Hike to Lake Spaulding

Drove up 80 to 20 and took Bowman Lake road the hike to Lake Spaulding. Stopped at the road just below Fuller Lake (perhaps called Fuller Road?). I could see quite a bit of snow from the paved road so I took my snowshoes. Almost as soon as I got onto the snow though, I could see bare dirt ahead.

That would mark most of the trip...snow...dirt (or mud)...snow...dirt...granite, etc., etc.

We made good time up to the open canal where the dirt road ends. We took the short but steep way onto the granite outcropping and then bushwhacked our way down closer to the lake. Although it wasn't particularly difficult, we had to route find through impassible manzanita stands, impassible cliffs and other impediments. We didn't make it all the way down to the lake "shore" but made it most of the way. We stopped for mid-hike snack on a nice rock overlooking the lake, Old Man Mountain and 80 while in the sparse shade of a bristlecone pine.

On the way back, we intersected the signed trail which took us to the bottom of the steep hill where we'd left my snow shoes. There were also some significant snow drifts to get through so I really missed them!

The signed trail is a little strange. It leaves the dirt road to duck under a HUGE water pipe and across a stream. It then follows a nice trail at the foot of either a steep cliff or really, really steep hill until it gets to a dry creek crossing from the PGE hydroelectic facility just up the hill. There are signs warning you that PGE may release water at any time so stay out. Well, why have the trail go here then? The dry creek crossing is substantial and you'd have no hope of clearing the boulders if any water started rushing down. You then duck under another HUGE water pipe and then parallel the lake, presumably coming down the water at some point. I think this trail goes east a while and eventually ends up at the Grouse Ridge area.

If I were the trail builder, I would have avoided the many dangerous creek crossings and gone over the granite dome and back down.

We had to scramble up the steep, steep hill in the forest area to retrieve my snow shoes...then I slid back down the snow covered dirt road on my butt. Fun!