Getting There
The Trail of Two Forests is 28 miles from Woodland to the Cougar. There are a couple of gas stations here. Continue east on SR-503 which becomes Rd 90 for 9.5 miles to Ape Cave. Looks for the sign to Ape Caves, June Lake, Climber's Bivouac, Ape Canyon & Lava Canyon which is Rd 83. It's 0.3 miles to Trail of Two Forests and 0.7 miles to Ape Cave.The Marble Mountain parking lot is 4.6 miles north of the ToTF on NF-83.
This was my 3rd mentor session with new MSHI mentors, 2nd for the 83 road. I'd stayed at Cougar RV Park & Campground and met the mentees at the MSH headquarters in Chelatchie.
We stopped at the Trail of Two Forests:
Then, headed up the Marble Mountain Sno-Park. Surprisingly, the gate was closed for the main parking lot so we went across the road and parked in the overflow lot in the shade.
The Hike
Elevation Gain: 936 feet
Maximum Elevation: 3,471 feet
Again, I was a bit preoccupied about successfully leading Kassie and Keith, so I don't have many pictures. I felt much better about allowing them to interact with visitors and get comfortable.
At our lake stop for lunch, there was a gartner snake swimming on top of the lake grass. We also noticed caddis fly larvae crawl in the shallows.
The three of us still had plenty of energy to hike beyond the lake. I suggested hiking northbound on the Loowit trail for awhile, at least until the trail climbs out of the forest.
We stopped before that point but went a good ways before turning around. We did encounter a hiker that was heading toward the Pumice Butte at the top of Ape Canyon.
We made it back to the Lake and continued to the trailhead.
At the parking lot, we met a guy that was a self-proclaimed Trail Angel, a term I'd heard in the context of through hiking on trails like the PCT, AT, CDT. This was neither. It wasn't long before the wheels came off and this person started talking about some crazy stuff: conspiracy theories, chem trails. He was awkwardly interested in my MSHI badge and wanted to know where he could get one. He seemed more interested in "tricking" others of his authenticity. I deflected and regrettably gave him a copy of the Volcano Review. I said there was extensive training in the spring. He admitted organizations like MSHI and WTA thought he was too "intense". I wholeheartedly agreed, to myself. I did my best to conclude our conversation. He was getting closer and closer to me. Kassie and Keith had since left me behind.
We talked about how weird that encounter was and they complimented me on my tactfulness. I was just trying not to get stabbed.
We had good chat otherwise on the road walk back to Marble Mountain. It was a good day and successful mentor session in my mind. I was glad to be able to give a good report to Sarah instead of the not-so-positive one I gave for Jenny.
