Campbell Lake
The Campbell Lake hike begins near the Harrison Village. The hike ascends up
the side of the mountain through the lush woods. Along the way there are a couple
lookouts. Throughout the hike you are sheltered from the elements by the
the cover of the forest. You will cross a number of creeks. These are crossable
with fallen tree bridges. The hike for the most part is a set of switchbacks
which take you to the helicopter pad.
I chose to do this hike near the end of February. There was not much snow on the
way up with the exception of a few patches. However, at the elevation of the
helicopter pad there was a fair amount of snow coverage.
Once you hit the helipad, the majority of the ascent has taken place. At this point,
some couple hours later, you have a chance to relax and enjoy the view down to
Harrison River/Lake and some of the surrounding islands as shown in these two
pictures. The picture to the right was taken from standing on top of the helicopter
pad. The picture to the left was taken just right of the pad standing at the edge of
the forest.
After you have relaxed, you can either head back or complete your journey to
Campbell Lake. To start the hike to the lake you make your way through the woods
to a fallen log bridge. Unless the bridge has been fixed, I wouldn't use it. It
was angled oddly and when covered in ice is an accident waiting to happen. I chose
to go beneath the bridge across the rocks. Took a little longer but I knew I wasn't
going to end up on my head.
To make your way to the lake you work your way down what appear to be runoff creeks.
Due to the time of year which I went, there was alot of runoff! It was like walking
down a creek the whole time. Made me glad I have waterproof boots. Once you get to
the lake, you will notice that it is not easily approachable. I don't know what it's
like in the summer months, but I'll warn you ahead of time, it's not like a normal
lake. In order to get out to the lake itself I had to walk on logs that were
floating in the lake itself. Upon getting to a clearing in the lake it was a nice
view with snow patches along the sides.
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