Summary: This was a 2 night/3 day early season backpack to elevations under 5,000 feet (read snow free; Lake Dorothy at 3,000 ft & Bear/Deer Lakes under 4,000 ft) hiked by a 50 something mom and her college age daughter. We camped at Lake Dorothy and did a day hike up to Bear and Deer Lakes. Midweek, we had the lakes to ourselves and enjoyed some swimming at Dorothy but the bugs were rather relentless unless there was a decent wind. We wore bug nets over our heads most of the time. Trail is a bit overgrown overall and most noticeable on the hike up to Bear and Deer Lakes. Swim at Dorothy Lake or Camp Robber Creek. There is a strange, smelly, mustard color slime at the lake's edge of both Bear and Deer Lakes. Yuk.
Stats:
- -1 hour, 4 mile bike up the remaining forest service road/40 minutes bike back to the car (we went slowly with our heavy packs).
- -1.5 hrs, 3.5 mile hike from official trail head to mid-lake campsite. We spent another 30-45 min scouting the best campsite. Part of that mileage might be scouting for a campsite. I can't remember when exactly I paused my Garmin watch.
- -2 hours, 6 mile day hike from mid-lake campsite at Dorothy Lake up to Bear and Deer Lake crossing Camp Robber Creek the second day.
- I am a 50 something woman in decent shape carrying a 35 lb pack.
Parking: the make shift parking area at the washout has room for a handful of cars. Turning around is a bit tight and could possibly be more challenging on a weekend. On Monday mid morning, there were only 2 cars parked there. I did note broken glass on the ground but it was not fresh.
Trail conditions:
Road section (first 4 miles, 800 elev gain): gravel road was in good condition with just a few spots requiring us to walk our bikes through short rocky sections and/or two minor blow downs.
Trail section (the start of the official trailhead, 2.5 miles, 900 elev gain to our mid-lake campsite at Dorothy Lake): Trial can be rocky and rooted in sections and brush-y. If it has rained, expect the huckleberry bushes to get you wet up to your torso in places. We enjoyed some wildflowers along the way. It was mostly a shaded hike through a pretty forest listening to the sound of the East Fork of the Miller River until we reached the outlet to Lake Dorothy. Then the trail leaves the river and follows the lake but you can't see the lake very much as the hillside is steep and the trail is above the lake. We logged 2.5 miles from official trailhead to our mid-lake campsite.
Trail from Dorothy to Bear Lake: 3 miles/6 miles RT, is steep and over grown in places. Nice views over Dorothy until you top out at the saddle and drop the last bit down to Bear Lake.
Backcountry toilets: Dorothy Lake: one near outlet, one mid-lake, and two located near the far end of the lake on either side of Camp Robber Creek and the flattest part of the shoreline. No toilets at Bear Lake. Didn't explore the shoreline of Deer Lake.
Creek Crossing at inlet to Dorothy Lake: (To hike beyond Dorothy Lake and up to Bear and Deer lake one must wade through the creek.) As of late June, the water level still requires wading not rock hopping. We brought water shoes and poles and they helped with the crossing. Water level was mid calf. A few slippery and loose rocks to watch out for but generally not a tricky crossing with water shoes. This is a pretty creek and we found some pretty pools of water just upstream from the trail and we took a dip in the river here after we hiked up to Bear/Dear lakes the second day. Creek is definitely colder than Dorothy Lake.
Campsites: map posted at the beginning of Dorothy Lake is worn, full of holes- See photo. In general, campsites off the trail (except several located at the inlet at the far end of the lake) are a bit hard to locate because the paths to them are overgrown with huckleberry bushes. The two campsites near the inlet- minutes before wading across the creek- are big, flat and easy to find. However, they are located at the marshy end of the lake and not good for swimming and the bugs!! Oh my. We opted to camp mid-lake, high up, overlooking the lake and catching the occasional breeze. It was a small site but just big enough for our small 2 person tent. We never found the campsites at the very end of the lake before the trail climbs to Bear Lake. It was so overgrown there.
Lots of nice campsites at Bear Lake right off the trail and down by the lake but the smell was kinda gross. Glad we didn't plan on camping here.
***To the 3 ladies hiking in that we passed as we hiked out: we hope you found your REI 1 person tent that must have fallen off someone's pack! It was laying in the middle of the road half way along the 4 mile section of forest service road. We left it there hoping you will backtrack find it!
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