Wednesday, July 1, 2020
On our way to stay at Bolan Mountain lookout for a long 4th of July weekend we made a detour up Road 4201 to the Babyfoot Lake Trailhead.
The views from the trailhead were pretty great. We could see north to Pearsoll Peak, with its old fire lookout:
Looking west into the Kalmiopsis Wilderness from the trailhead:
We set off down the trail, passing through an area that was logged after the 2002 Biscuit Fire, even though it lies within the protected Babyfoot Lake Botanical Area. The Forest Service had mis-marked the boundary of a salvage operation known as the Fiddler Timber Sale and mistakenly included trees that were inside the botanical area, which the logger subsequently cut down:
Looking back at the trailhead:
We left the clearcut behind and entered a forest of snags still standing 18 years after the fire:
After 0.2 miles we reached a junction where we went right, and continued descending to the lake:
This rocky area to the right of the trail had good views:
We saw signs of recent trail work:
Then we reached Babyfoot Lake, where some trees survived the fire:
Azaleas were blooming:
We rested in the shade of the unburned trees for awhile, enjoying the peaceful lake. Then we hiking back out:
At the junction we took the other fork and headed steeply uphill to the rim:
We reached a rocky outcropping with a good view, which we made our turnaround point:
Looking north to Pearsoll Peak:
Looking back towards the trailhead:
Looking south:
We still had a 90 minute drive to the lookout, so we didn’t linger long and headed back to the car. We only saw two other hikes here on this Wednesday.
Gaia stats: 4 miles, 650′ elevation gain