Spider Lake

I found Spider Lake, we found it before without knowing it when we were looking for the Upper South Fork Skok trail and overshot it by so much that we started seeing signs for Lake Wynoochee.

Spider Lake has a lovely old growth forest on it's shores. All the surrounding hills have been savagely logged by Simpson aka Green Diamond, but the lake has been spared.

The original trail dates back to the 1920's and there used to be a shelter there. Once upon a time (Before Simpson AKA Green Diamond) savaged the land a trail extended from the lower south fork skok trail all the way to Spider Lake and beyond. It was a 15 mile long trail but now it's only .3 of a mile. This information is in the "Olympic Mountain Trail Guide" by Robert L. Wood.

I found evidence of really old campsites there. I was struck by this lakes similarities to Lena Lake and wondered if it was formed the same way. I looked it up on the internet and learned not only was it formed the same way it was formed at the same time by the same earthquake.


http://www.geocities.com/buried_forest/ortingspiderintro.htm:
The subfossil trees in Spider Lake, below, are an example of a submerged forest. The trees were growing in the valley of a tributary to the Middle Fork Satsop River, however, about 900 years ago a large rock avalanche thundered into the valley bottom and dammed that tributary, drowning the forest, and forming Spider Lake. Spider Lake drains into Cedar Creek to the Skokomish River. The trees are preserved below the level of the lake and are exposed during times of drought. Several nearby lakes, Lower Dry Bed, Lower Lena, Elk, Jefferson Lakes, and others bear subfossil forests of this same age. The outer annual growth rings of trees at several of the sites have matching tree rings, thus indicating that the trees were killed at the same time, probably as the result of a large earthquake. One of the lakes, Price Lake, is dammed by a fault.



I walked around the lake twice, once alone and once with my tot while my husband rested near the shore.

Getting out to these backwoods location is much easier now that we have and old beater of a Jeep. I just hope we don't get stranded going so far in such an old Jeep.

The best access to this trail is at N 47° 24.854 W 123° 25.695 . To get there take FS 23 past the turn off for Upper Skok watch for the lake below the road. If you see the lake you have gone past the nicest access point, turn around and find a little unmarked road to the right the best trail head is at the end of this very short road. Here is a PDF File from the Forest Service.



900 Year old Stumps







Deer Mushroom









Slime Mold








Blueberry Bush








Track Log