Avalanche Lake
July 29, 2007
This was yet another close by hike, only four miles from camp by car. It starts by dropping down and crossing Beaver Creek (over a bridge, with nearby stock crossing,) then climbs gradually up the West Fork Beaver Creek valley. It passes through the usual mix of meadows and open forests typical of this area. There are several tricky to cross washouts early on on the trail. John Mowat set a nice, steady pace to keep the group together, while he and Sue Sullivan alternately shouted out to warn the bears away (demonstrated that evening at campfire.) We stopped at the lake, a little gem that’s nestled in a glacial cirque. While we ate our lunches, John M. pumped Rich for information on weather forecasting. We spotted a fisherman across the lake. He eventually walked by our group, but didn’t respond to questions about how the fishing was. We headed back when the early afternoon thundershower began, but only got sprinkled on a bit. We hiked about 12 miles, with 2200 ft. of elevation gain.
This trip was repeated later in camp with the addition of a side trip to Blue Danube Lake.
Hikers were: Jan Anselmo, Rich Anselmo, Lynda Christiansen, Wayne Deeter, John Mowat, John Pegg, Sue Sullivan (leader) and Sue Wolling.
Group just past a washout
Sue S., Jan and John P. at the lake
Reflections in the lake
report and photos by Wayne Deeter