Myrtle Lake, Little Myrtle Lake 7.16.03

I got my usual later than I would like start. I set off up the Dingford Creek trail a little after 1 pm. The day was partly cloudy and the temps were moderate. The trail is in fairly good shape. There are some muddy spots after the Hester lake turnoff and some good sized blow overs to climb over. I set up camp at Myrtle lake and tried my hand at some fly fishing. I had some success so I decided to try Little Myrtle. The trail to Little Myrtle is much harder to follow and it does cross the creek about half way up and climbs to the lake on the west side contrary to both my maps. Little Myrtle looks more promising for bigger fish due to the fact it is not so shallow. I did not have any luck however, most of which was due to the growing wind. I retreated to camp to find the bugs were out in force. I spent a good portion of the evening in the tent listening to the bugs dive bombing the tent sounding much like a heavy spring rain. The plan was to go to Merlin, Nimue, and Le Fay lakes in the morning. I made it most of the way to Merlin when I decided that anywhere there weren't any bugs was better than here. I broke camp and high tailed it to the car. I will be back later in the season to finish this trip.

Green Ridge Lake 7.9.03

I found the miner's trail to Green Ridge Lake without any problem. The trail starts about 4.6 miles from the Taylor River bridge. There is enough parking for about two or three cars. The trail starts just before the parking. The trail is very steep but fairly easy to follow it stays mostly on the ridge until 3400ft. The trail then traverses to a rock slide, cross the rockslide and pick up the trail on the other side. The trail stays between the rockslide and the creek for the remainder of the climb. You could follow the northern shore and easily climb to Hi-Lo Lake and beyond. Since I had been to Hi-Lo Lake on a previous trip (from Nordrum Lake) I turned my attention to the continuation of the Miner's trail. I crossed the outlet and picked up the trail on the other side. The trail climbs easily to a big camp at the base of the steeper climb. It appeared to me that this was a quartz mining camp. Above the camp the grade steepens greatly I climbed to approx 4300ft and ran out of time. It seems that you could crest the ridge and drop to Quartz Lake or even climb to Pt 4860 without any problems. This trail is not maintained and is very steep, good route finding skills are also needed.

Mount Sawyer 7.3.03

With some company in town, I chose the Tonga ridge trail. I always choose this trail when with inexperienced hikers. You do almost all of the climbing in the car. The views are stunning with minimal effort. I left the rest of my party in the meadows just under Mt Sawyer and set off the climber's trail that starts just past the meadows. The trail was clearly defined and easy to follow. The trail wraps around the eastern shoulder and reaches the summit from the north side. There was still some patchy snow on the north side. Amazing views of the Alpine Lakes area as well as Glacier Pk. to the north. The bugs were, suprising to me, very minimal.

Pothole Lake 5.20.03

Since the weather prediction was for warm and sunny weather, I thought I would make an attempt for both Dream and Pothole Lakes. I awoke to morning drizzle, but surely it will burn off in the afternoon was my thought. I made quick work of the Taylor River Rd to the Big Creek bridge (big concrete bridge). The Dream Lake fisherman's trail starts just after the bridge. The trail climbs steeply for about 800 vertical feet and then stops in a huge mass of vine maple and slide alder. At 2600ft I left the trail and climbed easterly. The plan was to climb above the brush and traverse to Pothole Creek. I found two stream beds that put me around 3100ft., I then did a long brushy traverse to Pothole creek. I do not suggest this for any one of a sane mind, the wet brush was still very thick and very slippery. I crossed the creek at approx 3200ft and climbed the remaining distance on the Northeast side of the creek. Pothole lake was 90% frozen and there was still alot of snow in the basin. Because the climb took more than an hour longer than I had expected and the rain was increasing I decided to pass at my second objective of Dream Lake. I hastily retreated down the creek recrossing at 3200ft and just followed it down to meet back with the Dream Lake trail. This is not for beginner's, many times I asked myself ""why am I doing this"". To complicate the downclimb my hamstrings began cramping very painfully. Dream Lake would have been easily been reached if conditions were any better. I would also suggest when carrying a full pack, try to have an internal frame as not to hang up on every branch along the way.