At the end of June we returned to hike a route we have done most years at about the same time.    the route goes from the Lac le Jeune Campground/Beach area to the lakeshore trails, going through a gate onto Lac le Jeune Drive, then onto the Ross Moore Forest Service Road.   At a gated trail, we went up the Rustler Trail (Stake Lake Trails), then turned onto an unmarked single track trail to climb the hill to the Lac le Jeune Lookout.

The campground was already busy right before the long weekend, but the lakeshore trail was quiet.  There were a couple of boats on the lake, but the forecast was for an afternoon storm to come in.    We would be back before the weather arrived.

The single track trail is the quickest route up to the Lookout.    There was some windfall and it gets a little grown in each summer.    As we climbed, we went though open douglas fir forests.

The Lookout has a small shelter, part of the Stake Lake Trail system.    Various trails criss-cross the ridge for cross country skiing, off-piste skiing, and snowshoeing.    Hikers and mountain bikers use these trails from late spring through the fall.   From the lookout, the view are south and southwest.    Lac le Jeune lies in the valley bottom with the Ridge Lakes area to the south.

We chose to follow trails east, down the hill and looped back toward Lac le Jeune, passing a number of large marshes on the way.

This is a good hike at this time of the year.    The trails were dry.    There were a few mosquitoes, but nothing challenging.    The air was clear (before forest fire season), and on a weekday morning there were no motorized vehicles on the roads and area tracks.    We will be back to do this route again at the end of June, next year.