Trip Details: 2 nights at Spectacle Lake, starting from the Pete Lake trailhead. The lake is beautiful, but the mosquitoes are out. Roundtrip: 20.5mi; Elevation Gain: 3100ft.
The trail to Spectacle lake is well described in other trip reports (thank you!), so instead a few notable points:
- Distance: WTA and the signs on the trail list this as 11mi one-way; my Garmin and calculations from a Green Trails map put this closer to 10mi.
- Bugs: It's mosquito season, and they're bad. We noticed that they tended to swarm in the morning (6-11AM) and evening (7PM+), and are manageable in the afternoon (12-6PM) when a breeze picks up over the lake. Look for a campsite that get's a good breeze, and plan on being in your tent by 8PM. You might have some luck moving east/west throughout the day to catch breezes.
- Blowdowns: Yep, there's just over 70 trees down in the burn section! We read that number in another trip report and couldn't believe it, so we counted as well on our way out (using strict requirements!) and.....hit ~72 trees. None of the blowdowns are problematic to cross.
- Lemah Creek Crossing: The creek is just above knee level (I'm 5'8"). Poles are handy.
- Dogs: My 14.5lb pup tagged along on this trip and needed assistance only for the creek crossing (your dog does need to be in good shape and comfortable with handling blowdowns - she did a lot of maneuvering over/under). Do be cognizant of the heat - the burned section crosses through a few shady segments early on, but then travels several miles in full sun exposure. The trail is dusty to sandy, and may be very hot on paws later in the day. Most of the elevation gain to the lake is in this section as well. There's currently a few streams that cross the trail, and several are deep enough for a small-mid size dog to sit down in.
Comments