Visiting the Swan Lake Cabin was not our first option. Originally, we planned to travel over to Prince of Wales island and do the Honker Divide route…but due to some logistical and timing issues Jenn and I decided to audible. We’ll get there eventually, there’s still a long list.
We still wanted to do a packraft trip – I had spent a couple hundred dollars shipping one up from a friend – and the Swan Lake Cabin to Cascade Creek Cabin was our next best option.
The more we looked into it, the more excited we became about the trip and overall experience. It turned out to be even better than we expected, even with the unexpected twists.
Overall it was a 4 night 5 day trip, which was perfect. It was nice to stay longer than at some of the other cabins like Raven’s Roost and Little Dry Island.
Getting to the Swan Lake Cabin
Getting There: Travel to the Swan Lake Cabin
There are two ways to get up to the Swan Lake cabin – take a boat to the trailhead and hike up or take a float plane into the lake itself. We chose the second option, flying in, paddling across the lake, and then hiking down to saltwater where we would stay at the Cascade Creek trail.
We flew out of Petersburg on a beautiful mid June day – the weather cooperated and we enjoyed the gorgeous scenery all around us during the quick 15-20 minute flight to the lake which sits just above 1500 feet.
The plane landed smoothly, and once the pilot beached it, we quickly unloaded our gear and watched as the Cessna 185 took off, climbing beyond the mountains and out of view. This is always one of my favorite feelings of any remote trip…feeling alone when the quiet sets in.
We’ll discuss more about the paddling later, but keep in mind if you do hike up to the cabin there will need to be a boat to get across to the cabin. There were several there during our visit.
Arriving at Swan Lake Cabin
As soon as we were alone, the true magnitude and beauty of the surroundings set in. The views in every direction were stunning, and we were in awe.
The cabin had a perfect view of the peaks across the lake. Behind the cabin were more mountains and large snowpacked glaciers. We could hear a waterfall behind us but it was just out of sight.
The cabin itself is an A – frame in good shape. There is a board walk around the back to an outhouse. The boat was tied up to a post almost to the shoreline. It was completely dry when we arrived, but it wasn’t too difficult to flip it and get it into the water.
The Cabin Layout
Like all forest service cabins, the Swan Lake cabin is simple but has everything you would need. There were two single bunks to the left upon entrance, with a table and counter space to the right.
For heating, which we didn’t require because it was hot, there is an oil stove that accepts No.1 heating oil. One underrated feature was the amount of hooks all over the downstairs. These are extremely useful for hanging things that need to dry, or just keeping them off the floor.
Upstairs is an open space that can fit a few more sleeping pads. We chose to sleep in the upstairs area for the view it provided out of the window.
As mentioned, there is an outhouse that was in good shape around the back. It’s an easy walk across a boardwalk to get there.
Our Experience
For us, this trip was about fishing, paddling, and doing some exploring. There are a variety of other activities to enjoy at Swan Lake and I’d like to go back to experience another time of year.
Day 1
It worked out that we were able to fly out to the lake fairly early in the day, around mid morning, maximizing the time we had. It was tempting to immediately get in the boat and start fishing, but as a habit I like to get camp set up right away before anything else.
The great thing about the cabins, and making this a paddle trip, is that we didn’t have anything fancy or extra to prepare. After our sleep systems we took out our jetboils and laid out the packrafts so they weren’t tied up the entire time.
After this quick task we untied the boat and got it in the water. The 16 ft. jon boat had everything we needed—oar locks, oars, and even a couple of seat cushions. This was great, as it’s not always the case when a boat is provided.
Across the lake and visible from the cabin is the inlet to the lake. In the afternoon we rowed the boat over and brought it up onto the gravel…it’s always nice to not have to worry about tides.
We did some fishing, but mostly walked around looking for tracks and peering into the river to see if there was any life. On the row back we did some fishing, but no luck.
It’s usually early to bed and early to rise on these type of trips, and this was no different. After dinner we had some hot chocolate (a nice treat in the woods) and called it a night.
Day 2
It was another nice morning, and we enjoyed it while we had coffee and breakfast. Our plan was to row to the other end of the lake to see it all and do some fishing.
We packed up some snacks and lunch and got back in the boat. I had seen what looked like a black bear on the same gravel bar we had been on the night before, so we headed in that direction first.
The black spot I saw was gone, so I searched for any sign to confirm what I thought I saw, but I couldn’t find a track, scat, or anything. Just as we were leaving, we spotted a small black bear climbing a draw just above where we had been—exactly the proof I needed.
It was fun to watch the bear for a bit before starting our journey across Swan Lake. By this time a bit of a wind had come up, so the almost 2 mile row was done against a moderate headwind. It took a couple of hours, but we made it to the location where the trail starts and walked a little ways down.
There were 2 other boats with oars on this side of the lake for anyone wanting to access the cabin from the trail. We had our lunch before getting back into the boat to do some fishing.
The wind was still blowing, and in the same direction so we used this to our advantage and drifted back towards the cabin while we fished. Every once in a while I would need to course correct, but it was much easier than the way over.
We tried a couple inlets and bays, trying to get our flies deep but not having any luck. About 1/3 of the way back, Jenn finally got a hit! I rowed us back over the spot and we had another hit!
Jenn almost had hers landed but it got off after a pretty good jump. We tried working that spot for a little longer but there was no other action. Letting the wind continue to help we started on our drift.
There was one other hit on the way, but overall it was pretty quiet. I did a little more fishing around the cabin, walking the shoreline to where a little stream was flowing in but couldn’t find a fish.
In the evening we took the boat our one last time to try in front of the creek by the cabin. Jenn caught one here! A beautiful little rainbow trout. I think later in the summer the fishing can be really good.
Day 3
It was time to move on from the Swan Lake cabin and start making our way back down to the ocean and the Cascade Creek cabin. This morning, we had more work to do—getting the rafts ready, packing, and more.
We also wanted to get going before the wind picked up to make life a little easier. After packing and inflating the rafts we started on our way. The wind did start to pick up about half way across, and some smaller waves starting forming.
Both of the rafts handled the conditions perfectly and although it required a little extra work, there wasn’t anything to worry about. Landing at the takeout meant it was time for what would become the most annoying part of the trip – rolling the rafts and repacking the backpacks.
Jenn was using a smaller raft which was much easier, but because we had originally planned to do a route with less backpacking, I had a model that was much larger. It took some help and creative packing but we got it in the backpack.
Weight was the other negative…I strapped a backpack and a dry bag to the outside. It was heavy, which towards the end started to wear on me…but more on that later.
To Be Continued…
Read the next post to hear about our stay in the three sided shelter, another lake crossing, and FINALLY making it out.