Beyers and Phoenix Lake Backpack 2008-0720

The "trail" was not what I expected at first.  The trail was a road for the first couple of miles in what is supposed to be a "roadless" area.  I kept waiting for a gate & big signs proclaiming we were entering a non-motorized area, but it did not happen. 

The road from "Summit City" very gradually changed from road to trail - and it was less trail and more like walking in a dry creek bed, very rocky and steep.  We really had to watch our step.

The roadless area really began at Baltimore Lake. A nice forest lake, only about 2 miles in and right on the trail.  After wrapping around Baltimore, we started climbing.  The trail was pretty rocky in places, but at least it was now a trail

After passing the "Baltimore Townsite" (there wasn't anything there) we climbed a bit more then passed a granite shelf.  We climbed up hoping to get a quick look at Old Man Mountain & Phoenix Lake, our destination for the following day.  The area is just as steep, cliffy & rocky as we thought.

Shortly after, we arrived at a saddle point and Beyer Lakes came into view.  Just as beautiful as we imagined.  A high mountain lake surrounded by granite, the north end up against the Black Buttes.  The only thing to mare the beauty on our hike down to the lake was the thick smoke to the west.

Arriving at Beyers Lake, we were surprised that there was no sign of anyone else - we had the lake to ourselves.   We found a wonderful camp site and first things first - a swim!  The was chilly but perfect after the hike down.

After setting up camp, we went for another refreshing swim then made dinner.  As the sun set, we walked around for a while then went back to camp.  While listening to TrailCast, a hiking oriented podcast, darkness arrived and one by one, the stars appeared in the sky.

We both slept well except for the low rumble of freight trains way off in the distance.

We woke up early, made breakfast and packed up.

Our next destination, Phoenix Lake.  A very isolated off trail lake surrounded by steep granite cliffs on 3 sides and Old Man Mountain on the other.  This was a difficult cross-country trek and a long descent down into the lake basin.  Google Earth, Topofusion, and topo maps were very helpful in finding a decent route.

As we made our down, it clouded up and cooled off.  About 100 feet in elevation to go, we started noticing cairns.  We decided to follow them.  And it paid off; the cairns ended at a wonderful camp right at the lake.  After taking off our heavy packs, taking off our boots, we soaked our hot feet in the lake.  Just enjoying the beautiful rugged area.

The fun part was still ahead of us; climbing back up and find our way back to the trail.  Somehow, without many wrong turns or backtracking, we ended up exactly where we needed to be to easily get back to the truck.

The sun reappeared on and off during the accent making for a hot hike but we did get some short-lived relief ... A cloud burst.  For only the 2nd time on the hundreds of miles we have hiked, it rained!

During this trek, we talked quite a bit about our gear, making plans for some upgrades.  With the backpacking treks we'd like to do, we need to lighten our loads.

A fantastic trek.  Well worth every step, every heavy breath.

A few of the photos are here on iperntiy but the full set is hosted on flickr