[bertman]

I attempted a hike to Lake Isabel. I succeeded. http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/lake-isabel

Lake Isabel

The hiking guide at WTA says the hike is roundtrip 7 miles but that’s if you could park near the trailhead. Currently you park on the side of the road on Reiter Road. This adds, I think, about 2-3 miles (one way) to the trek. You need a Discover Pass to park.

Rough track

NOTE: I did not have a GPS with me so that track I drew in from the coordinates on the map to Lake Isabel is arbitrary. I added more details on how to find the trail on my trip report at WTA, but I'll repeat them here. Past the gate, you can cut across directly northeast and pick up a rough trail. Or you can follow the gravel road west until it meets up with another road, then head east. In either case, keep heading east under the powerlines. When you see the moss covered rocks on your left/north/uphill, go directly under the first tower to get to the logging road above. If you keep going, you'll end up in a tangle of blackberries.

under the powerline

climb beneath the tower to reach the upper road

Keep heading east/northeast on this logging road as it climbs. There are plenty of ripe blackberries along the road for snacks. On a clear day, you would also have nice views.

ripe blackberries

hazy

The road will switchback heading northwest at a clear cut. This not the clear cut you want. I originally walked past this, then went back to it to search for trail, then decided to keep going up. The road will switchback again, but do not go up. If you do, I think you end up closer to some climbing/bouldering areas. I thought I was going the wrong way so looked behind me and saw another clearcut to the east. That's the one you want. So instead of taking the swtichback up to the northeast, continue straight northwest and take the spur road. This spur road is closed. You will see piled up debris and dug trenches. Just before the third trench, look right. If you can spot the trail, take it. There was no cairn and no flagging tape. It's really hard to spot, and it is rough climb through the clear cut. I don't recommend it.

trail from spur road, barely visible

The other option (the one that I ended up taking) is to continue on the spur road until it ends in the clearcut. This way is longer but more gradual. Just before the top, head into the clear cut and head directly east. You will intersect the trail heading north towards the treeline.

just before top of clearcut, head east

heading east through clearcut to intersect trail

trail through clearcut heading north

Once in the forest, the trail is still a mess since it's unmaintained. It's overgrown in places. There are blowdowns. You will cross some creek beds and be on some creek beds for some stretches. On my trip, these creekbeds were dry. In the spring/fall, it's going to be wet.

start of trail proper

The final push is really steep and there is barely a game trail. Another trip report says that stretch is 0.5 mile with 600 feet elevation gain. Just keep May Creek to your left/west, keep climbing, and look for yellow and pink flagging.

May Creek

very steep, look for flags

Lake Isabel is pretty. There were two people sunbathing. I sat down on the log jam at the outlet to eat lunch. Three more people came back in a canoe. I understand there is a sandy shore on the opposite side of the lake near the inlet. There was a canoe and a kayak up at the lake. Who brought them, I have no idea. Next time I’d like to take one out but on this occasion, I had to get back.

campsite

lunch

log jam at outlet

canoe and kayak

Overall elevation gain was over 2300 feet or so. I had a lot of trail finding to do on the way up, so it took me 5 hours to get to the lake. Plus I ate a lot of blackberries for my morning snack. I had a 30 minute lunch break. The return trip took only 2.5 hours, plus another 15 minutes of backtracking when I missed the turnoff to where I was parked. I got cleaned up and started back home. And as expected, got stuck in traffic on US2. It took twice as long to get home but all in all, glad I got out for a challenging lake hike.

[bertman]

BTW, anyone know what kind of flower this is?

flower

Thanks!

[kitya]

[flatsqwerl]

Bertman, back in 1980 or so, my brother and I lived at the lake for a month in a camp near the inlet. We built a large 2-log raft that we paddled about the lake. Many stories from that period! It is a beautiful lake.

[bertman]

thanks kitya! flatsqwerl, that's neat!

[Brockton]

[Backpacker Joe]

Anybody fly in there while you were there?

[zephyr]

[Gwen]

Another in agreement that it's not fireweed. Almost looks like some sort of butterfly bush to me. I'll have to hunt it out, see what I can find.

[zephyr]

[bertman]

Here's a close up of that mysterious flower. Many of them were bent over from the weight.

unknown_closeup

[Nancyann]

I'm sure that is a butterfly bush, like Gwen said. They are a noxious weed and grow profusely in the foothills around Sultan and Goldbar. I even have one in my yard that keeps growing back after I cut it down. The butterflies and hummingbirds like them though!