DON'T JUST FOLLOW GOOGLE to get to the trailhead, it will send you to a locked gate on the wrong road! Follow the WTA directions carefully.
This was a terrific trail, in that it had relatively very consistent grade without much up & down, and was in the shade up until the last mile before crossing over the ridge with Angry Mountain trail. A few fallen trees across the trail but none too onerous to climb over or go around. There was still running water in Glacier Creek in Lily Basin, though owing to the shade, we made it to Heart Lake on about 2L per person. I observed about 7 miles even from the trailhead to the lake's edge on my GPS.
The bugs were a bit bad in places, especially if you stop near woods/grass and you're sweaty, but that's par for the PNW this time of year. One of our group was comfortable without a tent or bug spray, just lots of swatting; others were happy to have a tent or head net when the bugs were most active.
Heart Lake was about at capacity for camping this weekend - at least 8 distinct camps/groups, in spots ranging from the south side of the lake, to the trail junction where it goes either north or south around the lake, to the north side of the lake and into the woods on the NE side. There are only really 4 spots for groups, but several more for small groups or single tents.
The meadow north of the lake has some swampy patches and meandering creeks running through it. That said it is possible to walk right up to the water's edge and get in for a dip without getting into too much mud, and essentially everyone there took advantage of this in the hot weather.
We saw a few people on the Lily Basin trail where it continues towards Hawkeye Point, and during the night (peak Perseids weekend) we saw 2 headlamps near the point. We also saw a dozen or so goats far above us near the high point at the north end of the basin, Goat Rocks living up to its name.
We did explore down the Angry Mountain Trail a short distance, hoping to see Mt. Hood, but it was still occluded by the next ridge. I'm sure it's visible from closer to Angry Mountain.
Comments