As we traversed across the area opened up by the Sprague Creek Fire of 2017, I told Kristen that I was going to have to update my ranking for the Lincoln Lake Trail. The last time we had hiked from Lincoln Lake to Going-to-the-Sun Road was in 2011.
It was a cold, October morning and the last day/last hike of my Hike 734 project. Every shrub held drops of water from the rain that had recently fallen and was now soaking our pants and shoes. We left the Lincoln Creek Trail and slogged up the super steep trail onto Snyder Ridge. The forest was dense and the eight miles of trail seemed to drag along forever in the trees. With about a mile and a half left, the trail plummeted steeply down to the road and we were relieved to be off of it.
Fast forward almost 13 years when we recently signed up for a Common Loon survey for Lincoln Lake and stepped onto the trail on a sunny June day. The trail was still steep as we ascended up through the cedar/hemlock forest. What changed was, once we were on the ridge, the fire from almost 7 years ago had left an open landscape. Birds were singing, flowers were popping, and you could see around to surrounding mountains. What a difference!
As we dropped down into the Lincoln Creek drainage, we passed a hiker who started to say how "this guy who makes this map" ranks it so low. I stopped him there and told him that I'd be updating my ranking. :D
It certainly is not a "Top 10" hike in the park. It still is long and a lot of work for the payoff compared to other hikes (up and down that steep ridge). The lake, however, is beautiful and Beaver Chief Falls is stunning. With it opening up, it definitely is a vastly improved hike. You don't know until you go!
The Lincoln Lake blog is up now so you can check that out. Coincidentally, I uploaded another trail that was impacted by fires that we revisited in Rocky Mountain National Park. Upper Beaver Meadows Loop was changed, but not considerably so. I hope to keep hacking away at these older blogs as well for "Throwback Thursdays" as I have time.
Hope you're enjoying the summer and discovering (or rediscovering) trails!
the trail awaits...
Jake and Kristen
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