Wanted to take my kids (9 and 6) on a backpacking trip that would allow them to carry some of their own gear (see picture).
If you are new to this region, Forest Service roads and trails are usually pretty well marked. This one for some reason, is not. There is no marker for FS 5480, but if you follow the sign marked "Lost Lake" and just watch your odometer, it's fine. When you park at the lower parking lot, you walk up the hill to the upper parking lot (and they aren't kidding, do NOT try to drive up that hill). The sign for the trailhead is missing, and the road continues up. Some nice person made a new sign and it's sitting on a cairn at the trailhead directly across from the upper parking lot.
Beginning of the trail is getting overgrown, but the flowers are pretty (watch for bees, but they were pretty much the only bugs we saw the whole time). A couple more weeks and the salmonberries(?) will be ripe and abundant.
If I had known there were sites, we may have stopped at Cottonwood Lake instead (6 year old started complaining about this point), but didn't want to deviate from the plan we left with neighbors. Mirror Lake had a lot of PCT thru hikers (to be expected) so it was busier than I thought for a Thursday. Still had plenty of solitude though.
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