I don't participate on this forum much.
It's not that I don't like it here (I do!), but more that I don't have much to add, and I don't like talking if I really don't have anything productive to add. I do, however, pose the same questions, more or less, just about the same time every year. 'How is Lila right now? Road conditions? Traffic? Water level?' Blahblahblah...
Stuff you want to know before you commit to a five or six hour drive, to a remote area that has VERY limited campsites that are first-come, first-serve. In that light, I offer our experience there last week, in a quick (or maybe not so quick) pictorial, in the hope that it might help and encourage others.
The first and most obvious experience one has with Lake Lila is NOT on Lake Lila, but rather the five-mile-plus strip of one lane dirt road. I've heard some refer to it as a jeep trail. This is our second trip down this lane, and both times were in our VW Sportwagen (which offers next to no ground clearance), so if we can do it, so can darn near anyone else. The road has quite a few rocks that stick up high enough to properly dismantle a poorly placed engine oil pan, so pay attention! A little bit of offroad experience will go a long way to helping you place your tires properly.
Soon enough you'll get to the parking lot, which offers enough space for about 25 cars, give or take. We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, and found that there were already fifteen cars here. We had a nice chat with a chap that informed us that his party had snagged our sought-after campsite (site #20). Our concerns about getting a campsite grew just a pinch, but we tried to keep our hopes high.
The portage to the lake is a relatively easy third of a mile.
As we got there, the wind had just begun to pick up, blowing down the lake and into our faces. At it's nastiest, I'd guess we were facing foot high swells (the peaks were just beginning to break and froth a bit), which increased our already simmering anxiety, as it was past 5:30 by this point, and we were still worried about campsite availability. All the closest camps were taken, and I was getting concerned that we were in trouble, but we paddled on and slipped along the southern shore of the lake, watching for an unoccupied area. At the very end we found campsite #13 open, and realizing that we were the only ones on the lake looking at that moment, we elected to paddle on and see if something nicer was available. Good thing we did, too - campsite #14 on Buck Island was wide open to us! It's the only site on the entire island, and has total isolation (which we love), with lots of places to explore, and dawn AND dusk exposure if you walk a bit.
The camp offers a decently protected launch, and a nice flat spot close to a massive old hemlock to set up your tent.
The site was pristine, and the previous visitors had left a small plastic bag with some dry kindling next to the ample firepit. Nice! The thunder box appeared to be brand new, and freshly dug.
With a short walk down one of the island trails, you can find a nice little lagoon on the western side that provides a good place for some sunning and swimming, and a good location to watch the sun set.
Just after dawn and dusk seem like the correct fishing times. We skirted the bay area right off our island, as well as heading up the creek at the southwest corner of the lake. The smallmouths were hitting our topwater baits like they were candy (jitterbugs, poppers, etc), and even hammered our Rapala minnows a bit.
On our trip up the creek we found site #12 tucked away and vacant, and that appeared to be a really nice site, too. VERY isolated, so if that's your thing, you may want to check it out.
It rained very briefly on us the first morning, but by 11AM it cleared and dried completely, and the rest of the days were spectacular, with low humidity and highs in the high seventies to low eighties.
In thirty-five years of hiking and camping, I've never used a stove. Never realized what I was missing! Bought a used MSR Whisperlite and now I don't understand why the hell I was reluctant to use something like this. An absolute gem!!!
From this point on, I won't pester you with a lot of gabbing, but I'll share a handful of the photos we snapped during our trip. I hope you enjoy them.
Our resident camp mooch:
Bullfrogs abound on our island!
Blue Gentian
Puffballs
Fungus Amongus
Wood Frog
ToadZilla
Indian Pipe closeup
Waterlily
...and one final sunset
Some final thoughts...
The mosquitos come out in force at dusk. Deet works.
Biting flies are our nemesis during the daylight hours, and two different kinds of repellent didn't seem to dissuade them.
When the wind picks up, which it does rather often, traversing the lake can be pretty hairy. Our exit featured winds blowing at 45 degrees to our heading, with almost two foot swells that had me fighting to keep the nose of the canoe where it needed to be to keep from swamping us. Not fun.
There were a LOT of people looking for open campsites. I don't know how willing I'd be to show up any later than Thursday morning during peak vacation times.
New things appear when you least expect them. As I was stargazing in between sunset and moonrise, I glanced down at the muck where our canoe was moored to find glowworms twinkling in the mud!
