What to Expect:
This 6.5 mile section of Stateline Trail #738 is deceptively hard despite the shorter milage compared to the other sections. This is due to the amount of cross country travel, primitive trails and several steep ascents near the end of the route. The trail/route has a very nice water stop right on the state line 3 miles in and 2 other lakes that the trail directly goes by. After the first mile, none of the trails are officially maintained so there are sections that require some patience to find the correct path.
There are 4 lakes over this stretch: Smokey, Leo, North Cache and Middle Cache at the end. The stateline trail goes directly to all but Smokey Lake, which sits a couple hundred brushy feet below Leo Lake. Leo and Middle Cache Lakes have fish (cutthroats). Views of upper Kelly Creek and upper Cache Creek are exceptional. Of areas I have included in this website this section is by far the most remote and least visited area. I have been going over to this area since the early 1980's and have never seen anyone outside of our party at Leo and beyond; so if searching for solitude this is the place.
Getting There: Take the Fish Creek Exit on I-90 and proceed up Fish Creek Road #343, for approximately 16 miles and turn right on Surveyor Creek Road #7734 for 12 miles to the Schley Mountain Trailhead. This is a rough 12 miles, especially the portion past the Surveyor Lake trailhead at 8.5 miles. The Schley Mountain Trailhead has several places to camp and park along with a vault toilet. This trailhead and campground are dry, so bring plenty of water if camping. This is not the actual end of the road. The gate is only open from when the snow is off until August 31; the gate is not open over Labor Day weekend.
The road behind the gate is designated by the Forest Service as a non-maintained road. The Forest Service does not maintain or brush out this road. If you are the first one through the gate in the summer, then expect to saw out the downed trees from the winter storms if you want to drive the 3 miles to the end of the road and the old trailhead. The road is pretty good until you reach the 2 switchbacks, and the road gets decidedly worse from there for the last mile. Pullouts are a bit scarce so someone may have to back up a way when meeting another vehicle. The trailhead has plenty of room for parking and several camping sites and bugs; the ridge trail from Schley Mountain connects back to the road.
Trail #738 Description North to South:
Head down the road past the gate for 1/3 mile, then take the left fork up the hill. The right fork heads over to a mining claim nestled under the stateline. About a 1/2 mile will bring you to a nice spring and some shade. From here it's 1/4 mile up to the stateline, a total of 1 mile. Once on the stateline there will be an old road that takes off to the east (left). Follow the old road, which is getting grown in, for 1/2 mile; there are some great views of Irish Basin with Cache and Pebble Creek in the background, take a minute or two here. In 2023 on the way back from Leo Lake a cow elk came running by while Skye & I were sitting at one of the overlooks.
The road becomes a trail and then splits on the ridge with the better trail swinging right around the hillside and a more primitive trail going up the rocky ridge. I have hiked the primitive trail straight up the ridge but it doesn't gain you very much and has gotten worse over the years. Stay on the right-hand trail, climbing up and around the rocky hilltop for a total of 2 miles. This section is a bit steep and rocky but gets better as you near the top.
You will come to a very defined open area and the trail disappears; there are 2 avenues to approach this. a.) Head directly across the meadow to the left of the rocky ridge line to another opening. Follow down the opening towards a small rock slide on the left side; the trail will become visible and then swing below and left under the small rockslide. Follow the trail across the hillside. b.) Head across the meadow at a 45 degree angle through the trees and then down a steep slope where you should intersect the aforementioned trail cutting across the slope. Either way is acceptable.
Follow the trail across the hillside until you get to this really gnarly dead tree, see picture in text. From that tree face straight down the hill, and head down. Your goal is the top of the drainage where it appears a stream channel is starting to form. It may take a some looking to find the trail but it is there.
If you find the trail take your time across the hillside as the trail will disappear a couple times in the area around some bigger rocks. The trail will pick up again in 100 feet or so on the same line, so try not to deviate. The farther across the hillside the better the trail gets. The trail will track under 2 small rockslides 3/4 of the way across the hillside and then swing into the trees. The trail will then head steeply down a ridge, you can see the water course and stream down below (200 ft) and to the left. When the trail flattens out there will be a good spur trail that goes down to the water.
If you can't find the trail then traverse the hillside at about the same elevation, staying below the heaviest rocky areas. There are other game trails that traverse the hillside but they do not go all the way to the water. Remember, your goal is the water stop. The trail is much easier to find on the way back.
From the water stop, a nice well-defined trail is visible that heads south along the ridgeline. The trail is starting to deteriorate due to lack of maintenance and traffic. Stay on this trail; there used to be a trail sign and trail that would take you down into the Middle Fork of Kelly Creek at a low point but that seems to have disappeared, so stay on the ridge top if you find a trail that heads down into Kelly Creek. You shouldn't have any problem staying on the trail from the water stop.
There are 2 climbs of varying difficulty over the next couple miles and the trail can be brushy at times. Even though there isn't any official maintenance, the trail does occasionally get some TLC from horse packers. About a half mile from Leo Lake there is a prominent rocky outcrop about 20 feet above the trail. Make sure you take a few minutes here, this is just an unbelievable view of upper Cache Creek, Granite Peak and Pilot Knob in the distance. Cache Creek is an expansive drainage system.
