Backpacking at Frog Lake
For Memorial Day weekend, 2011, I decided that we should hike to Frog Lake at Henry Coe S.P.
The governor’s threat to close this park (among others) featured in my decision, along with my daughter’s requests that we go camping again. I’d been to Frog Lake before and knew that the family would appreciate not only the scenic lake, but also the trails through the ponderosa pines north of park headquarters.
Unlike the wilderness sections of Coe, all camping on the west side of the park is in designated sites only. These sites are also first-come, first-served, which meant we needed to arrive as early on Saturday morning, and that we needed some luck as well. I did however have several alternate campsites picked out in case, since I thought it unlikely that we’d get our first choice.
Although the park was very busy because of the holiday weekend, and groups of backpackers were staging around park headquarters, we did luck out and get our first choice of Frog Lake. It was even more surprising because I heard that even Mississippi Lake was fully booked with backpackers.
So, the stage was set for our fun overnighter. On Saturday afternoon, unwelcome drizzle and then rain showers came along and tried to spoil things, but we were fine. It got colder overnight than we had expected, but not cold enough to be a problem. We weathered the storm (such as it was) and had a good time, as you can see from the photos.
This was the second backpacking trip ever for Allison, and for Carrie, but they both did well. It’s not Carrie’s first choice of activities (yet), but I am working on that. She certainly appreciated the beauty of the area, the remote nature and even most of the camp food.
Time to start daydreaming about the next backpacking trip…. Wherever it is.
While we’re waiting, be sure to check out the Frog Lake photo gallery.
Nice pictures! Frog Lake has cleared-up nicely since I was there. You were indeed fortunate to get that campsite on a busy weekend.
May 30th, 2011 at 9:14 pmLoved the blog and routing.. Looks like a fun time was had by all and one that will rest in memories.
May 30th, 2011 at 9:18 pmGreat trip!
May 30th, 2011 at 9:53 pmNice looking trip! I don’t think I even realized that Frog Lake has established campsites. I’m jealous that you’re able to get the entire family out and backpacking — I’ll have to hold you guys up as an example the next time Pete claims he’s “too tired” to hike another step 🙂
May 31st, 2011 at 8:03 amJoe, if I can get the family out you should be able to as well. The big mental adjustment for me is to backpack someplace that’s only a very short distance from parking.
There’s just the one backpack site right at Frog Lake, maybe 50 yards up the hill from the lake, although there are other sites just beyond the lake. It’s a great spot for the family with the lake and the restroom nearby. The 600′ climb on the way back may be tough for the little ones but since the whole trek back to HQ (if you go direct) is only like 2.2 miles, you can really take your time and take a lot of rest breaks on the hike up. Alternatively, I think Frog Flat trail pretty much contours around the big hill, so it’s longer but avoids the big uphill grind.
Now I need to find another site this nice for the next easy family backpack trip…
May 31st, 2011 at 8:17 am* I really like the folded layers – some fine exposed geology.
May 31st, 2011 at 5:42 pm* There’s some great photos of Carrie in this trip; I especially liked the one of her at camp when you arrived.
* I’d be more sceptical of watermelon wheat beer than of the mince.
* Really liked cimg0236 and cmig0397
* Rain sucks, but if you had to have it, it seemed to not be too bad. And nice that it made the deer prints so clear the next day. 🙂
The watermelon wheat beer is fine, really, although I was expecting warmer weather. With the cold I could have used something heavier like an IPA… We really liked those folded layers of rock too, pretty unusual and cool… And yes I got some good photos of Carrie, I liked that one at camp a lot too, a nice candid using what little zoom that tiny camera has!
May 31st, 2011 at 8:17 pm