Bushwacker Loop
The Bushwacker Trail in the Stake Lake Trail system is a backcountry route on top of McConnell Hill. It can be hiked in summer or fall or snowshoed in winter. The main trail access is off the Sidewinder Trail, a 4 km hike from Stake Lake. The main trail system of the Stake Lake cross country (multi-use) trails are double tracks making for easier hiking. The route from the parking lot to the start of the Bushwacker Trail climbs 220m (722 feet), Most of the Bushwacker Trail is a single track with an uneven surface. Although it is much better marked now, some care must be taken to watch for the trail markers on the 2.7 km loop route.
Most of the route on top is in the forest, but there are side trails out to viewpoints. We had lunch at one viewpoint overlooking Stake Lake.
At a viewpoint looking south were views of Lac le Jeune, 3 km to the south.
Looking over layers of hills and forested ridges is Ross Moore Lake, 4.5 km to the southeast.
Most of the wildlfowers were gone by mid-September but a few still lingered on. Fungi were plentiful and a few seedheads like old man’s whiskers (geum triflorum) remind us of seasonal changes.
The whole route is 11.5 km, about 3.5 hours of hiking in the high country. We try to hike this route once a year in dry conditions, then we return mid-winter to do it again (or snowshoe trails) in winter.
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