We hit the trail (Ross Lake TH) at 0930 with several cars in the parking lot although the Ross Lake TH serves many trails and camping spots.The mileage is a bit deceiving since it starts on the other side of the dam so take that into consideration. Our goal was the Big Beaver Boat camp.
The trail is in good condition with a combination of both dirt, and rocky areas. The majority of the trail is in the shade and there are a few small creeks to cross.The foot bridges are in excellent shape.
At about 2.8 miles (from the parking area), we were chatting away with heads down so as to not trip on the rocks and when I looked up there was a bear standing 20 feet in front of us on the trail staring at us. He didn't seem very bothered and appeared to be waiting for us to move so he could pass. Then we waited for him to move, so we could pass. It was a 3 minute stand off. A long 3 minutes. Eventually he turned and wandered back up the trail.We gave him a bit of time to clear the area and continued the hike.
Big Beaver has large bear boxes, 2 clean toilets, a dock to swim from, and most (not all) have a picnic table and/or a fire ring. Some had both. There's plenty of water, either from the lake or the 2 large creeks just before camp.
The Ross Lake Resort does provide a charter ($) from just below the trail head around to many of the camp spots for those that have lots of gear or are not interested in hiking it. With that in mind I see the potential for a loud party group at the camp spots along Ross Lake, however,this was a great Thursday/Friday trip and camp was pretty quiet and peaceful.
We only passed 3 other people on the trail the day we hiked in, and 2 people on the day we hiked out.
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