Hike Highlights: the miles and miles of ripe huckleberries along the trail; the groves of old (second) growth cedars and firs in the 1st mile along the Chiwawa flood plain; and standing, thigh-high, in the not painfully cold Chiwawa River at the end of a very long and hot hike.

Hike Lowlights: lots of brush along sections of the trail (route finding not difficult per se; you just need to keep your eyes down to see where the fairly well-worn trail heads) and quite a few of downed trees in/across the trail to climb over, around, or under (~13 in the 2.5 miles after the river and ~23 in the last 2 miles).

Observations:

— Cross over the Chiwawa (for the trail up to the lake) on the log-jam slightly downstream from where the “Foot” crossing drops down to the river. There are a better set of sturdy, jammed logs there.  

— The “Horse Crossing” back from the lake has five more downed trees and lots of brush plus a 2-3 foot drop from the river bank to the river. 

My third time up to Schaefer Lake and it never disappoints. There is a short section of thick brush to navigate until you get to the river. We chose the log crossing. As always use extreme caution and watch your step here. A slip could put river current on you with an entanglement of logs underneath. That being said, with caution it’s not a hard crossing. Once across the Chiwawa you continue to slowly climb through thick brush and after a mile or so it’s smooth sailing. The first couple miles climb gently. This year there are so many huckleberries!  Last year there was next to nothing but right now is the time if you like them. Bring many bottles as there are a lot of large sweet berries. I swear the hike took twice as long as we kept stopping to eat them. The last mile is the steepest section but never too bad. Little Schaefer would normally be a great end to a hike as it’s a pretty little lake in a heart shape. Press on as the large Schaefer lake await you. Circle around to the left for a beautiful campsite which is perched about 10 feet above the lake. At this angle the lakes incredible blues and green color show off. This is an excellent lunch and swimming area. There are great trees to hang hammocks. I’d bring a bug net!  The mosquitos here don’t mess around. 
9 miles 2800 ft. Great day!

There was plenty of parking at the trailhead.  After the initial river crossing (brrrr), the trail was overgrown.  We were still able to follow it, and after the first 1/2mi it eventually because a more visible.  About 1/2 way up there were multiple trees across the trail that we had to navigate.  The two areas with switchbacks were quite the cardio workout, it took my body a couple days to recover from that workout.  The fish (Brook trouts) I did catch were on the smaller end, but in a pinch, I could've made a meal out of them.  The initial pond you come across is NOT Schaefer lake, the lake is another 5 minute hike from when you see your first big body of water.  There were a couple other parties in the area, so even though it was overgrown, it does have regular visitors.  

I have mixed reviews for this hike.

The good:

While the river crossing at the start of the trail is a bit annoying, the river is great and the kids like playing in it.  Their are three crossings.  A log jam which is furthest downriver, a horse Ford in the middle, and a shallow stretch to wade farthest upstream.  The river bank is full of frogs.  We saw two salmon making their way upstream.  The upstream crossing is an easy wade to get across.  The log jam is easy to get across but higher risk for kids if they fall in as the current would take them under the log jam.  

Their are a few scenic spots on the way up, and the lake is very nice.  We were just a bit late for berries, but berries would be great a little earlier in the season.

The bad:

The trail is overgrown in places.  Some of these places have stinging nettle.  The shorter kid did not like pushing through brush.

A few down trees in the trail.  Many places the trail tread is falling down slope.

The climb to the lake is pretty relentless.  It's not a long ways but it is steep and felt more difficult then we thought it should for the distance and elevation.

Overall I had fun, but the kids told me they are never doing this hike again.

Wenatchee River RD Trail Crew worked on Schaefer Lake Trail with chainsaw teams and brushcutters - the vast majority of logs have been cleared and the terrible brush tunnels down low have been knocked back.  Tread still needs improvement, but Schaefer Lake is once again accessible for the time being.  

The log jam crossing is dicier than in years past - we improved the old horse ford and would highly recommend using that over the log jam - just follow the new trail just past the TH and look for some flagging and an opening in the brush on the far shore.

No camping opportunities until you get up to the lake, and water is minimal until crossing the outlet stream of the lake, so plan accordingly.  Bugs were horrendous earlier in the season, but have generally lightened up throughout the Chiwawa drainage over the last couple of weeks.   Its a neat little lake and an opportunity to get out to a less seen side of the Chiwawa!