Rae Lake

Dist: 17.4km    Elev: 440m    Time: 5h    Difficulty: 3/5

A wise woman once told me "It's better to be outside thinking about church than in church thinking about outside." With this spirit in mind, Melinda and I joined up with Lloyd and Marla on this summery Sunday for an adventure in the mountains. I have had my eye on Rae Lake for some time since reading about the beautiful scenery, low crowd levels, and relatively nontechnical trail. Given the needs of the day, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to check it out.

The trail began from the Elbow Pass parking lot along Highway 40, climbing steeply for the first kilometer or so on a wide trail before arriving at Elbow Lake. This was a beautiful little spot and many other groups were enjoying it as well. We rounded the lake and followed a wide and very rocky road/trail for an hour or so, detouring around flooded sections while taking in the stunning views of Elpoca Mountain on our left and Rae Mountain on our right. Eventually, our GPS directed us to leave the road on a much less obvious route through the trees. This was the beginning of an hour-long bushwhacking fest as we followed a very faint trail over a number of small ridges through thick pine forest. Needless to say, this was not the most enjoyable part of the day. Nonetheless, everyone kept a positive attitude and we eventually arrived at our ultimate destination - Rae Lake. Our work finally paid off and we got to take in the beautiful scenery while resting our legs and enjoying a lunch of sandwiches, pepperoni sticks, and fruit bars.

After lunch, despite intentions to return on a more established trail, we somehow got lost again and ended up bushwhacking back to the main trail via a different yet equally discreet route.  Morale remained high, yet we were all glad to be back on the wide and treeless road leading back towards Elbow Lake. This road-trail is quite rough, and we all agreed our feet were tired of walking across large rocks by the time we reached the lake. After about five hours on the trail, we arrived back to the parking lot and were delighted to return to our flip-flops and an air-conditioned ride home. We certainly got our fill of "adventure" for the day, and it is always great to make memories with loved ones. All in all, despite the unexpected twists, I'd say the day was a great success.

Arriving at Elbow Lake after the initial climb.

Me and my favorite co-adventurer.

Elbow Lake from the west shore. Mt. Rae beyond.

The trail/road was rough and rocky, but the views more than made up for it. Elpoca Mountain to the left.

Looking north from a clearing in our bushwhack.  

Rae Lake at last!

Family photo from our lunch spot. We had the place all to ourselves.

On the return leg. Elpoca Mountain in the distance.

One final look back. Piper Pass can be seen at the back of the valley to the left.

Back at Elbow Lake. This was a pleasant indication that we were nearing the end of a long and fulfilling day.