Lovely medium-size lake with great views on the way in. We took the western approach, and the trailhead was difficult to find. From Carson WA, it's 30+ minutes on a back road, which briefly turns unpaved and then becomes paved again. Drive until there is a 3-way fork in the road. The turn off for the hike is on the right and the actual trailhead is quite hidden in the bushes on the right. This is the shorter route in, and the hike in was longer than 2 miles advertised with all the switchbacks. It was indeed quite steep, but was enjoyable and definitely the views were great. You'll see Mt Adams quite clearly on the left, and Rainer is somewhat visible but often obscured by trees. At the high point, as you are walking along the ridge, glimpses of Hood may be seen on the right. There seem to be only 6 campsites here. 3 obvious ones to the left as you reach the lake, two of which are big enough for a larger tent or for 2-3 small tents. The other 3 sites are along the right side of the lake, and the trail to get there is not obvious at all. It's part trail, part bushwhacking, but if you stick close to the lake, you'll find the other 3 spots. So go mid-week, or arrive early. Skeeters were present but not terrible (Labor Day). There were flies and apparently some of them bite. There were also ticks. We used the natural bug spray (lemon eucalyptus) and it worked fine for keeping all the bugs off. There were lots of huckleberry bushes, and some of them had berries, if you looked off the trail. The lake has crawdads in the shallow waters. The water was clear and lovely, not as cold as you would expect, but still chilly. September is an excellent time of the year for swimming. We saw about 6 happy dogs. 2 nearby parties had children who were crying/whining, which was quite audible across the lake and obviously they couldn't just put the kid in the car. Plus, this is a very difficult hike in for kids, though there were several teens who seemed to enjoy it.

Soda Peaks Lake via Trail #133. Approached from Government Mineral Springs. Nice primitive trail recently maintained. Awesome old growth Doug fir. Woodpeckers. Views of Mt. Hood, St. Helen's and Adams near lake. Still quite a few flowers. Lake is tranquil, water not too cold, fish visible. Met 2 hikers at lake who said the western approach from USFS Road 54 is buggy now. Not so from eastern approach. All maps/guides give eastern approach as 3 miles. I think more like 5 w/ switchbacks. Though a continuous climb, its moderate, just seems longer than 3 miles. Wife & I are recovering from back and knee issues, so we took it slow. Returned the same way. Took us about 7 1/2 hours including the hour rest at the lake. Would definitely do it again. Did Observation Point a week before this. Though both hikes were similar, the destination experiences are very different.

Three of us decided to tackle the eastern approach to Soda Peak Lake, completely ignoring reports that it was "extremely difficult." Turns out, it was. The other two got to the trailhead several hours before me. I parked at Govt Mineral Sprngs around 3 p.m. and set out optimistically on the main Trapper Creek trail. I took the left fork at #133 and strolled to the bridge, which was out. I worked my way around it, sliding down a felled tree to cross the stream in the dry. Another half mile or so of easy hiking brought me and my backpack to the beginning of the switchbacks. This was truly one of the most painful uphills I have ever done in 20 years of mountain hiking. Hefting the backpack didn't help. It's one of those trails where you'd swear the lake must be just up ahead, only to come round the bend and face yet another series of diabolical switchbacks. The only reason I kept going was because I didn't want to have to make camp alone in the dark. I'll spare you the details, but understand that Dante could have incorporated this trail into one of his levels of hell. When I finally heard a stream cascading down the side of the mountain, I knew there was in fact a lake up there somewhere. Another 10 minutes of struggle, and I was at the lake. It is so fantastic that the climb was ALMOST worth it. A picture postcard of a lake, rimmed by firs, trout jumping energetically everywhere, large, comfortable campsites... really a fine destination. But what a price to pay. The way down is tough on an entire other set of muscles, but at least it's all downhill. I've read that the western approach is easier, and I'm going to find out. The lake is so peaceful I want to return. But I'll never take that eastern approach again!

