I had some time to kill today, so I decided to enjoy one last good snowshoe trip into the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest this season. When I hit the trail head on Creek Rd. the conditions were fantastic; cold, clear and great snow. At the register, I noticed a couple folks had skied and snowshoed the previous day so the trail was packed down just enough. Curiously, there were no snowmobile tracks heading into the woods on the sparsely disked trail.
The old road/trail to Bennett Lake was laid out nice and did a series of stair steps through a beautiful hemlock forest as it gained the 300 feet to reach the lake. After a while, the trail leveled out, but never got close to the lake. I detoured down to the lake, admiring the outhouse equipped designated campsite. The view was stunning (not the view of the outhouse, the view of the lake!).
After a quick break, it was up another 300 feet to Middle Lake. This was a little steeper than I had remembered, but wasn't too bad in the chilly, clear air. While Bennett Lake was stunning, Middle Lake was drop dead gorgeous. The multiple islands and dominating cliffs really brought out a sense of being in the wilderness. Even the burned out island looked great on this day. After cinching the gortex down a little, I walked down the west side of the lake into a strong NW wind. A quick ten minutes and I was back on the trail headed for the short gap between Middle and Murphy Lakes.
Reaching Murphy Lake in fifteen minutes, I sat down in the lean-to and enjoyed the log book entries from the past few months. Quite a few winter campers use this lean-to. I've been there a dozen times, but never in the winter. I'm glad I took came here today.
After a little snack, the wind started to howl through the hemlocks. My shivering bones were telling me it was time to head back. The 3+ miles back to Creek Rd went by quickly with the sun in my face and the wind at my back. It was a very enjoyable four hours in the woods.
The old road/trail to Bennett Lake was laid out nice and did a series of stair steps through a beautiful hemlock forest as it gained the 300 feet to reach the lake. After a while, the trail leveled out, but never got close to the lake. I detoured down to the lake, admiring the outhouse equipped designated campsite. The view was stunning (not the view of the outhouse, the view of the lake!).
After a quick break, it was up another 300 feet to Middle Lake. This was a little steeper than I had remembered, but wasn't too bad in the chilly, clear air. While Bennett Lake was stunning, Middle Lake was drop dead gorgeous. The multiple islands and dominating cliffs really brought out a sense of being in the wilderness. Even the burned out island looked great on this day. After cinching the gortex down a little, I walked down the west side of the lake into a strong NW wind. A quick ten minutes and I was back on the trail headed for the short gap between Middle and Murphy Lakes.
Reaching Murphy Lake in fifteen minutes, I sat down in the lean-to and enjoyed the log book entries from the past few months. Quite a few winter campers use this lean-to. I've been there a dozen times, but never in the winter. I'm glad I took came here today.
After a little snack, the wind started to howl through the hemlocks. My shivering bones were telling me it was time to head back. The 3+ miles back to Creek Rd went by quickly with the sun in my face and the wind at my back. It was a very enjoyable four hours in the woods.
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