Nice to meet you, my name is Curtis and I live in beautiful Portland, Oregon. I grew hiking and backpacking all the wonderful trails we have in our neck of the woods. As continued to hike more and more I found myself wondering about the plants, animals, geology and history of the trails I was travelling along. I'm now more engrossed in these things than seeing just a magnificent view or an exquisite waterfall. I'd like to share all the fascinating things I learn about the trails with you. Please watch my videos, give a listen to the podcast or take a look at the photos I post on Instagram. Most importantly let me know what inspires you to get outdoors!
I thought I had that listed in the description, but apparently not! Let me look thru my archive and find out the date for you. I want to say it was early August perhaps.
This was filmed in early July so they were voracious. I've been there in early September and they weren't too bad. Page Springs is where they have been the worst when I visit.
Thanks for the wonderful video. I went up there a couple days ago after wanting to for a decade and getting lost once. No one should think it is just a walk in the forest.... Last five plus miles of road are terrible and not suitable for cars you revere. Pickups for sure. For those who are curious, my suggestions are. Check with BLM first. There are countless roads that are spurs. The latest map would be advisable because over the years bridges have been replaced and culverts added here and there. Take a walking stick and try to plan for dry weather. The trail has steep parts that will be slippery when wet. What a treat. never forget it. We even saw a barred owl
I've done a ton of hiking (PCT, AT, CT, TRT, Timberlinex10?) but this is without a doubt one of the toughest hikes out there. I actually pulled the plug on my first attempt - the ravines freaked me out. The second time I bypassed the first (Blue Lake Wash) and camped at Blue Lake and skipped the third (Shoestring) by exiting via the Ape Canyon Trail and road walking the last bit. I was solo and 64, so I didn't want to take chances.
Better to be safe than sorry! I was freaked out on the boulder fields. I kept picturing myself falling and snapping my leg 😬 luckily that didn't happen.
I didn't find any major evidence in my historical research, but I'm sure there were plenty of test claims by people to check for minerals. What area in particular do you think looks like it was mined?
The only sketch parts are going into and out of maybe two of the washes. Sketch factor maybe a 3 on a scale of 10 where 10 indicate rock climbing with ropes on the easier route. Honestly going over those big lava rock fields made me more uneasy. I always feel like I might fall and break a leg!
@@Hikingindepth awesome - thank you! I am looking at doing this solo and was wondering how sketch the ropes and ridges were. sounds like they aren't too bad. great video!!
First time I went to this lake, I was about 4 years old. Back then, we were allowed to use Trail type motorcycles-which we did. My uncle shuttled it back and forth until we were all in. Did you take the trail that only takes about 45 minutes to get to the lake? It looks like you may have taken the longer trail that you come to first. The shorter trail starts with a big downhill and there hasn't been a picnic table there that I have ever seen. There's an excellent water spring right above that big tree that you showed on the left side of the trail near the corner of the lake. Water is pure, ice cold and comes right out of the ground about 10 feet from the trail. There used to be a log cabin for rangers on the East end of the lake and if you know what to look for, you can still see the remains of the concrete base that they used to level the ground. Still my absolute favorite. A busy day at Fish Lake means you see 2 other groups of people.
Kelly, thanks for the stories and great info! I took the shorter trail into Fish Lake but I crossed over the outlet on a trail to head over to Cliff Lake for the night. The next day I continued the loop around back to fish Lake and went across the eastern shore of Fish Lake on the way out. I didn't realize stop and relax at the lake but I saw quite a few flat areas where a lot of people have been camping or it looks like perhaps that's where the cabin would have been that you mentioned. I'm disappointed I didn't take time to explore more now that I know that there was cabin remains.
@@Hikingindepth You could take either trail and still cross over where you did. There was a spot where the sign pointed to both trails. If you came down a steep hill right before that, you would have been on the shorter trail. The shorter trail doesn't get near a creek until the two meet for the last 1/2-3/4 mile.
@@MrOregonCurtis Cool. Yeah I never take the long trail, but that's partly because we pack a boat in and camp at the lake for several days. It makes the hike out a real bear. Last time I went there, we found some wild strawberries growing right next to the trail on that downhill slope.
Good job. I gotta get up there. I would like to fish that creek and see what trout reside there. I live in White Salmon and I have a pair of Pileated wooodpeckers that hang out around my neighborhood year round. Thanks for the video
Thank you! My guess would be cutthroat, especially above the falls, but I'm not sure if it was stocked. I think there is a fish hatchery just up the road from stabler though so maybe it was stocked sometime in the past? I love pileated's, such a distinctive look with a great call. I feel like I mostly hear them though as they take off before I get too close!
@@Hikingindepth Cutthroat would be my guess as well. They don’t usually stock the high streams that I’m aware of. Pileateds sit on the telephone pole outside my house and talk and hammer in April and May and then they go down into Jewett creek canyon to nest and raise their kids. Then I see em around off and on all fall and then they lay low until next spring. Good stuff
Thank you! The mosquitoes in the campground were pretty bad during dusk, but then they went away. We also had head nets from Sea to Summit that are treated with Permethrin which helps a lot!
Thanks for the kind words, that means a lot! I'm glad you enjoyed the videos. I want to do more in depth videos with history, but the research takes quite a bit of time so I'm a little slow to produce them. 😅
Hey, thanks so much for stopping by. Have you had a chance to visit Yellowstone? It looks like you are planning to hike the AT? That will be quite the adventure, good luck! 😊
