Map Annotations: (A) - A picture of the old cabin ruins by the side of the trail. (B) - Williams Lake Adit. (C) - The route crosses the rocky gully, this view down to Williams Lake. (D) - After a while hopping rocks, adit #1 can be seen. (E) - Looking out of adit #1. A Detail Map of the Chain Lakes shows some of the details of the workings, and links to photos. Microsoft TerraServer shows the Chains Lakes area well. The mine dump of adit #2 can be seen in the middle as the large backwards "L" shape running into the biggest lake. Driving: Drive I-90 east past North Bend for 1 mile and take exit 34, which is the old Edgewick Road exit. Turn left under the freeway, and continue past the truck stop area to a right turn on the Middle Fork road. Continue on this sometimes rough road 15.5 miles, past the Middle Fork trailhead on the left to the small concrete bridge spanning the Taylor River. Keep right after this bridge. The road now climbs the hillside, and gets very rough, as it will be until the end. A high clearance vehicle and/or 4WD is desirable here. After an eternity, reach the Dingford Creek trailhead in 6 more miles. 6 miles after this, the road ends at the spacious Dutch Miller trailhead (elev 3000'). Allow 2 miserable hours from North Bend. Hiking/Bushwhacking: Hike the Dutch Miller trail 6.5 miles to the Williams Lake junction. This trail is in great shape, with much recent maintenance done to it. In .75 miles reach Williams Lake at 4600', with nice camps around the west side of the lake. Allow 4-5 hours to reach Williams Lake. Williams Lake Adit: Hike around the Williams Lake shoreline to the north, winding through the confusing maze of paths. After crossing the inlet stream, the small mine dump and rails from the adit should be visible about 80 feet above the lake. The USGS quad shows the adit at Williams lake, but puts the elevation much too high (actually at about 4680'). Climb the talus up to the mine entrance. Chain Lakes Basin: The route up to the Chain Lakes basin starts immediately at the Williams Lake adit. Find the steep route on the left side of the adit, and follow the good tread through switchbacks in the open forest above. Most of the route is good, some blowdowns exist that require scrambling over to find the route. Soon the route breaks out near the top of the steep talus slope that extends down to Williams Lake. Here the route turns into a rock-hop, turning north in the obvious direction towards the Chain Lakes basin. The basin has a small headwall, and soon the Chain adit #1 becomes visible. The open granite terrain offers travel in any direction now. Allow about 1 hour from Williams Lake to the Chain Lakes basin (with light packs). © 1999-2008 by 2DrX Explorations Last Modified: 01/06/05 00:52:14
Map Annotations:
A Detail Map of the Chain Lakes shows some of the details of the workings, and links to photos.
Microsoft TerraServer shows the Chains Lakes area well. The mine dump of adit #2 can be seen in the middle as the large backwards "L" shape running into the biggest lake.
Driving: Drive I-90 east past North Bend for 1 mile and take exit 34, which is the old Edgewick Road exit. Turn left under the freeway, and continue past the truck stop area to a right turn on the Middle Fork road. Continue on this sometimes rough road 15.5 miles, past the Middle Fork trailhead on the left to the small concrete bridge spanning the Taylor River. Keep right after this bridge.
The road now climbs the hillside, and gets very rough, as it will be until the end. A high clearance vehicle and/or 4WD is desirable here. After an eternity, reach the Dingford Creek trailhead in 6 more miles. 6 miles after this, the road ends at the spacious Dutch Miller trailhead (elev 3000'). Allow 2 miserable hours from North Bend.
Hiking/Bushwhacking: Hike the Dutch Miller trail 6.5 miles to the Williams Lake junction. This trail is in great shape, with much recent maintenance done to it. In .75 miles reach Williams Lake at 4600', with nice camps around the west side of the lake. Allow 4-5 hours to reach Williams Lake.
Williams Lake Adit: Hike around the Williams Lake shoreline to the north, winding through the confusing maze of paths. After crossing the inlet stream, the small mine dump and rails from the adit should be visible about 80 feet above the lake. The USGS quad shows the adit at Williams lake, but puts the elevation much too high (actually at about 4680'). Climb the talus up to the mine entrance.
Chain Lakes Basin: The route up to the Chain Lakes basin starts immediately at the Williams Lake adit. Find the steep route on the left side of the adit, and follow the good tread through switchbacks in the open forest above. Most of the route is good, some blowdowns exist that require scrambling over to find the route. Soon the route breaks out near the top of the steep talus slope that extends down to Williams Lake. Here the route turns into a rock-hop, turning north in the obvious direction towards the Chain Lakes basin. The basin has a small headwall, and soon the Chain adit #1 becomes visible. The open granite terrain offers travel in any direction now. Allow about 1 hour from Williams Lake to the Chain Lakes basin (with light packs).
