Chose a Tuesday morning with a mild forecast to take my brother on his first trip to Colchuck Lake. We arrived at the trailhead around 6:45 am and were able to park in the lot. There were a few spots open still otherwise. Trailhead pit toilet had TP, but just a few rolls, consider having some on hand!
The lower part of the trail has a ton of ripe blueberries. The trail is pretty quiet in the mornings. It briefly rained on the hike up, and the clouds occasionally looked threatening, but it was mostly clear. Last mile is steeper and rocky. We found a nice spot above the lake to hang out, and picaridin and a thermacell were enough to keep the bugs away. My brother and others we saw took a quick dip in the lake and said it was "not warm". I sketched for awhile and enjoyed the bird chatter and changing clouds.
One the way back, there is a rocky section where no less than 4 chipmunks at eye level on boulders tried to shake us down for snacks. A lot of people hiking up in the afternoon when we were on our way back. I don't know why this surprises me every time, but a lot of hikers with nothing but a half-empty plastic water bottles. Also found trash stashed in trees when we were refilling water at the creek (brought a filter to save weight), and left alongside the trail. Brought what I could out, and I know the people who litter aren't the people reading trip reports, but still worth noting.
We spent an hour and a half at the lake, so we didn't arrive back at the TH until mid-afternoon. There were spots available in the lot, but cars parked a ways down the road, so seems like best time is either early morning or late afternoon (but beware of heat and loss of light!). Left a quick sketch gift on the permit box but have no idea if someone snagged it :)
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