Mush Lake Road Adventure

Last night was windy, but really nice. When you wake up in the early hours here its sort of a treat! Looking out the bedroom window about 4:15am the sunlight was turning a ridge of sky pink as it came over the mountains. However, it was cold so I crawled back under the covers and went back to sleep. It doesn’t really get dark and about midnight the sky gets a dark gray color but we have about 17 hours of light right now and gaining.

After breakfast we went to explore an old mining camp road referenced in the Milepost. Mush Lake Road runs behind the Old Lake Dezadeash Lodge and starts as gravel, turns to dirt, then rock as we made our way along. it’s a combination of wood with poplar and aspen groves and forested spruce. Signs warn we are in bear country. Winding our way along we came to a stream and crossed it easily (I love the jeep..) and continued on to a fork going left thru the wilderness. Soon a log sign at another fork showed Mush Lake Trail 1.7 miles, so left we went. Over a rocky piece we came into a clearing that looked like it might have been a lake at one time. Up ahead was a beautiful stream. We got out and enjoyed the views of the mountains as we stood on the bank and listened to the rushing water.

After a while we went to check the road at the right of the fork. However, it ended in a walking trail so we decided to go back to the river. Up until now we had been creeping along at 20mph, but we speeded up a little to get back to the river… around the corner we came and… A BEAR…he moved out of the road so fast all we saw was it’s black hind end sprinting into the woods. This was our first sighting and we were excited, but nervous. He was pretty good size and moved fast! We sat in this pristine river setting for quite a while reading and listening to the wind whisper through the trees.

On the way back we saw Ptarmigan and a very large woodpecker (not sure what kind). Back at the junction of the Haines Highway we turned left to check out Kathleen lake. The 400 ft deep lake is glacier-fed and a unbelievable turquoise blue. it’s a favorite recreation area offering camping, hiking trails and water sports.

Back at camp we relaxed, cooked dinner, and thought about how lucky we are to be in this beautiful place.

Pictures:Up Mush Lake Rd, Cabin on Mush Lake Rd, River at end of road, Sitting on Mush Lake riverbank, Ptarmigan on Mush Lake Rd, Down Mush Lake Rd, Through the creek, Kathleen Lake