It's not that I don't like it here (I do!), but more that I don't have much to add, and I don't like talking if I really don't have anything productive to add. I do, however, pose the same questions, more or less, just about the same time every year. 'How is Lila right now? Road conditions? Traffic? Water level?' Blahblahblah...
Stuff you want to know before you commit to a five or six hour drive, to a remote area that has VERY limited campsites that are first-come, first-serve. In that light, I offer our experience there last week, in a quick (or maybe not so quick) pictorial, in the hope that it might help and encourage others.
The first and most obvious experience one has with Lake Lila is NOT on Lake Lila, but rather the five-mile-plus strip of one lane dirt road. I've heard some refer to it as a jeep trail. This is our second trip down this lane, and both times were in our VW Sportwagen (which offers next to no ground clearance), so if we can do it, so can darn near anyone else. The road has quite a few rocks that stick up high enough to properly dismantle a poorly placed engine oil pan, so pay attention! A little bit of offroad experience will go a long way to helping you place your tires properly.
Soon enough you'll get to the parking lot, which offers enough space for about 25 cars, give or take. We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, and found that there were already fifteen cars here. We had a nice chat with a chap that informed us that his party had snagged our sought-after campsite (site #20). Our concerns about getting a campsite grew just a pinch, but we tried to keep our hopes high.
The portage to the lake is a relatively easy third of a mile.
As we got there, the wind had just begun to pick up, blowing down the lake and into our faces. At it's nastiest, I'd guess we were facing foot high swells (the peaks were just beginning to break and froth a bit), which increased our already simmering anxiety, as it was past 5:30 by this point, and we were still worried about campsite availability. All the closest camps were taken, and I was getting concerned that we were in trouble, but we paddled on and slipped along the southern shore of the lake, watching for an unoccupied area. At the very end we found campsite #13 open, and realizing that we were the only ones on the lake looking at that moment, we elected to paddle on and see if something nicer was available. Good thing we did, too - campsite #14 on Buck Island was wide open to us! It's the only site on the entire island, and has total isolation (which we love), with lots of places to explore, and dawn AND dusk exposure if you walk a bit.
The camp offers a decently protected launch, and a nice flat spot close to a massive old hemlock to set up your tent.
The site was pristine, and the previous visitors had left a small plastic bag with some dry kindling next to the ample firepit. Nice! The thunder box appeared to be brand new, and freshly dug.
With a short walk down one of the island trails, you can find a nice little lagoon on the western side that provides a good place for some sunning and swimming, and a good location to watch the sun set.
Just after dawn and dusk seem like the correct fishing times. We skirted the bay area right off our island, as well as heading up the creek at the southwest corner of the lake. The smallmouths were hitting our topwater baits like they were candy (jitterbugs, poppers, etc), and even hammered our Rapala minnows a bit.
On our trip up the creek we found site #12 tucked away and vacant, and that appeared to be a really nice site, too. VERY isolated, so if that's your thing, you may want to check it out.
It rained very briefly on us the first morning, but by 11AM it cleared and dried completely, and the rest of the days were spectacular, with low humidity and highs in the high seventies to low eighties.
In thirty-five years of hiking and camping, I've never used a stove. Never realized what I was missing! Bought a used MSR Whisperlite and now I don't understand why the hell I was reluctant to use something like this. An absolute gem!!!
From this point on, I won't pester you with a lot of gabbing, but I'll share a handful of the photos we snapped during our trip. I hope you enjoy them.
Our resident camp mooch:
Bullfrogs abound on our island!
Blue Gentian
Puffballs
Fungus Amongus
Wood Frog
ToadZilla
Indian Pipe closeup
Waterlily
...and one final sunset
Some final thoughts...
The mosquitos come out in force at dusk. Deet works.
Biting flies are our nemesis during the daylight hours, and two different kinds of repellent didn't seem to dissuade them.
When the wind picks up, which it does rather often, traversing the lake can be pretty hairy. Our exit featured winds blowing at 45 degrees to our heading, with almost two foot swells that had me fighting to keep the nose of the canoe where it needed to be to keep from swamping us. Not fun.
There were a LOT of people looking for open campsites. I don't know how willing I'd be to show up any later than Thursday morning during peak vacation times.
New things appear when you least expect them. As I was stargazing in between sunset and moonrise, I glanced down at the muck where our canoe was moored to find glowworms twinkling in the mud!
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