Applegate Lake - Squaw Creek Arm

April 1, 2017

We have hiked many of the trails at or near Applegate Lake.  Stein Butte, Collings Mountain, Payette, Frog Pond, Middle Fork Applegate, Calsh, Osprey, Da-Ku-Be-Te-De to name a few.  But with that being said, we had never hiked the Payette trail around the Squaw Creek Arm of the lake.  Having read postings of a few local hikers who did this portion with snow still on the trail, made us put this hike on our list for when the snow was gone.  Yes, the snow finally melted, the rain ceased for a day, and so we made our way up to Applegate Lake for what would be our second 10+ mile hike of the year.

Time to get out for another long hike......

 We parked at the Dagelma TH and headed down the Osprey trail till it intersects the Payette trail.   Portions of the Osprey trail were still filled with water from the rains and runoffs which made navigation difficult at times.  Once we connected with the Payette trail, we made a left turn and hiked the trail and road till we reached the bridge over Squaw Creek.

The bridge over Squaw Creek.

The rest of our hike would follow the boarder of the lake and would eventually lead to the Manzanita TH.  We crossed various creeks and runoffs which for the most part were no trouble.  Despite all the rain this year, the lake was still not completely filled, but it was definitely higher than previous years.

A fuller but not completely filled Applegate Lake

There were lots of wildflowers thoughout our hike and came in clusters depending on the amount of sunshine and type of soil along various parts of the trail.  We saw Avalanche lilies, Grass Widows, Buttercups, Oregon Sunshine, Shooting Stars and some type of Stonecrop.

Avalanche Lilies along the trail

Periodically we caught glimpses of the snow capped mountains in the distance and more than once we disturbed the peacefulness of some ducks and geese along the lake shore. We also passed through a couple of camping areas, one of which had a few campers for the weekend.

One of the camps we passed through while hiking.

View of snow capped mountains in the distance.

One note about hiking this section of trail - we encountered more mountain bikers today than on any other sections or areas when hiking at the lake.  One rider came quickly around a corner and downhill at us while we were trudging uphill and scared us.  No collision occurred and all parties were courteous, but we were very cautious after that encounter.  We also ran into a section of trail that was heavily damaged from the winter storms and had to navigate around and off trail very carefully - a portion of the trail was literally gone!

One last view of Applegate Lake.

One last note too -- the ticks are out now at Applegate Lake!  Glenn even decided to bring one home with him! But don't let that discourage you from getting out there and enjoying a hike and the wildflowers of spring.  Just leave the ticks behind.

Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol