Finding Cooper Lake

Cloudy, cold, and showery. We are staying at camp to get some things done and enjoy where we are. To be truthful we don’t usually spend much time in camp. I spent most of the day updating the log because I got too far behind. In order to do this blog. I keep a handwritten daily log so I have notes I can use. We got the routings ready for tomorrow and Ken did some maintenance stuff.

About 3:30 we walked around the campground and along the boardwalk that runs beside Quartz Creek. We followed the camp road to another trail which led out to Kenai Lake. The lake has gorgeous turquoise water which is hard to describe. It looks like a large pool of emeralds. We walked along the beach, and then went back to camp. If the wind ever goes down we would take the kayaks out.

Hopping into the jeep we drove up the Sterling Highway and over the Kenai Bridge to Snug Harbor Road. We're on another excursion and who knows what we'll find today. We mailed some post cards and continued on until the road turned to gravel (of course). We wound our way on this narrow road along the shoreline of Kenai Lake for about 8 miles watching for wildlife. We slowed as a porcupine waddled across the road in front of us. The road started a gradual climb and we found ourselves in a mountain valley filled with ponds, ferns, and spruce trees. We passed a ¼ mile trail for Rainbow Lake and reached the Russian Lakes area. This is a 23 mile trail popular with hikers and mountain bikers. Further up the road we passed through a cut in a rock wall covered with ferns and vines.

Shortly the road ended at a gate and a dirt road led off to the left to Cooper Lake. It was fantastic. There were beautiful views of the snow capped Kenai Mountains across the water. As we pulled up to the lake 2 guys were getting ready to leave. They hadn’t had much luck. We pulled in and parked in a cove, had a snack, and then we fished for a while. The lake is stocked with Rainbow Trout but none for us today.

On the way back we stopped at Gwins Lodge for a bite. This is supposedly a landmark. We had “World Famous Salmon Chowder” eh, miserable quiche, and two beers for $52...rip-off.

Back at camp we just relaxed.

It was a good day.

Photos: Kenai River view from campground, Rainbow lake, Cooper Lake Cut (2), Cooper Lake (2)