There is now a long hike in on a steep, rocky road to get to the actual trail. Once on the trail, it's pretty nice until you get past the junction for Lk Margaret. At that point, expect overgrown brush, downed trees (passable, but annoying) and steep trail at times. My memory did not kick in and, while on a descent, I kept thinking I had detoured to the fisherman's trail that goes straight down to Rocky Run.

The lake is pretty, the views are nice and the flowers, particularly Valerian, are out. But there is much work to be done here (if only I had been able to sign out loppers from the WTA work party the day before on Gold Creek).

I had a serious moment of confusion (too young for a senior moment) as I was returning on the trail after the Margaret junction. I had just come over several blowdowns and had unknowingly stepped over an intentional downed tree that blocks a maze of dead-end trails. After dead-ending several times, I retraced my steps, knowing the trail stays in the woods a while. Sure enough, once I stepped back over the tree, I saw the correct trail descending. I tried to stack up some branches so this doesn't happen to anyone else.

Although Lake Lillian is nice, I probably won't be going back until this area sees some serious improvements. Maybe the fisherman's trail will become a better option!

We set off from the parking lot through the rough roads leading to the actual trailhead. It was a great trail; lush, clean, and boasting views all the way up to the tree line (old growth) found as you near the ridge line.

As we enter the old growth, the chilly blast caused by all the enclosed snow made it evident we would have to decide on whether it would be safe to proceed. With lots of packed snow to get through and amounting to 2-3 feet before reaching the ridge, it was obvious we would not safely complete our trip granted to steep slopes involving the Lake Basins and having minimal equipment.

For those more experienced hikers, should you choose to this, I highly recommend poles and at the very least some good microspikes. Also, don't do this alone

Fall hike into Lake Lillian via the Margaret Lake trail (#1332). Trailhead is off Forest Road 4832, then Forest Road 4934. Parking area marked for Margaret Lake trail. Several piles of glass in parking area indicated high car prowl area. We were relieved to return 7 hours later and find no damage to our car.

Arrived at TH at 10:00am. No other cars. Trail hikes up a dirt road about 1/2 a mile and then veers left into a hillside up a clear cut area. Signage is poor, but someone had placed stones on the road to call out the path. Clear cut hike is fine in the fall. Trees about 10-12 feet high and lots of brushy undergrowth. Trail switchbacks frequently and about 1.5 miles it enters into a more mature forest. Another .5 mile reaches the Margaret Lake junction and it is well marked. Go right and down to the Margaret Lake or go straight and finish crossing the ridge for Twin Lakes, Lake Laura and Lake Lillian.

Twin Lakes was in full fall beauty and a couple of nice camping spots. Past Twin Lakes you cross a marshy, washout area where the outlet from Twin heads toward the Rocky Run drainage and crosses the trail (reroute needed here). Much of the trail is underwater here and a one point you must cross a stream by finding the rocks below the surface of the water. Only about 6 feet wide, but you can get wet boots here if you are not careful.

The trail in parts is a pleasure. However several sections are rough, steep, eroded, rooted, and just plain horrible. It took us nearly 4 hours to travel 5 miles to Lake Lillian due to the bad trail and easily lost trail. Heavily brushed most of the way through the Rocky Run canyon and it climbs and then descends, climbs then descends, climbs then descends OFTEN. The guide book said "1500' of elevation gain" but our altimeters both recorded just a fraction under 3400' of total elevation gain, so be prepared for some tough hiking on this route and bring trekking poles and stiff boots with good traction. A GPS is also really nice as there are numerous side spurs and rabbit trails and very little signage only the way. Watch for cairns in tough places to help.

Lake Lillian is a real jewel and it was worth the effort. In order to find the camps at Lillian, one must traverse around the South End across a rock ledge trail that has the potential of nasty falls. Once around the rocky outcrop it opens up and there are 2 or 3 great campsites, but getting to them is a major endeavor and would be difficult with huge packs. We dropped out packs on the main trail and then traverse around the rocky ledge and then explored the outlet side.

There is also a ridge climb trail up to Rampart Ridge and the Rampart Lakes basin that leaves the North side of Lake Lillian. We ran out of time to make the ridge though and did not want to risk coming out in the dark given the tough trail conditions we met coming in. It also involved a tricky rock climb to access the trail around to the ridge climb. Be prepared to scramble a bit if your inclined to explore.

All in all we took about 7 hours from car to car. Coming out was quicker, but still not quick or easy. I would not recommend the trail for beginner hikers.

Photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

After a recent trip to Mt Margaret, I returned to the area for a trip to Lake Lillian. The road to the trailhead is a little bumpy but in OK shape. The hikes to both Mt Margaret and Lake Lillian start up an old road and then turns to trail. signs of our feeding frenzies. Today, I passed the way trail(s) that go up to Mt Margaret and descended to Twin Lakes , and then climbed steeply up to Lake Lillian. If I had not begged to stop for a quick food break, I could have caught a couple skinny dipping in the lake. I thought about but did not follow the boot path from the lake up to Rampart Ridge.Weather on 5500 was fog. Instead I lounged for at least an half hour at the lake. That was a nice break before the climb back out of the Twin Lakes area and parking lot.