[Last.Man.Out]

Having a weekend forecasting snow here in Spokane, I decided to head westwards to the deserty Odessa Pacific Lake Trail;expected temps in the high 50s with sunshine. I woke up to a somewhat late start at 9:15, hit the road at 10:00 am, driving through snow out of town, and found myself arriving in the small town of Odessa at 11:40. With my dog Dakota ready to go I shouldered my pack and headed off, destination Bobs Lakes. The well marked trail winded up,

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before heading westward for a couple miles. Here it cut North through sagebrush under sunny blue skies. I continued on, crossing west down and back up a small valley, heading north again looking for the trail that would lead me down into the Bobs Lakes' canyon. The trail was spotted at 5.3 miles and I headed downhill, taking in views of the Odessa Towers across the canyon to the west as I dropped down.

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Once in the canyon floor a curious thing happened. I discovered that rather than being inhabited by bodies of water, Bobs Lakes were inhabited by bodies of...cows. Somewhat discouraged by the dried up first lake on my map, I continued on, past the bovine herd, hoping the Northern Bob lake would still have water and provide a suitable place to camp. I traversed along the dry, soft lakebed enjoying the sunshine and steep canyon walls to the east and west.

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Occassional mule deer crossed my sight.

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Two miles up ahead, with a steady breeze at my back, I crossed over a small hill and there it was, water and Bobs Lake.

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I tossed down the pack at 3:45, having came just under 8 miles. The dog quickly ran into the lake and drank his fill while I sat down and ate some lunch. I pondered the best place to set up camp. Twenty minutes later my MSR Hubba Hubba was set up, fly/groundsheet only,

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and I set off again hoping to do a little fishing at Pacific lake to the North before sunset. A five mile round trip journey took me boulder hopping around the lake, which caused by dog some distress trying to follow as he whimpered his complaints, then across a wide open plateu and up a ravine, eventually reaching a gravel road leading to Pacific Lake Recreation Area.

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Excited to have arrived I quickly trekked over to the Boat launch area. Unfortunately there was disappointment to be had here too, as Pacific lake was also dry as bone.

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With nothing here to see I headed back south towards camp, taking in views of the cliffs to the East and West until I spotted Bobs Lake with my Tent on the Southern Shore.

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At about 7:00 PM, having wandered 13 miles for the day, I tended to my blistered left foot, changed my socks and cooked up a dinner of MT.House Potatoes and Beef. Dakota took in some much needed rest before eating his dinner himself and settling down in the dirt y my chair.

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As the sunlight disappeared at 8:00 Pm, I lit my back-breaking six pound duralog and enjoyed the last rays of light. The breeze that had blown all day died down to a whisper and I sat in my Thermawrest chair, enjoying the silence and a bottle of zinfandel out of my sigg container. As the dog lay at my side, stars soon came out and I leaned back, picking out the few constellations I know, Orions Belt, The Swan, The Big Dipper pointing to the North Star. No sight of the Northern Cross tonight...

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At 11:00 PM, the zinfandel gone, I broke into the good stuff, a half bottle of 2001 merlot..., and sipped this away until I called it a night. The fire burned down and distant howls of coyotes perked up my dogs' ears now and then. I turned in at 12:30 and slept the night away, although a stiff breeze picked up to wake me from time to time. I awoke the next morning at 9:00 am, having overslept and missed the sunrise as I often do. After a cup of coffee and a hot breakfast, I started to pack up camp under overcast skies. I encountered some difficulty trying to take down my rainfly under 20-30 mph wins as my tent tried to become a parachute. I did not intend fish my tent out of the lake and finished the deed. At 10:45, packed up again, I once again headed out southwards through the canyon.

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Having already memorized the route and minus 20+ pounds of duralog/dogfood/water I made good time, coming out of the canyon in just over an hour.

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I continued on enjoying the sounds of birds in the brush, laughing at my dog barking at harmless cows. Consulting my topo map, I picked a point at whitch I would cut south-east cross country until I intersected the trail again to the south. A pleasant half hour of crosscountry travel in which I saw a coyote running off into the distance led me back to the main trail. Another hour of travel was grinded out,

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with throbbing feet until finally I had reached the trailhead and my truck, traveling 7 miles in just over 2.5 hours. I gave Dakota, panting and looking thirsty the last half a Nalgene of water, which he drank mid-air out of the bottle, then we drove away back towards town... All in all this was a great trip, I never saw another soul on the trail, the scenery was great, and I'm likely the only one in Spokane with a sunburn...

[goats gone wild]

Welcome to NWHikers, Last.Man.Out I enjoyed your TR & pictures.

[Gil]

What an interesting place! Are those lakes seasonal, so the drying up is normal? And what about trailhead / trail stats for the non-cognoescenti?

[LastManOut]

Gil I dont know if there seasonal but there damn well dryed up and this was a record winter- wouldnt want to go there in August...far as totals it was 20 miles round trip and 1700 ft elevation gain , well worth it for the solitude...I did head to pacific lake which if excluded would cut of 5 miles round trip btw.

[trailjunky]

Way to go Cole, great trip and nice pics. Looking forward to future trip reports.

[gone]

Beautiful desolation! Great pics! Thanks for sharing them!

[Canuck]

That sounds like the trip I desperately need to take right now myself. Solitude, my dog, and a bottle of wine sound heavenly. Great trip report. Any snakes out yet?

[Bloated Chipmunk]

[Hiker Mama]

Fun, what a neat way to spend a weekend. Sounds like a perfect evening with perfect company. Nice pics, too.

[bobbi]

yep, no longer in western washington. no trees! thanks for the TR. looked like you and dakota had fun. love #83, #130, and #143!! a sunburn/tan is a sure sign you were away from spokane! do you like your hubba hubba? i just bought the hubba for my hubby for his birthday. (it's still in the box!)

[LastManOut]

Ewb-thanks it was rather desolate, glad i packed in water... Canuck- no rattle snakes out yet that i saw, but i had my eye out Chipmunk- Wine is water to me, just rehydrates so no worries... Thanks Mama and TrailJunky, Me and Trailjunky hike together and he actually got me into backpacking... Bcfc53- I do like the Hubba Hubba, tons of room for 1 and gear, plenty for 2 if your friendly, its a tad heavy at about 5 lbs, but lately I've ditched the body and gone with the groundsheet and rainfly for about 3lbs weight. I kinda like it cause its roomier and has a more open feel....

[Quark]

Wow, thanks for posting this! Excellente Nice to see sumpin' different. Love the pics; gorgeous place.

[Lochsa]

Great report - I was thisclose to going there Sunday in search of some sun as well. I had planned to take my bike, but opted for the bluffs instead. Looks like a great early season option.

[LastManOut]

Being a long winter as it is this was a great destination, could easily be mountainbiked in a few hours... Damn the snow for keeping the mountains outta reach...