The Mystery of Heart Lake

Years ago, we were camped at Lassen and looking for a new trail to try, For about ten years running, we had taken our kids to camp at Manzanita Lake every summer, and had hiked most of the trails in the park. And loved them. But now it was time for something new.

I had read about Heart Lake, and thought it might be a good choice--outside the park, in the Lassen National Forest, and easy to find off one of the USFS roads. The trail (it was said) leaves from the sharpest hairpin turn on the road. How hard could that be to find?

Well, you have to start with the right road, which we didn't. And then you have to find the hairpin turn. We found one, but it was on the wrong road. There was a trail leading up into the forest, but that forest had been recently logged, and the trail quickly disappeared among a maze of logging roads. We wandered.

Still, there was a creekbed, and creeks often start at lakes. We persevered, hiking up the creek bed looking for either the trail or the lake, until we finally gave up in frustration. Nuts.

Heading back to the car, we realized we didn't really know how to find it again through the maze of logging tracks. We knw it was on the road, and if we hiked downhill, we would get to the road. But where was the car? Luckily , we each had a set of keys, and so I set out south, and M north. I found the car, a quarter mile down the road, and then drove back to pick up M in time to cook dinner in camp.

But we still hadn't found Heart Lake.

Years later, and this time we went better prepared. We had a Caltopo map of the region, and Google maps on the phone to direct us. And yes, we had the right road this time.

Until it came time to turn off. Google told us to take a narrow lane through the forest to Heart Lake--narrow enough for branches to sweep most of the dust from the dirt road off our van. Really narrow. Too narrow to turn around, after we had decided this could not be the road to Heart Lake.

Google Maps had directed us to the point closest to Heart Lake on any road. Which was NOT the trailhead. We did spook a bear about this point, and that was fun to see. Not fun was getting back out that road. But I backed down, inch by inch through the tunnel of branches, hoping to leave both sideview mirrors in place, to get us back on the main gravel road, and finally to the trailhead for Heart Lake. (Thank you, CalTopo, for setting us straight.)

The hike? Pleasant but through a forest full of downed timber. The lake? Pleasant but full of water lillies and a bit tired at this point in the season. The adventure?

We finally found the damn lake.