First day trip to chehalis lake

[bcguy71]

I did my first day trip to Chehalis lake . I've never been there before and it was somewhere that I wanted to go and explore "when I go somewhere new I like to go and get to know the area go down all the logging roads and scout around" , i drove up a logging road about 12 or so kms to a slide and hiked only for a half hour or so in a valley I mapped it and it was Mt Bardean and Mt Ratney Mt Stonerabbit peak,very awesome to take pictures of it was a lot of fun to go and do a day trip and just get out !. I was wondering if anyone has spent a lot of time up there and had anything to share about the area ?My wife has a atv and I ride a mx bike I can't wait to go camp and explore the area.

[sawone]

That's a great area to explore, and an historical hotbed of sightings. The trackway I found in the snow 30 years ago led from a side creek of the Norrish Cr. watershed, over a pass into the Chehalis valley from the west, near where the big powerlines cross over.

At the north end of the lake, there is a rough road over the mountains on the east side, called Mystery Valley, that comes out on the Harrison West logging road. It's been about a decade since I last drove it, and I've heard that the road along the west side of Chehalis Lake is now blocked by a massive slide, so access to the upper valley may not exist, except via Mystery Valley. Hopefully, a member with more recent info will update conditions for us.

I'm glad you enjoyed your outing.

Cheers,
Brad

[Captain Morgan]

"At the north end of the lake, there is a rough road over the mountains on the east side, called Mystery Valley, that comes out on the Harrison West logging road. It's been about a decade since I last drove it, and I've heard that the road along the west side of Chehalis Lake is now blocked by a massive slide, so access to the upper valley may not exist, except via Mystery Valley. Hopefully, a member with more recent info will update conditions for us."

I've been up there, beautiful, rugged area. I wouldn't advise going alone.


.

[Jason C.]

Aloha BCGuy71,

I was up there this summer on a 4-day solo backpacking trip exploring the same areas. It was a pain due to the steep terrain and the lack of water in many of the streams. I also didn't care for the idiots that were EVERYWHERE.

I noted that there was a lot of active logging in the area, and a lack of wildlife. I saw only one deer over a four day period and little sign (droppings, etc).

During the winter I think the area would be a great place to look for prints, if you have a snow machine. There are a lot of roads to scout, as you noted.