Almost at the very last minute and eager to go out and spend a night, Val and I packed our gear and headed to Indian Heaven. This wilderness is a place that both Val and I have visited numerous times in the past but stopped because the window is a bit small if you want to avoid flooded trails and mosquitoes. It also holds a special place for me as it’s the first place I backpacked when I moved to Oregon and where I did a solo with Shia. While planning and getting the gear ready, I recalled how much fun Shia used to have every time we went there. It was hard for her to choose where to go first but she made certain that every lake, pond and even mud puddle was properly tested by jumping head first. I realized that I had to take her with me one more time and let her go.
Day 1: Thomas Lake to Wood Lake
We got to the trailhead in good time and hit the trail going towards Thomas Lake. The parking lot was pretty packed so we didn’t know what to expect in terms of people but we had an open plan. The only almost fixed idea was to follow the old Cascade Crest Trail that has been decommissioned for some years when the PCT was established. The first part of the hike was as I remembered it. Shortly after leaving the parking lot, you reach the Dee Lake and from there on is one lake after the other. The new thing I found is that some of the closer lakes now have designated campsites so I guess a lot of people don’t go far into the wilderness but prefer to stay closer. We didn’t make any major stops on our way in until we got to what looks like a junction near Rock Lake.
The Thomas Trail at that point makes a sharp turn right to head towards Blue Lake. Right across from the turn there’s a log and beyond what looks like a foot path left by people going to the bathroom. That was actually our sign to leave the main trail and go exploring. In all the times I’ve been to Indian Heaven, I had never explored this trail so all this was new to both Val and I. The trail gets a bit faint in the beginning but after that is real easy to follow as it travels north passing several open meadows. It clear why the trail was decommissioned as the area is very fragile. Some parts of the trail go thru pine forests and then open grassy areas. Being late in the season, we were welcomed with bright reds and yellows. That in contrast with the deep blue skies made for some very beautiful scenery. We passed several dried ponds and a couple of streams. Towards the north end of the trail, shortly before joining with the Elk Lake, we came to Acker Lake.
The trail passes on its East side by a huge pine with a very nice campsite and fire ring. We thought it would make for a nice place to spend the night but since it was still very early in the afternoon, we opted for a short lunch stop by the lake before continuing on. At that point we looked at the map and considering how much we had traveled we decided to try to get to Wood Lake to camp. Neither of us knew that lake so we didn’t know what to expect in terms of people and campsites. Continuing north, we got to a trail which I though was the PCT but son realized it was the Elk Lake trail. We could see Bear Lake thru the trees and discussed whether we wanted to go check out Elk Lake farther west. We opted to skip it as we saw some campers already on Bear Lake. Then we joined the PCT and continued North thru the forest passing just a couple of ponds and gaining some elevation. I remember doing this trail while backpacking solo with Shia to go around Bird Mountain and descend towards Cultus Creek on the other side. Back then, we got scared out of our pants when an elk came running and crossed the trail to disappear almost instantly on the other side. I remember only seeing the white butt at face level as it faded thru the trees. This time we didn’t see elk but the trail was pretty quiet and desolated. We stopped and evaluated for a minute the possibility of checking Placid Lake but then, realizing it was a long walk down and that Placid Lake has a trailhead close by we decided against it to avoid filled campsites. We pushed on until we found the junction with the Wood Lake trail and took the turn. The trail itself looked like a deconditioned trail or a trail that is rarely visited. Branches and overgrown grasses obscured part of the path as we lost elevation. At some point we got our first glimpse at the lake with its beautiful blue sheen.
We got excited and continued as it was looking very promising. Finally we got to the lake and found a foot path that went around. We took the west side just because and almost bushwhacked our way around looking for a campsite. We noticed then that we had a steady wind blowing thru so temperature seemed to be going down quick. Finally towards the northwest side, we found a shallow meadow with a big tree in the middle and a campsite. We dropped our bag and explored a bit just to be sure but we stayed there. While setting our tent up and filtering water we had what would be the first weird encounter of the weekend. Out of nowhere came to guys in full camo with bows and arrows. Silently they walked out of the forest, waved at us, made a turn west, continued and disappeared thru the forest. It left us with a bit of an uneasy feeling knowing we had a couple of hunters close by. As the sun went down and the wind kept blowing it got pretty cold quickly so we made dinner, ate and went for a quick walk to check the colors as the sun illuminated Mt Adams and Rainier red.
We woke to a sunny and equally spectacular day on Sunday. After doing our normal chores and packing we started our hike back by climbing back on the Wood Trail back to the PCT. At the junction we met the first couple as they were pushing north to go back home. We retraced our step on the PCT for a while and met more people heading out – all the people we missed the previous day I guess. Just before Deer Lake, we reached the form with the Cultus Creek trail that connects with the Cultus Trailhead and the Lemei Lake trail. That trail circles around Lemei Lake before joining the PCT again.
Since we had done that section the day before, we took the alternate route to enjoy the different scenery. We passed a couple of lakes and hiked next to big rock slides on our way to Junction Lake. After the lake, at the junction with the East Crater trail is when we had our second weird encounter. As we approached the junction, we saw an older guy with three teenagers. The older guy was resting a bit while the “kids” were playing. As we got closer, I noticed one of them was actually carving his name on the PCT sign. I got really pissed as the signs were pretty new and this – guy – was already defacing it. When we got close, I thought about saying something to the older guy but then I noticed the jean overall and the three packs, all with hunting rifles propped next to a tree. I thought it was illegal to hunt in wilderness areas. Maybe carrying a weapon is not, who knows, fact is, it was depressing to see that. We got on the PCT and for a while I couldn’t get the image of my mind. I recalled talking about with Val who felts roughly the same way as I did. Continuing on, the PCT gained a bit of elevation as it went around the East Crater. There’s no trail that goes there but I’ve read reports of people going in to explore – is on my list. On the way down from East Crater though we met another couple hunters dress in camo with bows and arrows. We were both very perplexed as we passed them by while they were putting on some deer pheromones or something to get in the woods. Disturbing. Finally the PCT took us to Blue Lake where we stopped for lunch.
I showed Val the place where I pitch the tent the first time I was there and how Shia would run around the lake and jump in to go get a stick. After lunch, we sat for a bit in front of the lake and I dispersed some of her ashes keeping the rest to disperse in some of the other lakes she jumped and swam in. It took me a bit to recover from the sad moment but then we continued our path on the Thomas Lake trail going back towards the trailhead. With the time we had, we were able to make several stops in several lakes along the way. We hiked quiet most of the way as I was remembering Shia. We made a final stop at Thomas Lake were Val dropped her pack and read for a bit while I got my feet wet. Finally we hiked the little last portion of the trail back to the car to finish another great adventure.
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