Soda Peaks Lake from west FR-54

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BaileyBoy
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Soda Peaks Lake from west FR-54

Post by BaileyBoy » August 18th, 2022, 2:57 pm

Spda Peals Lake TH.jpg
Two old men and a dog hiked this trail from the west the other day. We left Portland and took Hwy 30 (Wind River Road) north to Stabler, then west to Szydlo Rd to FR-54 then northerly to junction of NF-54 and NF-307 (note 307 not marked nor is TH). We found the TH with no problem since I had been there last year and searched for it for an hour.
Image


The trail is pretty brushy, rocky and rooty most of the way and has a few slide areas. It's also pretty narrow at spots but that's not a big issue. As others have written it's a steep trail for the first mile or so and seems much steeper than it is due to the trail conditions. The flowers are blooming but not plentiful. We were surprised to find some ripe huckleberries but I'd guess it'll be another week before this area has many.
Pierre on bushy trail.jpg
We had lunch shortly after the trail summit while enjoying views of Mt Hood, Mt Adams and Mt St Helens. My friend had to get home by 6PM so we decided to turn back before getting to the lake since it's a steep ascent. 
Buddy and rocky trail.jpg
There were no vehicles at the TH and saw no one on the trail. This is the 4th time I've been up there and have never seen another person so it is a legitimate wilderness - note that no forest pass is required but there is a wilderness permit to complete in a container at the TH (which is a hundred feet or so from parking area through the brush). 
Soda Pealks TH.jpeg

johnspeth
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Re: Soda Peaks Lake from west FR-54

Post by johnspeth » August 18th, 2022, 6:55 pm

That's a fun and short hike to a pretty lake, The last time I was at that trailhead a few years ago, I found a bit of a mess of broken glass, garbage, and a lot of tree debris scattered about. It looked like some vandals had a good time there. Maybe it was from reckless target shooting. I was worried about parking there but my day ended safely. Did you find any of that when you were there?

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BaileyBoy
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Re: Soda Peaks Lake from west FR-54

Post by BaileyBoy » August 19th, 2022, 9:47 am

We didn't see any debris in the entire parking and trailhead area, which is pretty large. However 2 years ago when I went up there was lots of glass and debris in the area.
You may recall there is a campsite to the left as you drive in which has a fire ring and a few logs to sit on. There was no debris there either.
I figure the next trip up there I'm going to play Don Nelson and cut some of the vegetation back.

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drm
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Re: Soda Peaks Lake from west FR-54

Post by drm » August 20th, 2022, 7:00 am

Vandalism has been a big problem at that trailhead. That's why there is no sign on the road - there used to be. But the FS replaces vandalized signs only so many times before giving up. That's also why there is no prominent sign for Panther Creek Falls.

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BaileyBoy
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Re: Soda Peaks Lake from west FR-54

Post by BaileyBoy » August 20th, 2022, 9:05 am

Dean, that makes perfect sense. It's such a large area and it appears (given the fire ring) and cleared ground area) that there are a few parties up there. Not sure how that could be rectified but it might see a few more hikers if it were able to be done.

KKrall
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Re: Soda Peaks Lake from west FR-54

Post by KKrall » August 29th, 2022, 10:25 am

Hiked to Soda Peaks Lake from the west with our daughter and grandkids. On our way in on August 20, we were surprised to be passed twice by two young men on dirt bikes. I did report this to the Rangers later.

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