Abandoned "Lake Camp" Trail on Mount Adams? Passable?

Trip recommendations, current conditions, and other trail related Q&A
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Naturebat
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Joined: January 27th, 2013, 9:18 pm

Abandoned "Lake Camp" Trail on Mount Adams? Passable?

Post by Naturebat » September 20th, 2017, 6:21 pm

Does anyone know if the old "lake camp trail" on Mount Adams, between the PCT and the Riley Camp Trail is still navigable? It seems like it would make a nice loop when combined with the PCT and Riley Camp Trail.



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Here is the route of the trail.


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This is where it leaves the PCT and heads north to the Riley Camp Trail.


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It passes by a place called "Lake Camp," according to some older maps.


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You can easily see the tread on Google Maps satellite view.


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Looking at an old map from 1915-1945 (via CalTopo), it shows an old trail closely following the "lake camp trail" shown in the maps above, and a place called "Lake Camp."

(On the map, you can also see the Graveyard Camp Trail, Lookingglass Lake Trail, and the Riley South Trail #64A showing up on the old maps.)



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It continues past Riley Camp/Meadow, and makes it's way below the Mutton Creek lava flow. Eventually, it appears to join up with the Divide Camp spur just off of the Divide Camp Trail. Parts of this trail between the Riley Camp Trail and Divide Camp appear to still have visible tread on satellite maps (but not as easy to see as in the burned areas).


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During my Crystal Lake-High Camp backpacking trip last year, I noticed an abandoned side trail heading abruptly to the north. It also happens to be the exact location as the mystery trail on the old maps.



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These signs here were placed to keep hikers from accidentally taking the other trail, (and perhaps to re-route the trail away from the meadows).



Is there any possibility of the FS bringing this trail back into the inventory, just as they did with the Riley South Trail? Loops are a rarity on Mount Adams, and another loop option would be nice. I'd imagine the wildflowers are amazing in season.
- Previously ElementalFX

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romann
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Re: Abandoned "Lake Camp" Trail on Mount Adams? Passable?

Post by romann » September 21st, 2017, 12:02 am

Looks to be purposefully blocked in the beginning... Did you hike a few hundred yards to check it out (if you do, those satellite shots are really helpful to bring along, sometimes it's harder to see on the ground)? It's unlikely they blocked it far past the junction, may well still be in reasonable shape.

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Naturebat
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Re: Abandoned "Lake Camp" Trail on Mount Adams? Passable?

Post by Naturebat » September 21st, 2017, 2:36 pm

romann wrote:Looks to be purposefully blocked in the beginning... Did you hike a few hundred yards to check it out (if you do, those satellite shots are really helpful to bring along, sometimes it's harder to see on the ground)? It's unlikely they blocked it far past the junction, may well still be in reasonable shape.
No, I'm afraid I didn't. It was getting pretty late in the day and I wasn't completely sure if it was the same trail, or just a re-route of the Riley Camp Trail.

I went through the satellite images and mapped the trail out as best as I could. Here is the GPS track in yellow (not a recorded track).
https://caltopo.com/m/SB2M
Mount_Adams__Lake_Camp_Trail_.gpx
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- Previously ElementalFX

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