We finally did our first overnight trip! We arrived at the trailhead about 11:30 am on Monday. The parking lot was pretty full, but not packed - no cars parked along the road at that time. It took us just about 2 hours to get to the lake. Due to some unforeseen circumstances while packing, we ended up having to put more of the gear in my pack than I would have hoped, making my pack 30 lbs (27% body weight - I was shooting for 20%). But I just put one foot in front of the other, over and over, until we were there.
The trail has quite a few protruding rocks and roots, so watch your step. There was a LOT of evidence of people cutting the switchbacks and there was much erosion in these areas. Please don't cut the switchbacks! It really doesn't save you much time, plus it usually makes for a steeper route anyway....
We had our pick of campsites at the lake! I think I only noticed 2 other tents when we were scouting for a site. The lake is beautiful, and COLD! But after our trek up there, it felt really good after the initial plunge.
The primitive toilets up at the lake are not in service so you'll have to dig a cat hole for bathroom needs. Please bury or pack out your TP! The campsite we chose had a very obvious "bathroom spot" behind some logs and it was just littered with tons of used TP and socks.....Gross guys, just pack it out.
While preparing for the trip, I didn't see a notice on the forest service website stating bear canisters were required; but the info board at the trailhead says to use them or hang your food in a tree. We ended up just stuffing all our food in our tent sack and hung that. I think you will have to worry more about the audacious chipmunks and camp robbers though.
The evening was great aside from the mosquitoes; they were out for blood and they sure got their fill. We saw some of the Perseid meteor shower from our campsite. Very quiet night after the day hikers departed. We left about 11:30 am the next day. Took us 1.5 hours to get back down; passed many groups heading up.
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