Alice Lake-Toxaway- Imogene Lake Loop: Part 2

Decision – Day 2

On day two of our Sawtooth Wilderness adventure as we prepared to head for Imogene Lake, we had hatched a plan to stop at the trailhead leading to Edith Lake, just below Toxaway. We’d get there pretty early and if we felt great, we’d lunch at Edith and decide whether to finish by dropping back to Farley for day two camp or climbing over the pass to Imogene. I optimistically pressed up the trail to Edith Lake as we were in shade and all feeling fairly strong. Edith lake is yet another beautiful alpine lake tucked in a magical basin. I wish I had words that allowed me to differentiate and tell the reader how special each was, but it isn’t easy to do.

We had paced ourselves carefully on the way to Edith and we arrived there in really good shape. We were able to find some shade near the lake outfall and enjoy some trail food sitting/lying on large boulders. Looking up at the trail leading over the pass, it seemed a bit tall and steep. At this point, we’d all sort of made up our minds to go on to the top for better or worse. It seemed if we just climbed 600 feet more, it was literally all downhill from there! What could go wrong? I still felt we could turn back if the climb seemed too much.

The Path to Imogene Lake

The trails oozed near-perfection, triggering my inner engineer. It provided a gradual ascent around the lake that left us with about half of the vertical done and not feeling much worse for wear. Plenty of trees were available on this stretch of the climb. It was really quite beautiful and enjoyable. We reached a little shallow pond nestled in the rocks above the lake just before the switchbacks and posed for a few pictures and caught our breath. The damned pond had tadpoles in it…up in the rocks in a pond that surely froze solid every winter. Crazy.

Whoever designed the switchback trail up to the pass above Imogen was a genius! The trail climbs at an even pace that allows you to continue largely without rest. Still, it was early in the afternoon and we’d already logged maybe around six miles or so, so we took advantage of the many trees and shade along the way. The switchbacks climb through a grove of huge, twisted pine trees. We enjoyed just looking at each new epically gnarled tree as we climbed up the trail. How the trunks got so twisted was beyond me but we enjoyed both the view and the shade they provided.

Imogene Lake Camp

Our plan was to camp at Imogene Lake and hike the remaining nine or so miles to the trailhead the next day. From the saddle, we could see we had a scree rock field to navigate down to the lake. We chatted with some young men taking pictures at the saddle and then we set off, knowing we had some young hikers slowly catching us from behind. Campsites would clearly be hard to come by so we figured we’d better beat them to the lake. We hauled ass…or at least as close to it as Tammy and I and our 50-ish knees could manage.

Getting to Imogene Lake was a surprise. This was for me the most beautiful lake of the trip. I was so excited to see this large complex lake nestled in the trees. I was looking forward to camping on its shores. The biggest surprise of all though was the complete lack of available campsites. Everywhere we looked, there was another camp although we did pass a few somewhat serviceable sites “not up to our standards”. As we wound around the lake and finally took the trail away from the lake, we stopped to just rest and consider out predicament. There might have been an argument or two, but in the end we chose to take our chances four miles down the line to Hell Roaring Lake. The downside would be exhaustion but the upside would be a short hike out the next morning. Onward!

Hell Roaring

We gave up on the heavy pace and slowed through a hot but shady downhill to Hell Roaring. The dusty trail led us down to our next camp. I hate dust, but that is another topic. Tammy and I were beginning to feel real pain at this point as we trudged our way along the trail. I watched along the river for anything that even resembled a campsite, but the growth was too thick and the valley bottom too boggy. On we went, heads lower by the minute. This was turning into an ordeal!

As we approached Hell Roaring Lake, it became very obvious how the lake got its name. The many falls at the head of the lake create a perpetual roar all around the lake. It was truly everywhere; unlike any lake I’d really ever been. If we weren’t so damned exhausted, I’m sure it would have been more enjoyable! Tammy and I found a rock to sit on while Amanda went along the shore to find a camp. She came back shortly with a grim look on her face. No camps! None. So we pulled up in a bare spot near the junction of the trail and began to set up camp near some other folks.

No Room at the Inn

A young lady from the adjacent camp wandered over to us while we were unpacking and politely pointed to the sign we hadn’t noticed. Some nonsense about an overused area and camping being forbidden! Cool. Perfect. She helpfully suggested that we pitch our tents on the other side of the trail, which was very near their tents. Humbled, we gladly accepted. We were grateful and strove to be the quietist, most unobtrusive camp guests ever!

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the body can recover. Amanda cooked most meals and we helped a little, but this is where packing my own freeze-dried food allowed me to participate in a hot meal! I relished the boiled whatever it was like I’d paid $50 for it! After the Pad Thai and some whisky, we were able to enjoy sitting around and visiting for a bit before bed. While I was still spent, the food, water, and whisky did the trick and I felt vaguely human again. Hell Roaring is yet another beautiful lake, but if you come here in the summer on a weekend, expect elbow-room issues if you intend to sleep over.

The Road Out

We slept in a little bit, knowing we had only about five flat to downhill miles to go on a good, if dusty, trail. Still, we quietly ate and packed our gear and snuck out shortly after sunrise, before the other camp had very much stirred. These kind folks let us into their area, thankfully, and we sure wanted to keep them sleeping as long as they desired. The trail was cool and shady in the morning and we were grateful to be able to keep a strong pace. We were all looking forward to the vehicles, beer, and maybe some hot food.

We passed the trail split to the south trailhead, which we had hoped to use as a shortcut but had chickened out due to the very rough road there. It would have probably saved us a net of maybe 15 or 20 minutes…certainly back to the truck an hour or so sooner, but then another 45 minutes or more of rough roads. In hindsight, I think we did it right, but it is really a pick ‘em. The trail down to the road seemed longer than five miles, and maybe it was a little. Either way, we were feeling pretty good when we arrived. A quick drive back to our truck en route to beer and pizza! When we got back to Pettit Lake campground we rescued a couple of young men who still at a ¾ mile hike back to the lower parking lot. The appreciated the short ride and we empathized with them avoiding a dusty hike through cars and down a county road!

Imogene Lake Loop Lessons

Over beer and pizza in Stanley, I contemplated the trip while we laughed and shared the memories. As with nearly all of my hikes, I think we need to either not hike so far or add days to the trip. We averaged around nine miles per day, but the middle day of nearly 13 miles was a killer. In retrospect, I think we could have spent more time looking for a camp at Imogene. If we’d known what we’d get at Hell Roaring, I’m sure we probably would have; however, that would have meant a nine-mile hike out the next morning. Robbing Peter to pay Paul, I guess.

We really had a great time on this loop. Imogene Lake was well worth it. Alice, Toxaway, and Imogene Lake are truly world-class alpine lakes worthy of a visit by anyone. Day trips work, although Imogene would be a pretty gnarly day trip by itself. Putting all three together was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the three of us and I’m so grateful to Amanda for insisting this trip be on our list. Truly one of the most beautiful trips I’ve ever experienced.

The vertical on this trip really was not bad. The trails are exceptional and not steep. The scenery is peerless. The only negative was just the pure mileage of the trip. For young legs, an easy adventure. For us, umm, middle aged(!) types, it was fairly exhausting! I wish in hindsight we had not hurried down to Imogene. I think if we’d been more calm about that, we’d have been much happier at the end of day two. Not our most painful or challenging trip, but just very tiring. This trip was worth every step and I’d sure recommend it highly.

….