Jewel Lake
We woke up at our campsite, ate breakfast, and headed to our first real hike in State Forest State Park. We picked out Jewel Lake because it was the hardest hike we were planning on doing and figured we should do that on our first day when we're better rested rather than on our second day. The morning was really overcast and windy. The wind blew some smoke into the valley which made all the surrounding mountains extremely hazy.
I had no idea what to expect from this hike in terms of distance. Online, the hike is about 6 miles and 1,500ft of elevation. However, the first mile of that was hiking on a road to get to a closer trailhead. So our plan was to drive to the closest trailhead so we could do the least amount of work to get to the lake. We passed the first trailhead and immediately noticed a sign that said no 2-wheeled drive vehicles. Being in a Subaru, we were set with our 4-wheel drive and continued on. The road quickly turned rocky and bumpy. After making it about halfway and being concerned about popping a tire the entire time, we decided to park our car on the side of the road and hike the rest of the way.
The hike ended up being just under 5 miles with our odd starting point mid-way between trailheads and took us about 3 hours. We climbed a total of 1,300 feet in elevation. The hike was extremely windy and the lake was not all that interesting (at least for an alpine lake), not to mention that it was incredibly hazy. So we didn't stay at the lake for too long and instead headed back down the trail to get into the trees to sit and eat our lunch in a less windy spot. The hike was disappointing, but the highlight was when we got back to our car - which was parked obviously not at a trailhead - there were 2 other cars that parked next to us, presumably because they had the same concerns that we did in that the road was too sketchy to try and continue.
4.83 mi
2.8 hrs
11,228 ft
1,365 ft
Couple of Foxes
On our way up the extremely bumpy road to the trailhead, we saw a mom and baby fox interested in us. I quickly grabbed my camera and slowly hopped out of the car to take some photos of them. It was still early in the morning and it was quite overcast, so the lighting wasn't great, but I was able to get this shot of them while they started at me determining if I was a threat or not. They ran off the road and then ran back on the road a little bit away from us.
Hiking the Road
We parked halfway between the lower and upper trailheads. The remainder of the road wasn't all that bad (compared to what we already did), but it was probably good that we didn't risk popping a tire any more than we already did.
In the Flowers
This trail had us hiking pretty close to a stream that was covered in wildflowers. As I was taking photos of the flowers, Katie sat on the bridge.
Parry’s Primrose
Forbidden Bread
We didn't find many wild mushrooms up in State Forest State Park, but we did find this big one right off the trail. The top of it looks just like a Pretzel Bun
Flowing
The Stream was flowing pretty good along the path. There were 2 places that we crossed it, and this was one of them.
On the Bridge Again
Katie once again was waiting patiently on the bridge for me to get done taking photos around the stream.
Green Everywhere
Even though the trees in this photo are dead, there was a ton of green everywhere in State Forest State Park.
You can see how hazy it was in this photo. Even though we were right up against the mountains, there was still quite a bit of haze. It was also incredibly windy at Jewel Lake. Both of those things made it hard to enjoy.
Mountain Pika
As we were hiking down, I saw some small rodent with a bunch of green in it's mount out of the corner of my eye. I had no idea what it was but I stopped and waited for it to come out from hiding under the rocks. He posed for me for a few seconds before scurrying off.
Tangled with the Trees
This wildflower was growing so tall that it was tangling in the trees.
Bee Killer
I was looking at a small flower near our campsite and noticed a bee sitting perfectly still. I grabbed my camera and after a few seconds I noticed the white spider and that the bee was actually paralyzed or dead. The white spider blended in perfectly with the white flower and was able to nab this unsuspecting bee. I also happened to capture a red aphid in this photo as well.
Wild Porcupine
We drove through the Southern part of State Forest State Park in search for some more moose's but never found any. We did find, however, a wild porcupine.
Long Claws
This porcupine was definitely scared of me. He started climbing up a tree as soon as I brought my camera out. But I was able to get a shot of just how long this porcupine's claws are.
Field Of Flowers
We stopped by the side of the road to check out a giant field to see if there were any moose in it. We didn't find any animals, but we did find a bunch of wildflowers.
