(Text provided by Jenny)
Destination/route: Pear Lake via Meadow Creek Trail, 8 miles to Pear Lake from TH, ~3300’ in, 300’ out
Date: July 21-22, 2012
Party: Corrina Marote and Jenny Baker
We hit the trail at the respectable hour of 11:45am. After a stern warning from a regular user of the trail that we were likely to get lost, fall through holes in the snow, have to ford raging streams and the like (I’m beginning to wonder if I’m a magnet for this type-JB), we headed on. We encountered nearly continuous snow from mile 4 to mile 5 where the trail runs along the west side of Meadow Creek. The first creek crossing was made easy by a large log we shimmied across about 50 yards upstream from the trail crossing (wish I had taken a picture of this-CM) and the second had a nice series of rocks we hopped. From there the trail was dry again to just before Fortune Ponds. From Fortune Ponds to Pear Lake there was patchy snow. The snow coverage provided a greater sense of adventure than a bare trail would have, and there were just enough clues (cut logs, trail visible in places, landscape features that matched the map) to reassure us that we were headed in the right direction. Knowing that Sunday’s weather would be worse and we could be walking out in low visibility conditions, we marked our way well. It turned out that this was a boon to the travelers behinds us – three guys that arrived at Pear Lake after us said they wouldn’t have made it in without our fine tracks/markings to follow. Corrina and I high-fived as they walked away and settled in for lake viewing, reading our novels and snacking on all the food we’d brought.
The next morning did prove to be cloudy, especially once we headed west over the ridge toward Fortune Ponds. However, our tracks/markings were still visible despite overnight rain and we had no trouble getting back.
The trail goes through old burn (now very old and well-forested), lovely old growth forest and meadows. Camping is available at Fortune Ponds, Pear Lake and several other spots along the way. Pear Lake looks like it would be great for swimming after it melts out. No permit required. No Forest Pass required.
Here are the pictures.