This was another hike we did while car camping at the Soda Springs Campground in the Bumping River area east of Chinook Pass of of Highway 410. After doing the Soda Springs Trail the day before, we decided to hike the Bumping Lake Trail. The road to the trailhead leaves the Bumping River Road and crosses the dam of the man made lake built back in 1919, and goes along the NW side of the lake passed several cabins and a small resort located on USFS land. Once at the trailhead, we hiked along the lake through forest and across some boulder fields. We had views out to Old Scab Mtn., Nelson Butte and Mount Aix. Only a few people fishing, so not much motor boat noise. About halfway along the lake, we found a good spot for lunch at a small inlet with a nice view. After lunch we continued our hike along the lake before heading back. Met of few other hikers on this trip, but no bugs. We stopped at the resort store for a cold drink and while sitting on the front porch, an Air Force C17 cargo jet came flying over the lake at low altitude.

Hiked in to see the old-growth larches and firs that the proposed larger dam will inundate. I saw for myself how the dam would wipe out fertile meadow/wetland shores as well, kick an elk herd out of its bedding grounds, and kill this fine old trail leading into the William O. Douglas Wilderness. Because of the chance of thunder storms I decided to limit this trip to a short overnighter. We were able to park at the trailhead with no problem. After only 2.5 miles in my dog and I camped en route after Boulder creek. Mosquitoes were a non-issue. On Friday morning we continued up the trail to just past a lava field at about 5.5 miles up. Lightening storm clouds were gathering, so we turned around there and hiked out. Lots of wildlife: elk (bugling at night; we also saw a large young elk), coyote scat, bear scat, lots of dragonflies, fish jumping in the lake, 2 different kinds of frogs in creeks and on the lake shore, bats (6 or 7, at dusk, along the lake shore), what I think were water ouzels, native bumblebees (white rump), pileated woodpecker, wrens, hummingbirds, jays, barred owls whooping late at night, douglas squirrels, geese, ravens, and a pretty blue crustacean shell on the lake shore. Oh, and a lizard. At about 3 miles, the trail travels through a beautiful lowland old growth forest in the potential dam flood zone. I'd never seen old-growth larches, but there were many. Both mountain and western hemlock, Alaska yellow cedar, doug firs, noble firs, spruces. Vanilla leaf, wild strawberries and other flowers line sections of the trail (by now, many have bloomed, but Cooley's hedge nettle was still going). There are some huge old douglas firs--the kind that have their own mini-trails leading to them. The trail climbs to meet the Swamp lake and then the Fish Lake Way trail coming up from their fords of the Bumping River. The trail does get sandy/dusty from horse traffic, but in general is easy to hike. Big trees continue off and on, with the same diversity. Mosquitoes and bugs became a little more noticeable. 5 miles in the trail passes large, natural wet meadows--elk habitat. Bumping Lake itself has some big wetlands as well--it's not just a reservoir with late-season mud and stumps. In his writings, Douglas mentions that before the dam's construction in 1910 the valley contained a smaller Bumping lake. I'll bet some of the valley was a broad wet meadow just like the ones further up the trail, which also have lakes in them. The grasses and wetland ecology survived along the shallows and are able to take the annual inundations. If you walk out near the shore of Bumping Lake (arriving via this trail), thousands (millions?) of tiny yellow wildflowers are blooming now in the leafy muck amidst lush wetland grasses. Rotting stumps contain birds nests and insects. Aster, goldenrod and other wildflowers appear near dry land margins. A larger dam would move the water level way up slope into forest and talus, and these big, gentle wetland shores would disappear. In all, this was another great exploration of an awesome place that I hope survives. We'll be returning; I definitely want to check out this forest in the fall when the huge western larches are gold.

