On a warm summer day we hiked from the Lac le Jeune Campground beach along trails into the Stake Lake system and up a single track trail to the Lac le Jeune Lookout. From the viewpoint we have great views of Lac le Jeune and areas south and southeast. Each time we do this hike, we pick a different route …Continue reading…
Near the fall Equinox we hiked from the Ridge Mountain FSR to a loop route above Lac le Jeune. We hiked a good trail along the Fire Break around the north flank of Ridge Mountain. We then took a flagged single track which brought us up on top of Ridge Mountain. This ridge is inconspicuous from the north side, but …Continue reading…
Snow had fallen in the Lac le Jeune area so our hiking was all on about 8 cm of wet snow. We hiked 11 km on trails and routes on the east side of the lake. From the Ross Moore Forest Service Road, we hiked first on the Sidewinder Trail then the Gus Johnson Trail. We hiked out to the …Continue reading…
Every winter we snowshoe from the Lac le Jeune Estates area up to the Ridge Lakes. There are several possible routes, but many of the tracks shown on any map are plagued by windfall and so no one follows them on snowmobiles or snowshoes. A reliable route that is usually tracked with snowshoes starts at the end of Lac le …Continue reading…
Every year I take backroads to Ross Moore Lake. The route was through the upper grasslands on the Long Lake Road. The road becomes a bit rougher as it enters the forest in the Dropping Creek drainage. At a junction with the McConnell FSR, I stayed left and continue through the forest through gullies and over ridges for another 8 …Continue reading…
When the weather is doubtful for paddling, we head up the Lac le Jeune Road and pick a lake on the route. Inks Lake, Jacko Lake, MConnell Lake, Lodgepole Lake, Stake Lake, Lac le Jeune, Walloper Lake, and Paska Lake offer multiple choices if rain or wind is an issue. At prime times, Jacko and McConnell are not as good …Continue reading…
Hull Hill is a sprawling forested hill that fills the whole space from the Goose Lake Road to McConnell Lake, a total area of 25 square kilometers (5 km x 5 km). It has been extensively logged and replanted and there are a few resource roads that provide limited access from each side. In winter, the best access for snowshoers …Continue reading…
We started going up to the Ridge Lakes in about 1980 to do some early cross country skiing at 4820 – 5000 ft. We would put our skis on our shoulders and hike up to the snow. In mid-season we would ski from the Lac le Jeune Cross Country Trails (gone now) up to the trail next to the ski …Continue reading…
When we travel to the lakes of our area to the Interior, we usually try to go a lake that is large enough to warrant the time an effort to load up, drive, launch, reload, and drive back. We prefer a lake that has a 5 km shoreline or longer. If we choose a smaller lake, we try to …Continue reading…
Ross Moore Lake is a pleasant lake in the Lac le Jeune area, but its not easy to get to. The best road access is to drive out onto the Brigade Lake Road, then turn onto the Long Lake Road. After the last ranch, the road is not maintained very often so it will requires some slower driving on backroads, …Continue reading…
Some images taken while paddling Walloper Lake, then roaming around the shoreline afterwards (on two separate days). A gallery is provided here. Hover your cursor over an image for a title/caption and double click for a full-sized image.
When winter snows blanket the hills we head to to various locations to snowshoe. Well-established locations like Stake Lake, Sun Peaks, and Bush Lake/Dogwood Marshes are often our first choice, but then we go to secondary routes when conditions are right. We first starting exploring Hill Hill decades ago, running and hiking the old double tracks on the north and …Continue reading…
When the weather gets hot, we often go to the high country to find shade, to be next to a lake, and to enjoy moderate in the hills trails. In this last outing, we brought our kayaks and paddled 2 loops around the lake then hiked one loop around the lake. We find the water in Stake Lake to be …Continue reading…
When the heat of summer makes all of our lower-elevation trails a challenge we can drive up to the high country at over 4000 feet and hike on trails in the cooler montane forest. In a summer of smoky conditions, it is also an opportunity to get above the smoke-filled river valleys. Stake Lake is easy to get to and …Continue reading…
Inks Lake lies in a basin just off the Lac le Jeune Road in the grasslands southeast of Sugarloaf Hill and west of Jacko Lake. Because it is shallow, there is no fishing in the lake and in mid-summer algae expands throughout the lake. It sees little recreational use, except for winter pond hockey and an occasional lakeside camper. There …Continue reading…