Hike Date: 05-26-2013
Distance (Roundtrip): 4 miles
Elevation Gain: ?
Highest Point: ?
Upper Twin Lakes Info
Jim Creek is a recreational area offering cabins, campsites, and various outdoor activities. It is reserved for active or retired military families. Every year, during Memorial day weekend, my family celebrates the occasion by camping out at Jim Creek. For about 2-3 years, the Twin Lakes hike has been closed due to bad weather. Ironically, it finally reopened this year despite the heavy rain drenching us the entire weekend! The lake at the end of the trail offers great fishing, wildlife viewing, and boat activities. Since it had been awhile since we last hiked it, we decided to pay the Twin Lakes trail another visit!
Getting to the trail-head from the campsites requires a one-mile march up an unpaved service road. The road was wide enough for most of us to walk side-by-side, even for a large group (we had almost 20 people). It steeply winds upwards until a sign appears on the right pointing towards the Twin Lakes. This is the official start of the trail. The actual trail is more narrow than the road, but still fairly wide. This continues on for a little less than a mile.
Eventually, the trail comes to a fork. A sign indicates that mountain bikers may proceed ahead while hikers must veer right. From this point on, the trail is really only wide enough for a single-file line. Though it is still fairly well-kept, there are spots where the trail gets really muddy. There is also some overgrowth, but nothing we couldn't push through. This part of the hike offers beautiful forest scenery! Along the way, we ran into many interesting-looking spruce trees and large tree stumps from a history of logging. Small waterfalls and creek crossings also decorate the trail.
As the forest got thicker, we noticed there were small trail indicators attached to trees to help us find our way. These were helpful, especially with the trail so narrow and occasionally grown over. At this point, the trail seemed to bottom out. We made it to the Walter R. Briggs memorial, a small stone-framed plaque with a small history of the area engraved on it. The trail was a muddy creek at this point. The final mile is mostly flat and follows close along the lake. At the end of the trail, the forest opens up to the Twin Lakes recreation area.
The rain started pouring as soon as we got there, but we took cover in the rental office. They had the fireplace going, so it was nice and warm! If you're ever in the Jim Creek recreational area, I highly recommend hiking up to the Twin Lakes rather than driving. It's short, sweet, and great for any hiker!
Photos
Photos courtesy of my hiking Aunt Penny!
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