In truth, Beaver Lake was a solid 30 minute drive on dirt roads north of Loup Loup Pass so technically not "on the way," but close enough. The roads were good, but the farther we got from the pavement the more I wondered if we would wind up stranded. We knew we were "there" when we got to the gate described in the directions posted on WTA and it was a load off my back.

The trail is short, really short. Like a mile short. But that was good because while most of us were experienced hikers we did have one with us who believed strongly that if there wasn't a place to fish at the end of the trail there was no reason to go for a walk. Since the trail does a bit of climbing it took a bit of cajoling and maybe some bribes of ice cream to get the whole group of us to the lake.

The whole area burned in 2015 (it was part of the Okanogon Complex) and it was everywhere apparent. All the big trees were either dead or scarred by the flames. Some still stood, but many had fallen and lay in great tangles. As damaged as the trees were, the undergrowth was making a strong comeback.

Fireweed, of course, but also all manner of ground cover and little, three inch trees. Life finds a way and all that. Slowly, but it finds a way.

The lake was nice, but nothing particularly special. It began raining lightly while remaining warm. There were a bunch of campsites surrounding the lake including some that were pretty well built out with huge fire pits and shelters. In the shallows there was a crazy large crayfish/lobster/demon-crustacean that terrified us all. We saw fish jumping so it hadn't eaten everything else in the lake (yet), but nobody was willing to give it a toe to snap at.

We didn't stay at the lake long because the ice cream promissory notes were coming due and we still had a long drive back to town. While Beaver Lake isn't the kind of place you'd drive across the state to get to it's definitely worth a few hours of time if you're already near Loup Loup Pass. Just be sure you know where the nearest good ice cream is.