Finally made it up to Lake Augusta this year for a quick overnight backpack. Here are some thoughts about this hike:
1. You need a high-clearance/4-wheel drive vehicle: There is a 20 foot section of road about 1.6 miles up Hatchery Creek that is basically a mogul course for cars. We got our Subaru Outback up on three wheels a few times on the way up. Not for the faint of heart or low-riders, good luck. Also, it is 2.5 miles to the trailhead and you have to turn right into the parking lot, so be on the lookout. The information on the WTA site is incorrect (only 2 miles in and trailhead at the end of the road.)
2. You will become an expert tree straddler and also probably ruin a pair of pants: As stated in earlier reports, there are over 300 hundred downed trees from the trailhead to where it flattens out up top in the meadow. Most of these are ok but annoying, a few require some inventive tree-vaulting techniques and over half are involving burnt trees that are black and sooty and will ruin your pants.
3. You will think you've gone crazy: We never found the junction with the Badlands Trail that is stated in the trail description at 3 miles. It's somewhere in the big burnt-out section you will get to after all the tree-vaulting. We kept looking, and looking, but never found it and thought we were crazy. If you find it, extra points for you.
4. The lake and surrounding area make all of it worth it. Seriously. But the flies and skeeters are still kind of bad at the lake, so bring some spray.
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