevation gain); 2) it is a rather short drive from some nearby metro areas. Got to the trailhead at 9:15 a.m., was 11th vehicle there. While I retrieved my daypack from the pickup and laced up my boots, three other vehicles arrived. Took about 45 minutes to walk to the lake. On the way out between noon and 1 p.m., I musta passed at least 100 people heading up, many with dogs, perhaps 20. Trail very well maintained. No bugs.

The hike was great but busy. It was a beautiful and sunny day with temperatures in the 70's and dry. At the trailhead there were 10-15 cars when we arrived around 10:30 in the morning and when we left around 1, there were even more cars. It was a busy trail with possibly 40 people traveling on it today. But despite the business of it, it was beautiful! There's a bit of snow on Baring Mountain, but the trail was completely cleared, but there are still a few mudspots along the way, but very minor. Enjoy!

A Wonderful, easy hike.

We arrived early, around 9:00 to get the hike started with very few other cars at the trail head. The privy that is provided is little more then a wooden box with a hole in it, and no walls! So if you're squeamish, make sure to answer any of natures calls in Gold Bar, or Index.

The hike was sunny, cool, and slightly breezy with wonderful smells coming from some of the early blooms and the trees around. The creek is running strong, with clear, beautiful water that I had no problem filtering and drinking.

As for the lake itself, we ran into a lot of people coming down, having camped the night before at the camp ground around the north side of the lake. It's easy to find places to let other hikers pass, and everyone is most assuredly polite and pleasant.

After stopping for lunch at the lake, which is one of the most clear lakes I have ever seen, we strolled around the shore a bit, but decided to pack up and head back to the car. All in all, around 4 hours for this 5-ish mile day hike.

On the way back to the trail head, we ran into several dozen folks headed up to the lake. Once we got back to the car around 2 pm, The trail head was completly overrun with cars and people, all getting set for the hike ahead. So, if you want solitude, go on a week day, get there early, or settle for a non-sunny day.