Hiking to the Isolated Toad and Porcupine Lakes

“The trail has got to be around here somewhere….” was our refrain for the day.

After the long, windy, and rocky road through the Shasta-Trinity Forest, we came to the parking area for Toad Lake. The short hike saw us climbing up a rocky scramble, until within minutes we were at the shores of the azure lake.

I’ve been to this lake exactly once before, over a year ago on the Fourth of July. We were losing daylight and never ended up doing the jaunt to Porcupine Lake. This day trip was our chance for me to make it up there.

Toad Lake is simply pristine. It sits in a small, shallow crater and seems ideal for camping – there are many tables and fire rings. There is technically a bathroom structure, which resembled a shack from a distance. I did not investigate, and would not even be able to tell you if there is a working toilet in it. We opted to answer the calls of nature directly in nature.

It surprised us that we were the only people up at this lake. It is a bit of a drive, but is an isolated lake with access to campground and fishing. That being said, neither of us fish, and our main purpose was in exploration and hiking.

We followed the trail around the south end of the lake. The lake sits in a small bowl, and we knew that Porcupine lake lay just over the ridge to our southwest. We kept walking and circumnavigating Toad Lake until we realized we must have missed the trail somewhere along the way. Rather than retrace our steps or continue on the trail, we decided to do brashly leave the trail. We headed directly upslope, knowing that we had to intersect the zigzagging trail at some point. Our ascent steadily increased getting steeper and steeper. About two thirds of the way up, we found a small trail that could have been the trail, or simply could have been a thoroughfare for deer. We decided to follow it, and it eventually did intersect with the real trail. Whereas ours was small and hard to discern, the actual trail looks very clearly trail-like.

We followed it up the hill until we were met with our ever-present and meandering friend, the PCT. We headed south here, with Mt. Eddy standing starkly behind us.  After a short while, we took the cut off up to Porcupine Lake. We could see evidence of the fierce geologic activity from ages past.

At last, we arrived at Porcupine Lake – our own secluded mountain oasis. It sat in what looked like a crater, beside Porcupine Peak. Here, the wind blew and we were surprised to find that for one of the first times in the summer, we were cold. We knew we were going to be climbing elevation, so we were grateful that we had brought flannels and sweatshirts.

The towel I brought remained unused. We have jumped in our fair share of cold water(Tamolitch Blue Pool and the water at the base of Mossbrae Falls, to name two of the coldest), but the idea of climbing out of the cold water into the cold air seemed unappealing and probably slightly unhealthy. So, for the first time this summer, we did what seemed unthinkable: we didn’t jump in the lake.

Still, we took time to explore the rocky shores. We were greeted by small frogs whose colors matched the sun-bleached rocks almost perfectly. We found a suitably flat area and broke out the snacks and drinks and relaxed. After a while, we hopped on some of the rocks and tried to balance against the wind that this bowl created.

After we had cooled off from hiking, we decided it was time to head down the hill. We hobbled across some of the rocks and found that again, the trail seemed elusive. We walked in the direction we thought it would be, knowing that we must have been close. We kept thinking how the area we were hiking in really wasn’t that vast, so it had to be nearby. We ended up hitting the PCT (completely missing the connecting trail) and just followed this back to the fork to Toad Lake. We were rewarded with beautiful vistas of the still-unoccupied-by-any-other-human lake. The hike down was much quicker, especially once we found where we were actually supposed to be going.

Porcupine Lake is beautiful and hidden, but the shores around it are rocky and steep in places, making Toad Lake the more ideal for camping. I’ve heard that there is semi-decent fishing in the area, but it would be wise to perhaps bring backup food. Still, the draw seems to be the distance from civilization: we felt like we could have been the last people on earth up there. I wouldn’t mind spending the night up there to sit by a roaring fire and see how many stars are visible. Perhaps next time, but this time I was content to simply find a new alpine lake I’d never gone to before. 

Ryan Loughrey

Ryan has been wandering the PNW since 1993. Follow his blog at peaceloveandabowlofrice.wordpress.com

