Ashland Lakes — Tuesday, May. 28, 2019

Abandoning a plan to hump up Pilchuck, Geezer Patrol minus two opted to save that one for a sunny day and instead reverted to Ashland Lakes.  The road going in is a mortar field but after convinced ourselves it was too rough for most cars, we arrived at the TH to find a low clearance Hyundai.  So much for being unstable geniuses.

Prep your feets for lotsa rock and roots cuz thats what this trail is all about as soon as you cross the fairly new, all fiberglass bridge.  It is a thing of beauty from an engineering view - no maintenance required.

The hump to Beaver Plant Lake is only 400' of gain over 1.7 miles of good sized trees but very rocky/rooty trail and only a few mucky spots.  The lake level is high putting the boardwalk areas almost under water.  Both Upper and Lower Ashland Lakes were also high as that was about all we could see being in the middle of a fog bank.

We routed around the south side of Upper Ashland for a lunch spot.  That trail is both overgrown and in sorry shape from lack of care and people traffic.  Its easy to lose the trail at the East end from a large, recently fallen tree.

All of this hike is in the Morningstar Conservation Area managed by the DNR.  The campsites looked to be in fair condition with new firepits installed and poopers at each lake site.  Perfect for a first outing with a backpack, for young kids or geezers with IBS.  Lots of little frogs but no fish were to be seen and almost no other people !.