Huge Hike Around Huntington

Since first soaking in the serene beauty of Huntington Lake and strolling a short distance along its pine-shrouded shore, I've toyed with the idea of completely hiking around the lake. Shaver Lake is closer, but hotter, and has 23 miles of shoreline compared to Huntington Lake's 14.3 miles of shore. My ego-inflated self-confidence told me I could do 14.3 miles "with one hand tied behind my back." But, unfortunately, it's our legs and feet, not our hands, that get a workout on a hike, and inlets and bays turn landmarks that look visually smaller into landmarks that are physically large.

I started hiking clockwise around the lake from the Rancheria campground off Highway 168 at 9:30 A.M. I had thought the hike would take 8 to 10 hours, which would put me at its end well before dark, and I arrived back at the car at 6:30 P.M., which means I was gone 9 hours, including a one-hour lunch break. Younger, sprier people could undoubtedly do this in less time considering that by the end of the hike, my walk had a distinct shuffle-like quality.

Upon getting into the car after the hike, I noticed a yellow citation stuck under the windshield wiper of the car. Having a California Land Management Day Use Permit does not allow you to park inside the campground, so park in one of the parking spaces along the highway just outside the camp if you don't want a ticket.

When you first start hiking, the sweet, pine-needle strewn trail will dip in and out along the coast, and there are plenty of rustic benches to sit on at the water's edge. Here you don't have to be particularly careful that you are actually on the official trail because many little paths connect to each other. However, once you get near the first island that you'll see in the lake, pay more attention to the trail. Previously, John and I had arrived at an island-viewing, resting rock here, without laboriously hiking through the land of fallen trees, but I didn't manage that on this hike.

Not to worry, I eventually picked up a well-delineated horse trail which I hiked on for quite a while. But as that trail moved higher and higher and farther and farther from the lake, I decided to abandon it. Surely there was a better trail closer to the lake. Wrong! Closer to the lake was marsh muck. Yuck! I had to try to hook up again to the trail I had deserted.

The horse trail will lead you to a series of small waterfalls near a river just across from the Sierra Summit Ski Resort and a scout camp. I know because I asked a man who was unloading fishing gear from his truck in the parking lot there. He was surprised that I didn't know exactly where I was until I told him that I was hiking around the lake. Then he just thought I was stupid. He told me I would have to walk at least 20 miles to get around the lake, and there were bears on the other side of the lake. Yeah, right. I just shrugged. The man then offered to give me a ride back around the corner to the campground I had started at. "What an idiot," I thought. "Who would give up that easy?"

I found a plank bridge that crossed the river to the scout camp. The truck owner said the camp would never let me wander through it. I said I was going to try anyway. "Well, you're blond enough that you might get away with it," the truck owner replied. Would the compliments never cease?

I walked on a trail that led through many scout camps, one after another after another, and no one ever said anything to me. They just smiled at me as I walked by. Several of the camps seemed religious with older boys in Arabic costumes acting out Bible scenes and giving out religious words of wisdom before sending the younger boys off on a hike or some other task.
Just when I thought summer camps must surround the entire lake, I was past them and on one of the loveliest trail sections of the entire hike. Carefree, I strolled along with birds chirping around me straight out of a Snow White Disney cartoon. My only distraction was a niggling worry about how far away I was from my halfway point. If I could just see the dam at the end of the lake, all would be well.

The trail ceased at the first dam. Yes, the first dam! You have to cross three dams! I didn't know that at the time, but I know that now. I also now believe you might as well just walk on the roads from the first dam until you reach the Huntington Lake Marina on the other side of the lake, past all the dams. I could find little pieces of trail, but they kept disappearing, forcing me to have to hoof it back to the road. However, near the last dam, when the road starts to head down the mountain, don't. Climb over the hill on your right and drop down to the road that's on top of the dam.

Take a halfway bathroom and lunch break at the Dowville picnic area or the fast food restaurant at the Huntington Lake Marina's Roy's Place. Then pick up the trail at the far end of the marina's parking lot. The most noticeable landmarks visible on this stretch of trail will be one-tree island, the dams you've crossed, and the ski lifts. One tree island is literally an island so small it has and can only have one tree on it, and the dams and ski lifts can help you gauge how much of your return trip you have hiked.

This side of the lake will be noticeably hotter to hike on because the trail is often just below the electrical/telephone lines running the length of the lake, so you're more exposed. But this side of the lake has fewer inlets and bays, so you seem to cover more distance more quickly. However, don't get too excited about this because just when you do, you will hit a few doozy inlets that require you to hike inland a depressingly significant distance to find a road that crosses the inlets, and then you have to hike back to the lake.

You'll know you're getting towards the end of your hike after you finish walking on its tarred trail section. You'll have just one more big obstacle--the bridge over Midge Creek. Hike up to the road when you near the tall, narrow cement bridge that crosses it. Immediately on the other side of the bridge is the Rancheria campground and your car.

90% of this exquisite hike is on trails, maybe more if you have a more careful eye than I did. The biggest drawback will be your own mind if you let it depress you when you get to all the inlets and bays. Hopefully, knowing what to expect, will help you keep the various sections of the hike in proper perspective.