All is quiet the day after Labor Day at a Lake of the Woods beach.
Mount McLoughlin dominates the Cascade Range during our kayak cruise. A bald eagle watched us at one end of the lake.
Lake of the Woods is the crown jewel of lakes in the southern Cascade Mountain Range within an hour or so drive of Ashland, Oregon.
At 4,949 feet elevation, the natural lake offers relief from summer heat with swimming, boating, fishing and other fun managed by the Lake of the Woods Resort.
We hitched up the trailer on Labor Day and headed for Aspen camp, one of two National Forest Campgrounds on the lake.
The resort was a short walk away from our quiet, deserted campground. We resisted the restaurant but found firewood at the camp store.
The lake's level fluctuates just two feet during a normal year and water temperatures warm to the 70s at the surface. Brook and rainbow trout as well as Kokanee salmon swim in its waters.
Fish Lake was our destination on a nearly seven-mile stroll from North Fork Campground, just a short drive away. We found a greasy spoon cafe that fit the bill perfectly.
Brown Mountain is a backdrop for Reg's stroll.
Fall was in the air as nighttime temperatures dropped into the 30s.
The trail from North Fork campground to Fish Lake follows the North Fork Little Butte Creek.
A boardwalk keeps Trekkers dry during the wet spring months.
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