Lodge Lake — Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

Arrived around 10am and there was only one other car in the parking area at the time. The trail was a little tricky to follow at the beginning due to the intersecting service vehicle roads, but still easy enough to figure out. We accidentally missed the turn for the lake, but that was definitely our faults - when we turned around to find it, it was very clearly marked. The area next to the lake was pretty muddy from the recent rain, but the rest of the trail was fine, and we were still able to find a decent spot by the lake to eat a snack around 11:30. The air was pretty clear when we started, but got smokier and hazier as we went. We thought we were just hiking into the smoke, but it was definitely rolling in and was thick in the parking lot when we returned. We got back to our car around 1pm, and at that point there were a few other cars there too. Overall, a lovely little weekday morning hike!