icthys
06-13-2006, 12:58 PM
We headed out for a hike on Saturday 6-10-06. We got a late start but we still had a good time. We started up Upper Setting Road at 11:45 am, the road took us 45 min in our stock Xterra. The road had no snow but it is rough in a few locations and a high clearance non-4x4 is required. Once we reached the parking lot we ate lunch and got everything together and ready.
East Shingle Creek is only 1.5 miles and is an easy hike. The only difficulties I had were crossing the runoff rivers with the little one one my back but they were only minor. The trail had no snow on it and not much water. There is a sign marking the lake when you get there and another sign pointing you in the direction to Erickson Basin.
We didn't spend long at ESCL and headed off up to Erickson Basin. It wasn't long before we had a hard time finding the trail in one spot due to vegetation over growth. As we continued and climbed elevation the snow kept getting more frequent and drifts up to 4' deep. The snow got so bad that there was no trail to follow. I had a good map and had marked ESCL on my GPS and we felt comfortable trying to get to Erickson Basin. Another few hundred yard and the snow got even worse. It was starting to get a little late and we decided we should just turn back and hang out at ESCL.
We spent about an hour at the lake. The fishing was hot and the fish were tasty. We also took some time to identify some wildflowers.
It was a great little hike and this weekend or next should be good for making it up into the Basin without to much trouble and some wet boots.
East Shingle Creek is only 1.5 miles and is an easy hike. The only difficulties I had were crossing the runoff rivers with the little one one my back but they were only minor. The trail had no snow on it and not much water. There is a sign marking the lake when you get there and another sign pointing you in the direction to Erickson Basin.
We didn't spend long at ESCL and headed off up to Erickson Basin. It wasn't long before we had a hard time finding the trail in one spot due to vegetation over growth. As we continued and climbed elevation the snow kept getting more frequent and drifts up to 4' deep. The snow got so bad that there was no trail to follow. I had a good map and had marked ESCL on my GPS and we felt comfortable trying to get to Erickson Basin. Another few hundred yard and the snow got even worse. It was starting to get a little late and we decided we should just turn back and hang out at ESCL.
We spent about an hour at the lake. The fishing was hot and the fish were tasty. We also took some time to identify some wildflowers.
It was a great little hike and this weekend or next should be good for making it up into the Basin without to much trouble and some wet boots.