Hiked Eagle Lake from Barclay Lake. Barclay lake trail was not bad with a few flooded spots and downed trees.
I don’t recommend continuing past Barclay Lake without route finding experience and a map or mapping app, well as some strong determination.
The trail to Eagle lake begins at the turn for the second toilet at Barclay lake. CalTopo displays the trail as a switchbacking route up from the lake, likely taken from older USGS 7.5 topos. We saw maybe faint traces of this but nothing promising. Strava and Alltrails (using Mapbox data) show a more accurate track of the trail, beginning at the second Barclay lake toilet and following the creek roughly straight up the hillside. Leaving the toilet, the trail is rough almost immediately, with severe blowdown for the first third to half of a mile. Expect to use your hands to pull yourself up and over or under large fallen trees, with uneven and eroded trail surfaces throughout. It was slow going but manageable, as faint signs of the trail persist. There is occasional flagging tape in pink and orange to mark your path through the blowdown, and numerous cairns once you pass the worst of the obstacles. Leaving the blowdown and continuing straight up, the trail remains steep but opens up to less dense forest, making the going easier. It then enters an open meadow section and becomes wet, with water flowing down the now rocky and muddy trail. Cairns are frequent now, and the trail continues through the meadow before reaching stone lake. From here the trail climbs once again, returning to pine duff surface as you skirt a rock field and enter the Eagle Creek valley. Joining the Fisherman’s trail, the going remains wet and crosses the creek twice before arriving at Eagle Lake. We opted to stay on the left side of the creek due to the fast moving and deep water, picking our way through the forest on the south side of the creek.
Strava for GPX: https://www.strava.com/activities/16470259794
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