Canyon Lake Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Canyon Lake - Six miles round trip,
elevation gain 200'. The maps are Green Trails Silverton 110 (for
the trail) and Green Trails Granite Falls 109 (for the driving
directions).
Recently Gordy and I had an overwhelming urge to visit Canyon Lake,
a place we spent many carefree afternoons waaaay back when we were
young. Back then the trail was only .10 from the car, that is not
the case anymore.
Due to over use and abuse the Forest Service closed the road and
added a plethora of berms. While mountain bikes are not permitted
in the Boulder River Wilderness, Forest Road No. 4111 would make a
good destination for mountain bikers as well as hikers.
Most of the trail is a continuation of an old road (Forest Road No.
4111), but it feels more like a trail than a road. It's been a long
time since anyone has driven the route -- long enough that moss and
small hemlocks are filling in and a few sections of the road have
begun to erode away.
On a clear day the hike provides good views of Mount Pilchuck and
the South Fork Stillaguamish River valley. At one point Gordy was
tickled to be able to look down and see where the blue bridge on
the Mt Loop Hwy crosses the Stilly.
At just under three miles, the road/trail divides. Initially, we
missed the divide, but the upper road has a much more primitive
feel and it wasn't long before we realized our error and
backtracked. We then noticed the flourecent green flagging tape in
the trees (DUH!) and took the lower right road. Hiking downhill,
approximately 200 feet. At the bottom of the hill, an unsigned
trail leading to Canyon Lake can be found in the trees on the
left....and guess what?? There is another piece of green flagging
tape.
The lack of hikers have made this a lonesome spot and the 5-acre
lake is probably known mostly to fishermen. The fishing is said to
be fair and there are rough campsites along the shore. Logs clutter
the shoreline and from what we hear there is a rough path goes
partway around the lake, but we were short on time and weren't able
to explore further.
When Gordy and I placed this cache we had the entire trail to
ourselves, never even seeing another person. So if solitude is what
you seek lace your boots up and come check out Canyon Lake.
A couple of noteworthy items:
- I like trailhead caches and there is a wonderful view of Mt
Pilchuck from here, but wasn't feeling the love for this trailhead
so instead I've provided parking coords for you to use.
- While we never saw another person on the trail, we most
certainly knew we weren't alone having seen both fresh bear scat
and a couple of prints. Feel free to sing/talk/whatever along the
way.
- We want you to enjoy the walk and have some fun, use the
spoiler pic so you don't waste your time searching when you could
be playing.
- There is an unactivated geocoin in the cache for the first
finder, one we believe to be most appropriate for this cache.
- Finally, please remember to be good geocachers and practice
Leave No Trace. If you pack it in, pack it out.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)