Boulder Lake and Bonney Meadows 7-25-08

[Jane]

Boulder Lake Driving Directions
Take US 26 past Government Camp, and then head NORTH on highway 35 . Stay on Hwy 35 until you get to White River, and immediately after crossing the big volcanic sandy/gravel wash at the White River bridge turn RIGHT (downstream) onto FS Road 48 which starts at the back of the large Sno-Park.
To drive to the easiest access to Boulder Lake, continue a little over 14 miles on FS Road 48, watch for a brown sign that includes "Boulder Lake" , then soon turn LEFT onto FS Road 4880. (If you see a sign reading "Boulder Ditch" you've gone to far.) Stay on 4880 for approx 6 miles (the last 4 miles are gravel, some potholes and washboardy in sections) to the trail head (there is a sign board) and a widening in the road providing room for parking. (This road dead ends shortly after, so if you get to the end of the road, just turn around and look for the wide spot in the road.)



Gene and I met up in Sandy to head to our destination of Boulder Lake and Bonney Meadows. He had a new toy he wanted to try out, a packable, inflatable kayak. So once we got to the trailhead (about 58 miles from the Safeway in Sandy) ,up we went the quarter+ mile to Boulder Lake.
creek along trail:

lovely Boulder Lake:

and after inflating the boat he was soon shoving off:

I hiked around the little lake, the trail on the the near side are clear, but the north end and west side were quite overgrown or tricky going over downed trees and the rocks too, but totally doable.

There's several (I read 10) quaint campspots on the south and east sides:

Okay my turn:

After some floating and a relaxing lunch, Gene pulled the kayak aside (there were only a couple other people and their dogs there) we continued up Bonney Meadows, a 1 and 3/4 mile hike. Some short sections of elevation, but pretty gradual overall, and easy to follow.

lupine :

just some small patches of snow before the meadows,

Bonney Meadows campground (6 spots); which wasn't officially opened yet, but while we were there the ranger arrived and hammered up the open and info signs (this is in the Barlow District), and we chatted with her a bit. One can drive to the campground on a road...suited for army tanks;)

The meadows were heavenly, we tried to step carefully along the displays of flowers, as well as avoid the mushiest spots.

After exploring up here we headed back to the lake. More floating, sunning, snacking, and even a young camper serenading in the distance with his guitar later (we chatted with him , when we left he had the whole lake to himself.)

Gene on the shore:

Not much exertion today, 4-5 miles hiking, elev: Boulder Lk.TH approx. 4500', Bonney Madows Campground elev. 4800'. High recomendations for mass quantities of peace and quiet...

[AnnieEm]

What a beautiful trip! I was under the impression that getting to Boulder Lake was a brutal drive. Sounds like it would be doable in a passenger car? This looks like a great place to take my little boy!

-Annie


EDIT: I'm a dork! I was thinking of Badger Lake being hard to get to. Oh well. Boulder Lake and Bonney Meadows are now on my ever-growing list!

[Jane]

Thanks Annie, yes it's doable in a passenger car if you go the way above. But it is slow going on the gravel part, some rocks on the road, potholes, washboard as mentioned above, and some steep drop offs. But other than that part, a pretty and windy and "paved" drive : ) Oh a perfect place for youngsters, easy hike, shallow lake shore on west side (but of course use caution), jays and chipmunks and dragonflies for company...
I think the FS roads to Bonney Meadows Campground, 3550 and 4891 are the brutal ones. Do refer to a map before you go regardless as there are MANY FS roads in this area!

[Splintercat]

Thanks, Jane - great report, as always! Bonney Meadows (and Bonney Butte) are favorites spots of mine. I'd agree that the north approach to the campground from Bennett Pass is too rough for most people, but the road from the south isn't nearly so bad -- and most importantly, doesn't have the scary "Terrible Traverse" exposure that the Bennett Pass route brings with it!

Here are the crucial intersection signs on FR 4890 to watch for if you're looking to camp at Bonney Meadows, or start the hike from that trailhead - these are posted at the entrance to FR 4891:





The stern warning is really a reference to sections of FR 4891 north of Bonney Meadows. South of the meadows, it's just a rocky, occasionally potholed road that has been used fairly recently for timber cutting, and thus easily passable for SUVs or sturdy passenger cars. I wouldn't take a Miata up there, however...

-Tom

[Jane]

Thanks Tom, and speaking of Bonney Butte, we didn't head up there this day, but here's a report from a couple Octobers ago:
http://portlandhikers.com/forums/thread/7313.aspx
It's pretty neat to go up during Hawk Watch time:
http://www.hawkwatch.org/Research/Site% ... _butte.htm

[pdxgene]

The kayak went from this...

To this in about 10 minutes...

The kayak weighs 18 pounds in the pack.. there was room for my lunch, beach towel , a couple cokes with ice packs, maybe a total weight of 25 pounds. It's relatively easy to carry and packs back up just as easily. The high air pressure level that it holds makes it feel as firm as any hard shell kayak. Unlike my previous Sevylor model, this one goes straight and fast. Two things I was never able to accomplish previously. And of course it was waaaay out of my realistic price range, but hey, that's what credit cards are for
Most of our other pictures are more or less the same. Here's a couple of Boulder Lake in the later afternoon light..

I drove in with my poor old '91 Honda Civic though I do have nice new tires on it. So you really don't need a lot of clearance, but patience comes in handy.. And you definitely don't want to be behind someone. The dust is horrible enough as it is. You can hug the inside and avoid some of the worst washboarded sections but it'll scratch the $#@! out of your car. Give yourself half an hour for the four miles in a car and you'll be fine.
And a token wildlife shot to finish off...

What a great day! Wilderness lakes to kayak are the ultimate goal..

More pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/pdxgene/Bou ... neyMeadows

[jeffstatt]

Cool idea Gene. I was thinking something like that would be very nice indeed on Wahtum Lake this past week.

[Splintercat]

Gene, how many donuts to you need to have in your bloodstream in order to inflate that kayak in 10 minutes...?? Cool idea!

Tom

[pdxgene]

Except trying to get the last couple pumps in there ( 6.5 psi is the air pressure level it holds)it's really pretty effortless to inflate. The pump is specially made for the kayak. Someone a little bigger and stronger than me could pretty much carry this into any back country lake of their choice.

[JosephSamuel]

If anyone has any concerns about their vehicle not making it up gravel to Bonney and they don't mind a short hike in, I parked just off FR 48 and hiked trail 471 up. Its about <2 miles. I'm going back in Sept/Oct when the raptor count is taking place on Bonney Butte.

Joseph