We left work at noon Thursday and drove to Speculator, and then on to Sled Harbor. We tried to drive up to the trailhead, but my little car wouldn't cut it, so we turned around and drove back to Sled Harbor. Contrary to the trail guide, there is now parking farther up the trail, at the trail cutoff to Pillsbury Mountain. But we didn't know that, so we hiked the roughly 1.2 miles from Sled Harbor (PLSH) to the trailhead.
Bob signed us in at the register while I marked the location (THPM). Then it was up 1.5 miles (almost all uphill) to the intersection where we turned left to head for Pillsbury Lake. We met a couple there who had been to the Pillsbury Lake lean-to (LTPL) for lunch. Downhill (somewhat) to the lean-to we went, and no one was there. On the way we found the scenic spot that McMartin talked about (WC03) and took some photos.
The lake looked pretty shallow, with lots of lilies everywhere you looked, so we didn't consider swimming. Bob fished for a while, but this lake didn't seem to have any activity - no baby fish, lots of bugs near the surface, but nothing jumping at them. There weren't any loons here, either, although when we got in our tents we did hear a loon. It was probably from Whitney Lake. With a surface elevation of 2493, this is one of the highest lakes we've visited.
Bob at the Pillsbury Mountain Trailhead.
And photos after arriving at the Lake...