Concerned about the proposed expanded dam on Bumping Lake, I wanted to hike the Bumping Lake trail to observe the shoreline forest. I also wanted to enjoy the same trail William O. Douglas did, one of many trails in the area he wrote about in his essays. I drove past the little marina and parked at the trailhead at road's end. There was small-scale construction of some sort going on, but there was room to park nearby. I got my wilderness permit, not sure how far we'd go up the trail. The trail is relatively easy with undulations and some ups and downs, either above or close to shore with views. This area in general has some pretty rugged talus slopes reaching to lower elevations, and this trail crosses a few of these early on. Wildflowers, especially in or near these talus slopes, included paintbrush and what I think was lava alumroot. Elsewhere I saw tiger lilies, coralroot, cow-parsnip, orange honeysuckle, and vanilla leaf. At about 1.5 miles in we crossed Boulder Creek, wide and low, an easy ford for beginners. There was also a small log crossing. There were some nice old trees in this part of the forest. There were also signs of flooding by the creek, but the trail here was easy to follow. This is also were we heard a pileated woodpecker. We reached the campsite on the lakeshore at about 2.5 miles, our turnaround. Later we car-camped in the area and though it was July 4th night, we heard not a peep of noise from the the nearby campground and marina. The only sound was the lovely call of an owl. In the morning I was delighted to find fresh brewed coffee at the immaculately clean and friendly marina store. I will definitely be returning for coffee on upcoming trips! This has become one of my favorite areas. Unfortunately, a previous trip report here, although understandably hopeful, is not accurate about possible loss of forest and trail due to the larger dam. The proposed increase in the size of the reservoir is from about 1300 acres to 2300 acres and the current lakeshore forest, including old growth, would be cleared. The trail would not survive the raised water level, nor would the marina and historic cabins. On an upcoming trip I plan to hike further to the head of the lake and check out the forest and river near the connection to the Bumping River trail. It's rare level/lower elevation old growth and is spotted owl habitat as well, adjacent to the wilderness. It would be really surprising to me if we choose to destroy this really unique old forest habitat in the middle of so much rich history. This doesn't have to happen.

A fellow Cascadian and I have found ourselves planning full moon outings for the outdoor club of which we are both members. In recent months we have added more ambitious outings to our repertoire. Last month's full moon adventure took us to Hex Mountain, which was a grand time and perfect conditions for views and moonrise! This month's adventure took us to the shores of Bumping Lake. Although this hike was not an ambitious climb, we decided it would be quite an adventure to spend several hours on the lakeshore enjoying the full moon display (in spite of the weather) to the absolute fullest! Of course, we wondered if the moon would, in fact, even show its face at all. Bumping Lake is an ideal location to enjoy a full moon because the skies are vast. The lake is walled by American Ridge and Nelson Ridge on two sides, with views of other peaks and even the top of Mt. Rainier to the west. Because Bumping Lake is a reservoir, the lakeshore recedes in the winter and exposes plenty of space for wandering and exploration. In the snowy winter, it's an easy snowshoe and on this afternoon and evening we found our feet wandered for 6.5 miles. We crossed small creeks, and snow covered logs over bigger streams. We mazed our way around the stumps which disappear when the reservoir fills in the spring and summer months. It's a very picturesque display to see the dark and rotting stumps scattered randomly about against the white, snowy landscape. The icy lake was spectacular this night! As it had been very cold for a long stretch, the ice was thick, yet had buckled (I assume in the recently warming temperatures). The buckled ice against the freezing lake, with the snow covered mountains as a backdrop, made it seem like we were in the Antarctic. The afternoon greeted us with sunshine at times, dark clouds rolling overhead at other times, and gently falling snowflakes here and there. It wasn't too terribly cold and, fortunately, we experienced no wind. What a treat!!! Knowing the temperatures would fall after dark, the strongest one of us hauled wood in his pack for building a fire. Once we found our perfect full moon viewing site, we dug out snowy benches, footrests and a fire pit. What a delightful way to spend the evening! Our fire was hot and the apple wood made for great marshmallow roasting coals! We enjoyed giant campfire sized marshmallows and hot chocolate, the warmth of the fire and views of the full moon for almost 3 hours. I had watched a Bill Nye movie the day before while teaching a 5th grade science class about the moon. Bill Nye reminded his viewers that in the olden days people thought that if you spent the night outside under a full moon you'd become a lunatic (derived from the word "lunar", which means moon). This is where we get terms like lunacy, loony, lunatic... So, when I mentioned this little known fact to my trail comrades, we agreed we were all lunatics and expressed our lunacy by howling at the moon whenever it revealed itself from behind the slow moving clouds. Ow...Ow...OOoooowwww!!!