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WHIDBEY ISLAND  WASHINGTON  USA

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ENJAR LAKE

     This is only about a five mile hike but it is in the strenuous category because of the extremely rough terrain.  The trail begins casually enough, at milepost 21 on the Illabot Creek Road at the edge of the Glacier Peak Wilderness.  A fairly steep and rough hundred yards greets the hiker at the trail head but it soon smoothes out and climbs steadily but gently for one mile to Slide Lake.   At Slide Lake there are several camps great for taking little hikers for a first backpack or a leisurely day or two of fishing.  But Slide Lake is where the trail ends and to get to Enjar and points beyond you must be ready to tackle extremely rough going.  There is a fisherman's trace that roughly parallels Otter Creek.  It crosses several avalanche slopes now overgrown with vine maple and devil's club  The slides consist of huge logs, rocks the size of station wagons, and unremitting toil. If the weather is cooperative you will be soaked with sweat, splintered, scraped, scratched, dirty, mosquito bitten, achy and dead tired. If the weather is less than that, you will add muddy, soaked, and shivering to the former list.  It is marvelous fun!  When the final slide is crossed, the trail continues it's now up, now down habit in a most fatiguing manner, for about three miles, then it gets rough. About two miles up from Slide Lake you will cross a rushing creek and come to a fork in the trail.  If you follow the left branch it will go straight up the side of the mountain for nearly a thousand feet to a pass and on the other side, Whale Lake.  The fork to the right parallels a fallen log then continues toward Enjar.

     Then the trail seems to disappear, that's where you have to climb over a maze of windfall timber.  Don't despair, the trail will reappear. But then it will turn straight up the side of the mountain.  After the punishing ruggedness of the previous three miles the vertical nature of the next mile is not particularly welcome.  Be persistent however and you will find a beautiful little lake and a towering headwall.  Solitude is almost guaranteed by the ruggedness of the approach. The best camp is around the lake toward the right just before the large rock slide. Fishing is fair with lots of small (up to 8 inch) cutthroat trout, perfect for the fry pan.  There is also a good chance of running into a genuinely wild bear.  Bear precautions should be a part of your plan in this wilderness.

     If you are full of energy the next day, try climbing the headwall to excellent views of the North Cascades and Snow King Mountain.  You may also wish to climb over the pass to Arrowhead Lake but be prepared to navigate with map and compass.

     From Seattle drive north on Interstate 5 to exit 230.  Follow State Route 20 east to Rockport.  Turn south on Highway 530 to Illabot Creek Road, about four miles.  Illabot Creek Road is an active logging road and is steep and rough.  Watch for log trucks. The trailhead is between milepost 20 and 21 at the bridge crossing Otter Creek.  Otter Creek is very interesting.  Below Slide Lake the creek runs underground to just above the bridge.  Explore a little.