Still 6 foot drifts of snow. Had to park 1/2 mile down road 54 towards Chelatchie. Soda Lake was still mostly frozen over. Some very small open holes in it. However, it was at least 40 degrees out and sunny so the snow should melt pretty fast.

The goal for this weekend was a loop though the Trapper Creek Wilderness that I didn't complete in July. I got a later start than I hoped for, hitting the trail at noon under slightly sunny skies. I hiked up the Trapper Creek trail, passing a couple of small pack goat parties out on training walks, to the junction with the Soda Peaks Lake trail, where I dumped my pack, crossed Trapper Creek, and started up. The Soda Peaks Lake Trail 133 climbs steeply up the ridge edge about 1000' in a about a mile. From there, the trail mellows, but still climbs up the ridge edge, gaining the lake at about 3800'. Soda Peaks Lake is a small, tree-lined lake, with a good campsite on the northeast shore. The trail continues around the north side of the lake and over the ridge to the west, which was lost in the clouds. By now, the rain had begun, so I headed back down. I picked up my pack at the creek and returned to the Trapper Creek Trail 192, heading up valley to the northwest. I took the Deer Cutoff, which maintains its elevation better than the main trail, which drops to the creek and follows it for a half-mile before climbing back up. Deer Cutoff is shorter, but the slopes are steep and offer no campsites. The creek-bottom route has a couple of fine campsites and very pretty woods. In fact, the large trees and lush growth in this very steep-sided valley are a main attraction of this whole area. I crossed the bridge onto the west bank of Trapper Creek, as the terrain gets steeper, nearing the end of the canyon-like valley. The trail here is very steep and I was slowed by fatigue, the rain, and overheating in my raingear. Near the top of the climb, at about 3000', there is a fine view of an impressive waterfall of perhaps 100'. Soon after, the climb ends abruptly as you pass 3200' and enter a broad plateau. In a quarter mile or so, the trail crosses Trapper Creek. Watch here for the trail, it can be lost in the brush. The afternoon I was there, the brush also finished the job of soaking me to the skin. I camped by the side of the trail about 100' from the creek crossing. The next day, I continued north and east to the ridge between Sister Rocks and Observation Peak. About 100' past my camp, the trail is obliterated by a massive blow-down. I found it in a couple hundred yards by heading northeast. I recommend searching more to the north at the blow-down. I suspect it turns under the piles of duff. The trail climbs gently to the ridge through mature, if not ancient, woods of hemlock and Douglas fir. At the ridge top, you leave the Wilderness Area and meet Trail 132, which traverses the ridge top. About 100' to the left on this trail, you'll find Berry Camp, a small camp along the trail. You'll also find Big Hollow Trail 158, which I followed down to the east. This trail follows a gentle descent into Big Hollow Creek valley, through some big woods and some evidence of a fire early in the last century – the young trees aren't that young. The terrain along the upper stretch offers the possibility of camps. At the bottom of the descent, Trail 158 joins Dry Creek Trail 194, which follows Dry Creek south, dropping only 300' in 3.8 miles, to the Trapper Creek trailhead. This trail makes a crossing of Bourbon Creek within a quarter-mile and then is dry thereafter. The woods at the north end reminded me of an Olympics rainforest valley, though the maples aren't as big and there are no spruce trees. Still, it was very green, with big second-growth. The trail is very pleasant, with excellent bridges further south. It follows an old logging track for long stretches – you can see the cuts and fills and there are stretches that are quite straight. About half-way down this trail, the rain, which had been steady since early afternoon the day before, finally slacked off and quit. About a mile from the trailhead, you learn why Dry Creek has that name: the river bed is dry, though it had been running with water just a little earlier. I gained the trailhead, passing a couple of mountain bikers and a couple of pairs of day hikers, just short of 24 hours after I'd left. It had rained for 20 of those hours. Still, this is a fine area, with beautiful woods, interesting terrain, a big waterfall, and a variety of trails, from hard to easy. It's worth a visit.