As the heat wave continued C.J. and I decided to get out of town and go camping somewhere in the mountains with a lake. Cooper Lake won the toss on a recommendation from our investment counselor, an avid fisherman.
16 Aug, Mon - We weren't in any particular rush but we were already beyond Easton at 1230 when brake lights went on as drivers slowed down to merge into one lane. No worries; it was a good time for some lunch anyway. By 1400 we had followed a paved USFS road from Salmon La Sac almost to Cooper Lake, finished the last mile on dusty gravel and found the small campground. We were slightly taken aback to realize that it was a "walk-in only" campground, but since we were traveling lightly, that wasn't a problem. There was plenty of selection as there were only a few of the nearly 20 sites occupied and we could have chosen a more secluded site, but we opted for one with good access to the water. [Speaking of water, except for the lake, there wasn't any. But there was a handy outhouse.] After setting up our tent we drove the short distance to the boat launch where we had a shorter and gentler walk to the water. Leaving the sprayskirts behind we paddled off to do a leisurely counterclockwise tour of the lake. We didn't see the beaver who must inhabit the huge, old lodge near the inlet but we did spot an osprey nest with a young bird. Perhaps he was considering his first flight. A mature osprey flew slow circles above the clear water but apparently saw no fish near the surface to prey on. At the outlet end of the lake a few private cabins had gorgeous views of Chickamin and Lemah Peaks. Back at camp we lazed around until supper and the already-early sunset and darkness. Since we didn't even bring a tent lantern, we went to bed "with the chickens" and planned to get an early start in the morning.
17 August, Tues - It was comfortable sleeping after it cooled down and we were ready to get up as it got light around 0600. A breakfast of fruit and granola got us out of camp early and to the trailhead for Pete Lake by 0725. Not having planned to do any serious hiking, we had only one rucksack and a beltpack to carry our extra clothes and gear. We soon warmed up, shedding our morning fleece, even though the trail gained hardly any elevation at all - a total of some 200 ft in the four-plus miles. Unfortunately, as soon as we removed a long-sleeve layer, the mosquitoes swarmed us, C.J. especially. The trail was pleasant enough through the forest, but a bit dusty probably due to the pack trains supplying the USFS trail crew working on the Pacific Crest Trail around Spectacle Lake, a few miles beyond Pete Lake. About two miles in we passed into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and two miles later, after a short final climb, reached Pete Lake where the bugs were blessedly absent. There were a number of campsites scattered along the trail around the lake and we met groups of backpackers, many of whom were doing the Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass hike. Tough for them - there was a major detour around the Spectacle Lake re-construction all the way to Cooper Lake and then a road-walk back to the PCT. Beyond the end of Pete Lake we took a break overlooking the river and had a snack before retracing our steps. It was warmer now, at 10:00 or so, and the skeeters were even worse, or maybe we had just sweated off the bug dope. It was slightly downhill and we beat feet pretty quickly to get back to the relatively bug-free Owhi campground. On the way out we met a pack train of horses and mules heading in to resupply the crew camp. After a rest in the shade back at Owhi we loaded up the kayak at the boat ramp and broke camp for the drive home. We may have left just at the right time because we met a school bus from Seattle Academy as we crossed the Cooper River. Back down at Salmon La Sac we were surprised to see so many people playing in the water.
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