Five great lake hikes in Russian Wilderness
In state’s far north, beauty abundant, from statuelike formations to summit
Deep in the heart of the wilderness in California’s far north, there’s a tiny lake like no other, flanked by a wall that looks like it has been sculpted by a giant with a hammer and chisel. It’s called Statue Lake, and for good reason.
Thousands of years of ice, snow and rain, on top of frigid winters and warm summers, have carved the granite rim into a series of statuelike formations. One looks like a miniature Half Dome — some say the profile of a helmeted knight. Another looks like the head of a prehistoric horse facing away. A piece of the ridge looks like the back of a stegosaurus.
Statue Lake is nestled at 7,200 feet in elevation in the Russian Wilderness, a 12,000acre wildland laced with 25 small, pristine lakes within the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County near Etna. The Pacific Crest Trail provides access endtoend, with spur trails to pristine campsites along these lakes.
The lake may look like it’s from another planet, and for many, it’s so far away that it may as well be. From any of the trailheads that access the wilderness, the nearest town with a stoplight, Yreka, is more than 2 hours away. With the worldrenowned 242,000acre Marble Mountain Wilderness to the north and 517,000acre Trinity Alps Wilderness to the south, the relatively tiny Russian — smaller in area than San Francisco’s 30,000 acres — is often overlooked.
From the PCT, some of the best lakes in the Russian Wilderness are off unsigned routes, though most are wellworn and easy to follow. For those unfamiliar with reading the landscape for routefinding, U.S. Geological Society topographic maps are helpful. The larger map of Klamath National Forest provides good directions to trailheads ($14).
No campfires are permitted. Those cooking with camp stoves are required to get a campfire permit from one of the Klamath’s district offices. Most stop in at the office in Fort Jones (5306431838) for the latest conditions.
Here are the best trailheads and destinations:
Music Creek Trailhead, Statue Lake
The Music Creek Trailhead, 6,000 feet in elevation, is at the end of Forest Road 40N54, a dirt road with a 4,000foot climb over 9 miles from the Salmon River Bridge. The trail climbs 1,000 feet over about 2 miles to the PCT, with switchbacks keeping it rhythmic. This area burned in the 2014 Whites Fire, and the forest floor is now filled with manzanita and fireweed amid the tree skeletons.
At the PCT, you turn right and hike 1.5 miles, in and out of forest to a large camping flat on the right with a creek (good for pumping water) and an unsigned trail on the left. Turn left and hike about a half mile over a boulder field to Statue Lake. The lake is less than an acre and only 15 feet deep, so it warms up quickly by afternoon. It can provide swimming as if encased in a mountain temple.
Etna Summit, PCT Trailhead, Paynes Lake
Etna Summit, 5,960 feet high, is 10 miles by paved road from the town of Etna and serves as a major PCT trailhead. Hiking south, you can venture to Upper Ruffy Lake (2.5 miles oneway), Smith Lake (4 miles oneway) or Paynes Lake (6.5 miles oneway). Above Paynes, a wellworn, unsigned route that roughly follows a small creek leads above Paynes up to the outlet of the little Albert lakes nestled below the ridge wall. Of these, Paynes gets the highest traffic, set just off the PCT, with large campsites, good fishing for brook trout and swimming.
Taylor Lake Trailhead, Hogan Lake
The turnoff road to the trailhead is located a short distance west of Etna Summit. Then it’s only a 2mile drive to the trailhead at Taylor Lake (6,400 feet) and an 0.4mile walk with a 100foot climb to the lake. Taylor is one of the few wheelchairaccessible wilderness lakes around.
From Taylor, walk a short distance to the foot of the lake, then look for the signed turn, posted on a tree, to Hogan Lake. It’s then a 3.7mile hike oneway, a climb and then a descent, to Hogan (5,950 feet). This is a pretty lake with good fishing for small trout, swimming and campsites.
Ambitious hikers can then trek beyond up to Big Blue Lake. From the first camp, look across the lake for a boulderstrewn, dry drainage on the far left. You can then rockhop your way — no trail — up that boulder field with an 800foot climb to reach the outlet of Big Blue. A flat, shaded campsite is near the outlet, but there’s no lake view from your tent. While Big Blue (6,800 feet) is a challenging trek and much of its basin burned in the Whites Fire, its clear, cobalt water makes it the crown jewel of north state wilderness lakes.
Duck/Easton Trailhead, Big Duck Lake
The Duck/Eaton Trailhead is set 4,400 feet, at the eastern foot of the Russian Wilderness, and thus requires climbs of 2,000plus feet to reach the interior lakes. In addition, many of the routes are on longabandoned logging roads, built in the 1940s, often steep with no switchbacks. That said, you get your choice of access to Lipstick (4 miles oneway), Big Duck (4 miles oneway), Little Duck (4.5 miles oneway), Eaton (4.5 miles oneway) and Horseshoe (4 miles oneway) lakes.
You could spend a week here — a night at each lake. I ran into a backcountry ranger who told me there are 18 species of conifers in a square mile near the Duck lakes, which she believed was the greatest diversity of conifers anywhere.
Carter Meadows Summit Trailhead, PCT, Russian Lake
To reach the southern end of the Russian Wilderness, most prefer the long but steady hike out of Carter Meadows (5,940 feet). You get access to Syphon, Russian, Waterdog, Little Russian and Golden Russian lakes. It’s 4.5 miles to a junction; left takes you to Syphon Lake. This is your first camp and jumpoff spot to the Russian lakes.
Note: The route to Little Golden Lake, once the site of the north state’s only golden trout (which were brought in by donkey in milk cans long ago), plunges into a deep cavity, and with no trail is a challenging trek.