A Wet and Wild Walk To Wallace Lake

Well, if my first hike of 2025 is an indication of what the rest of the year might look like we are in for a doozy.

I had saved Friday for a hike and of course, the forecast was ugly. Not only a considerable avalanche forecast in the mountains but also rain all day. The only upside was it wasn’t going to be that cold.

Motivation was low so I chose Wallace Falls State Park because the drive is minimal and winter is the best time to go to avoid crowds. I was in the mood for a lake so my plan was to skip the falls and head straight to Wallace Lake in the most direct route possible. Checking Caltopo, I decided that would be the Woody Trail to the connector just before the Lower Falls then up to the Greg Ball Trail that continues to the lake. Easy, peasy.

I didn’t get out as early as I would have like (8am when the park opens) because emerging from the womb of warm and cuddly bed is a struggle that gets harder as I get older. Thankfully others must have been feeling the same way because there was only one other car in the parking lot when I arrived around 8:30am (I’m not counting the 2 cars parked over by the cabins or the ranger’s pick up.

The hiker that belonged to that one car was just prepping to get on trail herself. I used the bathroom and then moved my car to a back parking space. I don’t know why, but I always forget how windy it is in Gold Bar. Trees were swaying sideways as I had driven in and I wanted my car as far away from one as possible. Never mind I was planning on spending the next few hours underneath them myself.

I debated my life choices as I pulled on rain pants and strapped on gaiters in the hopes of delaying my exposure to the rain, maybe the forest cover would also be on my side today?

The Wallace River greeted me as I made way down along the Woody Trail around 9am.

I was looking forward to seeing where trail crews had restored the trail after the bomb cyclone had closed the park in November. Reports did not disappoint, there were root balls and snapped tree trunks galore.

It was easy to see what was most recent: raw cuts and sawdust, freshly displaced soil and bright replaced railings along the trail and on bridges. That storm has left a definitive mark on the park.

The current wind conditions were not giving me confidence, one only had to look up to see the power it has. I just kept telling myself it wasn’t that gusty. At about a mile in, I passed the hiker that had gone in ahead of me as she was walking back out. I should have asked her why she was walking out so soon, was it the sound of trees groaning around us?

The junction for the Greg Ball trail arrived at 1.4 miles and I turned up in anticipation of the composting privy in .2 miles where I could take shelter to lose a few layers now that I was warmed up. The tree canopy was indeed keeping the rain at bay but if you can not have it coming down on you as you remove and replace layers, why not?

I don’t think I have been on the Greg Ball trail since 2019 and that was on the descent from Wallace Lake so it was like a new trail for me today. For the most part the trail zigzags next to the North Fork Wallace River and offers several views of the river as it flows down from the lake. There were plenty of puddles to cross, thankfully most had a rock or two to hop on so my feet were staying relatively dry (but still muddy).

Again the storm damage was evident, some of the root balls seemed almost 2 stories tall!

The crews have done a great job replacing lost tread but there was one spot between the .5 and 1 mile markers, just before the wooden bench, where the tread is down to about 12″ as a root ball has caused instability. The rest of the long tree is snuggled up next to the trail also making it more narrow. For some reason I failed to get a good picture of it.

I also noticed they had to leave at least one tree hanging over the trail, that sideways tension would make removing it a dangerous proposition.

A second wooden bench seemed new to me, too. Too bad the weather did not make sitting and enjoying it something I was interested in doing.

The last section of the Greg Ball between the Railroad Grade and the DNR forest road had several areas where logging has scraped the forest away making it brighter than before and exposing the trees left behind to more wind than they were used to in the past. As I approached the forest road I could see scores of trees laid down, many of them hanging over the trail snagged on those still standing.

I made it to the lake at 4.4 miles and a little after 11am. After a few pictures from the bridge over the outlet, I walked briefly to the left around the lake until I came to a spot that dropped down close to the shore. Between the wind and the grey I did not stay long, just enough to drink some warm broth and eat a few bites of apple. I had hoped the snow level would be low enough for the surrounding ridges to have a white dusting but no such luck.

Back on the Greg Ball trail, I was surprised by some rusty relics discarded on the side of the trail that must have been there for ages but had not caught my eye before. The most interesting one was what looked like an intact radiator grill or furnace door around the trunk of tree. It made me sad to think that at some point the tree would outgrow its ring, which one of them would give?

I didn’t see anyone else until I was back on the Woody Trail and even then I only passed 5 small groups before the parking lot. The wind had died down and rain lessened for my walk out but clearly there were not a ton of people heading out to the trails today. All in all a 9 mile round trip, not bad for a less than ideal weather window.

I was excited to see that there were bike racks at the parking area, I hope to take the bus next time and then ride up to the park from HWY 2.