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Eagle South And Lakeside
Eagle River (Lois River)
to Creek 4 on Lois Lake Main
Other sources list the
trail section as Eagle South for 2 km and Lakeside for 6.8 km.
The trail section begins
on the east side of Lois River (also called the south side of Eagle River by
some.) The river can be crossed stepping rock to rock when the river is low.
(The outflow from the lake above the dam is controlled, and may rise at anytime.
A siren will sound; you may hear and have notice. Take caution.)
This trail is about 7.9
km. The river on the other side is labelled 135.7 km. The trail is marked as
137.9 km at the entrance to the campground at the start of the Canoe Route.
Creek 4 is about 143.6 km - a little more than halfway between the markers 143
and 144 km, each 13 minutes on my hikes from Creek 4, towards Elephant Lakes
with a 35lb pack, ascending steeply.
2 kilometre go to the
trail from the riverside to the campground at the start of the Canoe Route.
5.9 go to the trail from the campground to the trailhead just past Creek 4.
(If the markers are correct, the .9 km difference should be added to the length
of the Elephant Lakes Trail.)
In early July, with no pack,
I head up from the river at the crossing. I take 7 minutes exploring downstream
to the swimming hole, which is raging with water as the river flows full force.
Today one cannot cross the river by stepping from rock to rock. At 17:32
I head up the trail, up stream, in the woods. One minute later a treehouse is
visible on the right just before the trail jogs right up to the 136-km marker
and the old roadbed. The trail follows the roadbed upstream (left), past a small
falls on the right, through muddy footing and past some good salmon berries.
Just before the roadbed is blocked by two fallen trees, the trail takes a right
turn steeply up into the woods. At the .5-km marker at 17:50 the trail traverses
across more small ups and downs.
Three minutes later at 136.7-km
the trail spills out on to the Lois Lake Main. (I earlier hiked the remaining
trail to the campground.)
Taking a left at 15: 29
onto the Lois Lake Main, the trail continues up-stream through the valley and
on the other side, left again on to the road into the dam.
100 yards in on the side
road to the dam the 137-km marker (at 15:33) is posted on the right side of
the roadway. At the dam the trail takes a right, past a local fishing spot,
and continues along the lakeshore. At 15:38 the trail crosses an old burner.
A minute later, views allow me to watch the progress on a new float cabin under
construction across the Lake. At 15:43 after a 2 plank 15 foot bridge the path
forks, and the trail turns right to avoid a wet-swampy area. At 15:50 the trail
is back down by the river, and then crosses three rock bluffs with views across
the lake. The last at 15:54 offers the best views.
Seven minutes the 138-km
label marks a tree. The trail is quiet under the trees, even as a plane passes
overhead. I take a short four-minute break moving on at 16:04. Seven minutes
later another two plank bridge offers passage over a small stream that today
can be crossed without the planks. After an ascent and descent over a rock bluff
near the lakeshore, a float cabin sits just feet from the trail at the lakeshore.
Just passed the float-cabin the path forks and the trail stays straight ahead
by the lakeshore.
At 16:22 the 139-km marker
labels a tree in the woods. I take a four-minute break before moving up to exit
on the road into the campground on its last turn as it parallels the lakeshore.
A sign labels the trail as 139.3 km at 16:33. The hike into the campground to
the second outhouse takes 16:40, as I move slow taking photos.
(On another day in early
July, our family starts hiking at the campground, takes the trail out to Creek
4, and returned on the Lois Lake Main.)
We leave the campground
at 12:27, passing the cave dug out of the side of the hill on the right, the
outhouse up to the right, and the picnic tables on the left near the lakeshore.
The morning has been mixed, with clouds and rain and now it is sunny with a
few clouds. Three minutes later we past the creek, climb up and down into a
clear-cut that is re-growing. The underbrush is thick and wet. At 12:29 a good
lookout gives us a few moments for a photo break. At 12:44 the trail is cleared
better, but that is short lived as salal, ferns, and underbrush return to close
in on the trail. Our youngest son uncharacteristically surrenders his lead position
to follow behind me as I break the trail through the brush. Once moved out of
the way, the path beneath is clearly visible, but it is a struggle to pull through
the brush.
At 12:57 the trail should
move close to the lakeside, but with the water high, the trail is blocked. We
retreat a good 400 yards away from the lake and spend 38 minutes bushwhacking
to regain the trail all of 200 yards from the point where it was blocked.
Two minutes further the
clear-cut offers a good view back to campground from where we started. At 13:42
the trail re-enters the woods. Four minutes later the trail enters a campground
along the lakeshore, which also has a corral for horses and a canoe rack for
paddlers.
After a nine-minute break
we continue on along the lakeside. Within the next 18 minutes the trail moves
inland to pass an inlet, descends to cross and ascends up from two creeks (the
second near the mouth of an inlet in the lake) and crosses a road while it ascends.
At 14:15 and the .5-km marker
the trail has just turned left, avoiding a clear-cut which was straight ahead,
and is now visible on our right. At 14:23 the 143 km marker passes by in the
quiet wood, with the sun breaking through the canopy. In the next .5 km and
ten minutes the trail turns up a creek to cross it, traverses back up to the
left and descending back to proceed along the lake.
The trail proceeds with
a clear-cut and a road on the right, the lake on the left. At 14:45 the trail
crosses a creek and then rises up over a hump offering a view of a bay on the
lake. A minute later the trail moves to the edge of a clear-cut in the hot sun.
Another minute and the trail takes a left on the Lois Lake Main. Within 150
yards a sign labels Creek 4. And within 20 yards a side road to the right brings
the trail to the start of the hike to Elephant Lakes and Mt. Troubridge.
We returned to the campground
at the start of the canoe route via the Lois Lake Main. Within yards of Branch
41 forking off to the left, the quickest route takes the first major road to
the right, which weaves down to the Canoe main, one corner up from the lakeside.
The return to our truck at the campground takes us 75 minutes.
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