Schaefer Lake — Wednesday, Jul. 31, 2013

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East

I have been camping at Rock Creek a little further up from this trailhead for a few years and decided this was the year to go. I am definately not disappointed! I brought water shoes for the river crossing, but the log jam is very passable. There is one little log at the opposite shore, but you can either balance or scoot over on your back side. Either is easy. The trail starts out pretty flat and and after you cross the river at the hiker ford you will go through about a half mile of heavy vegetation. One report read said the trail could benefit from cutting back some of this. I agree. I wore shorts and although I got through safe on the way in I was hit with some stinging nettles on the way back. As you climb up this mountain it is steep, but not too brutal. I hike so it was fine but my two companions who don't normally do this thought I was trying to kill them. I was looking at elevations and distance on my watch and kept telling them "almost there" - The bridge at 3.5 miles is a great place for a snack and if you think you are done climbing think again. You will gain approximately 850 feet in the last mile and 1/4 of that is the flats from little schaefer to big schaefer. The mosquitos at the lakes were almost unbearable. We hiked on a hot day with no breeze and if it wasn't for the bug spray we would have been lunch for all. DO NOT forget your bug spray on this hike or any others in this region. Mosquitos and flies are thick here. The lakes were beautiful. I packed up a small fishing pole but didn't have any luck. There are fish in the lake as we saw them jumping but they were unimpressed with my power bait. All in all a great hike and a great day. I definately recommend this one if you are in the area.