Driving up to the TH:
The the drive on the forest road is manageable. Most of the potholes are little, and the handful of larger ones are easy to avoid. Should be no problem driving in a sedan.
Parking:
We arrived at the parking lot around 6:45 am Sunday morning. I was able to find a spot quickly, though the lot was about 90% full already. A good chunk of them were overnighters. There is a restroom, and a trash bin inside. If you don’t have a forest pass you’ll need to pay the $5 parking fee. The pay station is located at the sign just before entering the parking lot. I totally spaced out and didn’t notice it, so when I returned later there was a notice on my car. Luckily it wasn’t a crazy parking ticket fee, but a request to pay by mail with a payment envelope included. Bless the rangers for doing that!
The hike:
The first half of the trail is in good condition as the first 2-3 miles are a pleasant gradual ascent. The last mile is a little tougher as it gets steeper, but more of the trouble is following the right trail. I took the wrong way a couple times, but was able to find the trail soon after. We passed groups of hikers roughly every 20 minutes or so, going up and hiking back down. Seems like most people also had trouble trail tracking, but people hiking down can help guide you in the right direction. Along the way are several spots to take a break by the creek and enjoy the scenery. There’s also a nice little waterfall within the last mile of the ascent. It’s really beautiful and reminds me of Bridal Veil Falls. Most of the trail is covered under the trees, avoiding the heat.
The lake:
There were a lot of people that had camped at the lake the previous night, and most of them packing up to leave. There was a good amount of people spread out all around the lake, and several spots to walk right into the water. The lake is a beautiful blue and VERY cold; I went for a few quick in and out swims. The bugs were horrible there and possibly worse than on the trail, so you’ll definitely want to bring bug spray.
Overall:
All in all a great hike, and great effort to reward ratio. I will hike this trail again some day.
The amount of people wearing masks or no masks was about 50/50, and there are some places that are too narrow to pass other hikers at a safe social distance.
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