Braving the Bugs at Takhlakh Lake
We love Takhlakh Lake. It’s a pristine alpine lake that on a calm day perfectly reflects Mount Adams, which towers above. It can only be accessed by a dirt forest road and offers only a pit toilet for amenities. It’s become one of our favorite places.
We were coming off a very busy week and decided to camp a few nights at Takhlakh Lake to relax and unwind. The camp wasn’t taking reservations yet, but we knew the snow had melted, and thought we had a good shot at finding an open spot in the middle of the week.
It took an extra hour to get there as we pulled our trailer slowly over the many potholes and bumps in the road. There were indeed many spots available when we arrived, and after parking the trailer, we got out ready to set up camp.
It didn’t take long for us to discover that we were not alone at our camp site. There were about a million mosquitoes wanting to join in on the party. Good thing I brought bug spray I thought to myself. I’m sure they aren’t this bad everywhere. So we sprayed up and set up.
Scott took his fishing pole to the lake, while I brought my chair and a good book. It was a hot sunny day, and we found a nice shady spot by the side of the lake. The view of Mount Adams was gorgeous. Not quite a perfect reflection in the lake yet, but still stunning. Scott caught a fish, while I read a few chapters. Both of us doing our best to ignore the persistent buzzing around us.
We ventured back over to the lake again in the evening. By this time the lake was calm with a perfect reflection. Just gorgeous! I got busy snapping taking pictures, and quickly decided It was time for long sleeves and jeans. The mosquitoes were absolutely swarming!
When I came back, I was wearing jeans, sneakers, long socks, long sleeves, and a jacket with the hood pulled up tight around my face. The only skin showing was my face and hands, and they were well covered in bug spray. Fortunately, it had begun to cool off, and I was able to get several really nice shots.
By the time we went out at night to try and get pictures of the stars the bugs thinned out quite a bit. Clouds kept us from seeing the milky way, but we did get to watch a few stars come out around Mount Adams.
The next day we took our kayak out on the lake and that was wonderful. There was a breeze out on the lake and no bugs. We could just relax and enjoy the view. When we went out on the water the next morning there was less wind and therefore a few more bugs. But we saw reflections of the mountain as we paddled and even saw up close views of the eagles and osprey that are local residents.
We ended up cutting our trip a day short. I finished my book and got several good shots of the lake that I was happy with. But really the bugs were just a little too much. Next time we’ll go with one of those mosquito net enclosures.
On to the next adventure.