BLUE LAKE TRAIL (WINTER)

WHERE:     From Portland take I 84 to Cascade Locks exit then cross the Columbia river at the Bridge of the Gods.  Take highway 14 east to Wind River Road where you veer (to the left from 14 and keep following the signs for Panther Creek road (forest service road 65).  Its roughly thirty miles from the highway where you will find the trail head.

THE TRAIL:    Goes past many lakes on the way to Tombstone Lake at the end and you can even follow the trail down to the Indian Racetrack if you want. The first segment shoots up about 400 feet elevation past a segment of disturbed forest and into a forest of fir and Mountain Hemlock.  During winter, when I went I could not follow the trail past the Rock Lakes but it was a pretty flat meander amidst the lake covered meadows.  I also saw a large white Coyote on the ride up. 

I recently took this trail again in mid June hoping to get into the heart of the wilderness.  Unfortunately once you get up into the lakes, you are on a relatively flat plateau that is covered with snow making it  impossible to follow the trail.  Snow lingers for a long time especially on the meadows covering the shady side of larger uprisings. 

A year later I hiked this wilderness in August with my nephews on the Northeast side of the Wilderness.  This is Huckleberry picking heaven.  Our hike began on the Cultus Creek trailhead and we stopped at Deep Lake to camp.  There are an assortment of good views, including Mt. Adams, and nice lakeside camping spots.