8/11-8/12 Indian Heaven - Chenamus Lake/Placid Lake Loop (berries and mozzies)

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teachpdx
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8/11-8/12 Indian Heaven - Chenamus Lake/Placid Lake Loop (berries and mozzies)

Post by teachpdx » August 14th, 2018, 12:23 pm

My partner, my friend, and I headed up to Chenamus Lake in the Indian Heaven Wilderness this weekend for a quick overnight and attempt of the Placid Lake Loop described in the Field Guide.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon at the Placid Lake Trailhead and made the quick hike (in off and on rain/drizzle) to Chenamus Lake, where we set up in the secondary campsite as the main one across the lake was occupied. After stretching out the hammock tent and picking some huckleberries (which were abundant) we sheltered from the rain underneath the tent and relaxed for the evening. The fog over/around the lake was mesmerizing, and the rain was doing a decent job keeping the mozzies at bay.

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We awoke the next morning, taking our time getting ready and making breakfast before setting out on the abandoned section of the Chenamus Lake Trail. The trail was well-marked and flagged until about 1/4 mile past the Rush Creek pond, where the flagging disappeared into game trails instead of crossing the creek as mentioned in the field guide.

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Instead of retracing our steps to find the crossing, we headed straight uphill, staying to the left (west) of Acker Lake and the Acker Lake drainage, eventually popping out onto the Elk Lake Trail at the southwest corner of Bear Lake. After a quick break to reapply bug spray (the mosquitoes along that section were relentless) and change into dry socks (all the low bushes were still wet from the rain) we headed quickly north on the PCT.

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About 1/4 mile before our turn down the Placid Lake Trail, these tracks in a low area just off the trail caught my eye...

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They were in pursuit of a deer/elk across this area... I'm assuming these are cougar? Please correct/enlighten me if I am wrong.

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We made good time heading down the Placid Lake trail, passing a beautiful meadow with a stunning view back to Bird Mountain.

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We were nearly back to the junction with the Chenamus Lake trail when a yellowjacket came out of nowhere and stung my partner through his wool socks! Needless to say we did that last mile a little bit slower, but still made good time back to Chenamus Lake, doing the 7.9 mile loop in just a hair over 3 hours.

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We quickly packed up camp, by this point fending off hordes of mozzies, and made our way back past Placid Lake to the trailhead.

A couple items of note: Huckleberries are out, and there are plenty... but most likely even better in a week or two. Mozzies were really hit and miss... sometimes no issue, other times relentless... but I made it out with only one bite. And I really liked our (unintentional) detour from the old trail, it was very simple/straightforward to go directly to Bear Lake following game trails and fallen logs.
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drm
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Re: 8/11-8/12 Indian Heaven - Chenamus Lake/Placid Lake Loop (berries and mozzies)

Post by drm » August 18th, 2018, 12:49 pm

When I followed the old trail from Chenamus I ended up at Junction Lake and don't remember any particularly faint sections of trail, but that was some years ago. I looked at the field guide description and it seems what you did is still pretty close to that.

pcg
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Re: 8/11-8/12 Indian Heaven - Chenamus Lake/Placid Lake Loop (berries and mozzies)

Post by pcg » August 18th, 2018, 1:24 pm

teachpdx wrote:
August 14th, 2018, 12:23 pm
these tracks in a low area just off the trail caught my eye...
... I'm assuming these are cougar? Please correct/enlighten me if I am wrong.
There is nothing to show scale, which would be helpful, but I believe these are from a canine. Cougar tracks typically do not show claw/nail prints as their claws as they retractable. These show a pronounced nail print beyond the toe pads, and are also a bit narrower than a typical cougar print.
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Mikeph4
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Re: 8/11-8/12 Indian Heaven - Chenamus Lake/Placid Lake Loop (berries and mozzies)

Post by Mikeph4 » August 20th, 2018, 6:39 pm

My wife and I did this at the end of last year and it was a fun and beautiful hike. The trail very easy to follow. We did a loop from the Cascade Crest Trail onto the old abanonded Lone Butte / Placid Lake trail. We only took it because of the old sign we had found saying "Lone Butte 3 Miles" and an arrow pointing towards a trail we couldn't even see. After some looking we noticed the flat of the trail through the brush a little ways inward. So we took it and ended up with a loop to Placid Lake through the old Chenamus Lake trail heading towards Junction Lake, and then back into the PCT near where we started off the CCT.

Thanks for posting your updates! The wife and I do all of our adventuring in the Indian Heaven, so it's good to see and hear of other folks taking on the old trails.
We are attempting to to do some upkeep on some of these old trails which are fading away, so that others can enjoy them as much as we do.

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dirtman
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Re: 8/11-8/12 Indian Heaven - Chenamus Lake/Placid Lake Loop (berries and mozzies)

Post by dirtman » August 21st, 2018, 11:08 am

I was up there last Saturday and explored ponds/meadows south of Rush Creek.

I am pretty darn sure this is a cougar print at one pond...

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And this is a mother and cub bear prints at the heart shaped pond...

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