Horseshoe Lake - Enchantments, WA
July 14, 2013 |
Yesterday, Teri and I hiked up beyond Lake Stuart to Horseshoe Lake. The trail to Lake Stuart if fairly gentle and nicely graded and being somewhat early in the morning, we saw only a few people along the way. It was a relaxing few miles (4-5ish?), and before we knew it, we were at the lake and following the slowly diminishing trail around to the west end where we pumped water and checked the time.
From the west end of Lake Stuart, the trail remains easy to follow for a short ways until reaching a creek. We crossed the creek on a series of logs and on the other side, took care to choose the correct path. There were a few but all but the correct one disappear before getting too far. The correct path is an old neglected trail that has since overgrown and been littered with large deadfalls that must be crawled under, climbed over and walked along like bridges. I don't think this lake sees too many visitors :)
Before long we reached a swampy area and lost the path. We just hopped into the swamp and stayed along the edge or balanced on logs to stay as dry as possible. I think we got lucky because we eventually dropped out of the swamp onto the path just a few feet from the horseshoe that marks the way up to the lake.
The path leading up was pretty steep and there was some climbing over and under logs but overall, it wasn't too bad and was easy to follow. Better than expected. The last section brought us up to the lake's outlet. Popping over the top on a hot day, it was pretty inviting to be dumped right next to such a cool looking lake.
We plopped down on the shore before noon and relaxed over PB&J sandwiches and fresh veggies. After lunch, we explored around the lake and to the south a bit, looking for an obvious alternate route down - nothing obvious presented itself. We didnt see any goats but did enjoy watching a lone duck and some fish cruising back and forth in the clear water. The lake is pretty deep in spots and dotted with little rock islands. It is surrounded by Jack Ridge and from almost any spot, has an excellent view of the north side of Mt. Stuart. I stared at the Great Gendarm for quite awhile...really need to make use of that #4 cam some day :) I also took note that the upper section of the Stuart Glacier looks pretty steep on the traverse from Goat Pass over to gain the North Ridge...of course persective always plays tricks I guess. I thought about checking out Jack Lake but the talus field leading up to it is looked brutal - I saved my knees for later.
After several hours of exploring and relaxing, we pumped water then started the painful trip down. My knees were screaming the whole way.
This was a fun hike with lots of variety and we both enjoyed it thoroughly. Our filter bad had a slight leak and I think some unfiltered water made it to my bottle. I had giardia years ago and it was aweful. I've been suffering pretty bad since a few hours after our hike but nothing like it was last time. Hoping it was the reduced fat berry loaf we got at Starbucks rather than a bug. |
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