3,959 Comments

  1. Pingback: netverka
  2. Pingback: munoso
  3. Pingback: fildupuis
  4. Pingback: bez-diploma
  5. Pingback: lafdental
  6. Pingback: tuckaghrie
  7. Pingback: postaim
  8. Pingback: fanclubes
  9. Pingback: afidmex
  10. Pingback: pedsbif
  11. Pingback: rf-frontier
  12. Pingback: tosseldorf
  13. Pingback: edcialistop
  14. Pingback: winasms
  15. Pingback: lesmatons
  16. Pingback: etcshowchoir
  17. Pingback: biosavons
  18. Pingback: tekstrens
  19. Pingback: respigar
  20. Pingback: saemmit
  21. Pingback: dramony
  22. Pingback: hdcamcrew
  23. Pingback: saraswartz
  24. Pingback: cikgudollah
  25. Pingback: betlikeaff
  26. Pingback: howtoans
  27. Pingback: harbenpumps
  28. Pingback: veskopetrov
  29. Pingback: profprsites
  30. Pingback: muadotho
  31. Pingback: rupulu
  32. Pingback: fracingsand
  33. Pingback: stanthonyshyd
  34. Pingback: alniam
  35. Pingback: scpfamag
  36. Pingback: westwoodcpr
  37. Pingback: imilade
  38. Pingback: underfundig
  39. Pingback: conquerrsi
  40. Pingback: ilovemage
  41. Pingback: tidyweekender
  42. Pingback: becomingsleek
  43. Pingback: ukcopiersonline
  44. Pingback: gtrelarm
  45. Pingback: websinfohk
  46. Pingback: ninjapopgrip
  47. Pingback: theadepot
  48. Pingback: bmliren
  49. Pingback: ezenyalusi
  50. Pingback: facemasksbulk
  51. Pingback: cloudninechic
  52. Pingback: desnichons
  53. Pingback: wanhedra
  54. Pingback: projoust
  55. Pingback: zeneventsja
  56. Pingback: fiverrsnooper
  57. Pingback: raspberrypihacks
  58. Pingback: fullxd
  59. Pingback: thefunnyjunk
  60. Pingback: rncguide
  61. Pingback: norgran
  62. Pingback: lvalverde
  63. Pingback: ddukmani
  64. Pingback: shortnewsposter
  65. Pingback: janesgallerie
  66. Pingback: sharlyyou
  67. Pingback: dessanchar
  68. Pingback: vanelus
  69. Pingback: cranfordhairco
  70. Pingback: genericcialisfe
  71. Pingback: vmgear
  72. Pingback: sukreni
  73. Pingback: yurtsohbet
  74. Pingback: aragonya
  75. Pingback: thailandphotoclub
  76. Pingback: cialisgrn
  77. Pingback: kozeis
  78. Pingback: fxkantansystre
  79. Pingback: babespanty
  80. Pingback: gayello
  81. Pingback: cialisonlinegp
  82. Pingback: kychocolate
  83. What i don’t realize is in reality how you’re no longer actually a lot more smartly-favored than you may be right now.
    You’re so intelligent. You know therefore considerably in terms of this matter,
    produced me in my view imagine it from so many various angles.
    Its like men and women aren’t involved except it’s something to accomplish with
    Girl gaga! Your individual stuffs outstanding.
    All the time maintain it up!

  84. [url=http://albuteroltab.shop/]albuterol over the counter uk[/url] [url=http://albuterol.life/]buy albuterol inhaler[/url] [url=http://tretinoinx.com/]tretinoin cream usp 0.025[/url] [url=http://synthroidl.monster/]synthroid 225 mcg[/url] [url=http://metforminv.online/]metformin brand name in india[/url] [url=http://stromectolivermectin.online/]can you buy stromectol over the counter[/url] [url=http://tretinointabs.online/]retin a over the counter[/url]

  85. [url=https://phenergan.icu/]phenergan over the counter in canada[/url] [url=https://ventolintabs.shop/]cheapest albuterol 90 mcg[/url] [url=https://lisinoprilprinivil.shop/]lisinopril 80 mg daily[/url] [url=https://neurontinv.online/]gabapentin 1800 mg[/url]

  86. [url=https://furosemidetabs.shop/]lasix 20 mg tablet price[/url] [url=https://buylevitra.quest/]cheap brand levitra[/url] [url=https://stratteratab.com/]strattera cap 18mg[/url] [url=https://plavixtab.shop/]plavix 75 mg price in usa[/url] [url=https://viagra120.com/]viagra 25mg price in india[/url] [url=https://buyclopidogrel.monster/]plavix without a prescription[/url] [url=https://zofran.icu/]zofran capsule[/url] [url=https://lexaprotab.com/]buy lexapro in mexico[/url]

  87. [url=http://diclofenacvoltaren.online/]diclofenac 75 mg tablet[/url] [url=http://ciallis.shop/]alli price uk[/url] [url=http://cytotec.icu/]where can you buy cytotec[/url] [url=http://allopurinol.sbs/]where can i buy allopurinol uk[/url]

  88. [url=https://diflucan.charity/]buy diflucan online uk[/url] [url=https://doxycycline.wtf/]doxycycline price canada[/url] [url=https://ventolin.pics/]can i buy ventolin over the counter nz[/url] [url=https://happyfamilyrx.net/]online pharmacy no prescription[/url] [url=https://pharmacyonline.best/]pharmacy online 365 discount code[/url] [url=https://tretinoin.trade/]best tretinoin cream[/url]

  89. Pingback: rigwares
  90. Pingback: drwalterp
  91. Pingback: bionutronics
  92. Pingback: newcarlights
  93. Its such as you read my thoughts! You seem to understand a
    lot approximately this, like you wrote the e book in it or
    something. I believe that you just can do with some percent
    to force the message home a bit, however instead of that, that is excellent blog.

    A great read. I’ll certainly be back. celestique.top

  94. Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board and
    I find It truly useful & it helped me out
    much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you
    helped me. I saw similar here: Dobry Sklep and also here: Dobry Sklep

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button