10.09.2017
A wonderful forest trail, leading to an alpine lake, perfect for a cloudy day. And we saw no one else all day.
This trail has been on my radar for a while with an eye to camping at the lake and then exploring the surrounding area or using it as a base for tackling Rainbow Mountain. It's the hiker's equivalent of single-track: a lovely trail, easy on the feet for the most part, that winds its way up the slope to the alpine bowl in which Hanging Lake sits. It's very well marked, though a little bushy in places, and there are a few fallen trees to negotiate. Many thanks to RMOW for maintaining the trail! It's a real delight. There are some impressive trees along the way too - some big yellow cedars and two of the biggest hemlocks we've ever seen.
The road up to Madeley Lake is 2wd but quite rough in places. There are two small water bars to get through to reach the trailhead that may be a challenge for low clearance vehicle. One of them has rocks and wood in the bottom to make it easier to get through, but your aim has to be good!
Flower report: not much left in flower, a few leatherleaf saxifrage, some purple daisies and asters near the lake.
Berry report: the blue beads of Queen's cup are on show, as are those of devil's club, baneberry, bunchberry, rosy twistedstalk, and red elderberry. In terms of popular edibles, blueberries are plentiful near the beginning of the trail (very juicy, but definitely a wake-up for your taste buds!), huckleberries less so. Higher up, the berries seems to have dried out and don't seem very appealing.
Wildlife: mostly birds - mergansers at the lake (plus an unidentified duck), a mother ptarmigan and her brood, juncos, chickadees, and nuthatches in the forest, we heard but didn't see whisky jacks and Steller's jays. Finally, a few determined bloodsuckers lingering near the lake and at a couple of boggy spots along the trail.
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