Trail Report: McConnell Lake
A previous article was posted on McConnell Lake (link). This is a quiet and pleasant walk. It starts at the parking lot:
All of the trail on south and east side of the lake is now snow free, though there are some seasonal brooks to skirt. The south shore of the lake sits under a north-slope hill so there are patches of ice-snow still, but they are easy to pass through or by. The east slope has some older growth firs and wildlife trees along the route:
An easily-missed (unsigned) trail junction on the east side links up to the Stake Lake Trails.
When you hike the east shore, you will come to the outlet stream for the lake. Where does the water go? Here is the route it takes:
- North underneath the flank of Hull Hill.
- East around the nose of Hull Hill, where it is joined by other streams and is now called Anderson Creek.
- Through the grasslands to Hull Lake.
- East to the Long Lake Road, then northeast down the gully
- East again towards Highway 5 South
- South down the gully all the way to just north of Shumway Lake
- East into Campbell Creek
- East all the way to Barnhartvale
- North through Campbell Creek where it joins the South Thompson River