Pleasant Valley Lake — Tuesday, May. 24, 2022

I finally, on my fourth try, found pleasant valley lake. I hiked up as far as was comfortable, but snow kept me from reaching American Ridge Trail from this side. Then I went over the hillside with a fine-toothed comb looking for the offshoot to the lake. It turns out there is no trail at all. Not even a faint one. However, some lovely person did mark the trail with ribbons.

It was a bit trickier to get there than I like. Snowbanks over complicated snags mean I twisted an ankle a couple times. Then, when I finally got there, the lake itself was small and completely surrounded by deadfall so it was incredibly difficult to get to the bank. But dammit I finally made it.

The unnamed lake further down is much more pleasant, and easily accessible. I suggest we rename that one Pleasant Valley Lake and the upper one Annoying Snag Lake.

The actual trail up the hill was in good shape. Pleasant Valley Loop to the junction is in terrible shape. I’ve never seen so many blowdowns in just one season. The forest there isn’t healthy, I’m guessing. I had to crawl on my belly more than once, but there wasn’t anything dangerous to navigate. My rating for this trail is mostly for the offshoot to the lake, and even so, when the snow melts, it will only be annoying, not dangerous.