Continue for another 1/2 mile to Leo Lake for a total of about 5 hard miles. A good trail continues around the right side of Leo lake and climbs steeply up to a flat above Leo Lake. The trail crosses over the stream and to the left side of the basin and climbs relentlessly towards the prominent saddle to North Cache Lake. The trail gets less defined and steeper the closer you get to the saddle. About 100 feet below the saddle the trail kind of goes to the left of a group of rocks, cross under these rocks to the right where you will find a faint trail that will switchback up the remaining slope to the saddle; avoiding the straight up the hill push if you go left around the rocks.
From the saddle circle North Cache Lake to the outlet across the way. Left or right makes no difference in difficulty, but the left shoreline can offer better pictures. Drop straight down the hill to the right of the outlet streambed. There is a primitive game trail that will take you around and down the hillside towards the basin above Middle Cache Lake. It disappears about halfway there but make a mental note about the location for the way out. The trail ends near a rocky outcrop with an old snag. FYI, there is a spring at the base of this rocky outcrop. You can either go straight down the hill or swing to the right a bit then work back to the lake. There isn't a lot of brush on the way so either route is good going.
Most maps do not show the Cache Creek trail that goes all the way to the state line and connects with the trail from Rhodes Peak. The trail is not maintained and is very difficult to find above the hunting camps in main Cache Creek. It may actually no longer exist. In the late 80's my brother-in-law & I hiked from Schley Mtn trailhead to North Cache Lake and then down Cache Creek. There was a very nice trail from Middle Cache all the way down the drainage. In 2024, I am sure I found the old trail from Cache Creek. It was barely 6 inches wide, but I didn't have time to really follow it down to its beginning; maybe in the future.
Getting There: I don't have a description to get to end of the section (trailhead) like I do with the other parts of the stateline trail. I believe the route up Cache Creek is still viable, but not sure about it. I talked to a Game Warden from the Nine-Mile District and he said there wasn't a trail from the hunter's camp at the 7 mile mark up Cache Creek. That said, I have been down a very good trail all the way out Cache Creek from the Middle Cache Lake many years ago. Also, a friend in Superior has spent time in the Upper Cache Creek and says there is a trail, albeit in poor condition all the way to Cache Saddle. Maybe in the future I can verify these things and add it the information on the site.
Trail #738 Description South to North: From the Middle Cache Lake head back up the hill to the North Cache Lake. I have done this 2 ways. a.) Go back to the inlet stream coming out of the basin and work to the right of it and then swing up and around the rock outcrops connecting with the primitive trail there. b.) Head straight up the hill towords the point the primitive trail you came in on disappeared. Cross the dry outlet stream from North Cache Lake and work your way up to the right of the rock outcrops. Either way works (30 minutes) and gets you to the same place as the primitive trail helps get up the steep and rocky hillside to North Cache.
Head over to the low saddle on the other side of North Cache Lake, either shoreline is fine but the right side can have better photo opportunities. The trail on the other side of the saddle/stateline is well defined in the first 50 feet and angles down to the left before heading back to the right and passing beneath the set of rocks about 100 feet below the top of the saddle.
There connect back with the primitive trail that heads straight down the hill on the right side of the basin going down. On the flat, cross the stream and find the trail to the left that will go across the hillside and down to Leo Lake.
Cross the outlet at Leo Lake and pick up a good trail that is easy to follow all the way back to the water stop. In about a 1/2 mile from Leo Lake the trail passes near a rock outcrop. If you didn't stop on the way in, then make sure to stop this time. It is well worth the time to take a break and enjoy the tremendous view. The trail heads downhill for a bit to a low point then up and down again over the 2 miles until you make a slow climb back to the waterhole just off the stateline.
The primitive traverse trail back across the next slope is much easier to find going in this direction. From the waterhole/stop, head up the steep trail on the ridge for 200 feet where the trail will level off and start its traverse. The trail will break out of the trees and cross directly below 2 separate rock slides. There is a split in the trail here with the left fork staying straight and the right angling up the hill. Take the right fork and the climb doesn't last long before leveling out again. The trail will disappear a couple times for a short distance (~100 ft) about 3/4 of the way across the traverse; stay the course and continue in the same direction along the traverse. The trail doesn't radically change its elevation so be patient.
As you reach the shallow draw where a stream channel looks to begin the trail abruptly ends or no longer can be determined. Look straight up the hill and find the dead knarly tree that was pictured earlier and head for it. Also, be proactive and really look at your surroundings so you can easily find the trail again on another trip. You can impress someone with your navigation skills that hasn't been over to the Leo Lake area before.
At the tree you can either follow the trail around the hillside to the left which will take you around the steep slope, past a rockslide and then straight up the hill and eventually to the flat meadow. Or you can go up the steep slope and cut across the meadow to pick up the trail on the other side. Either route is good.
Find the trail on the other side of the meadow and head down the hill around the left side of the rocky knob. It is not the best trail but after the traverse it is basically a highway. It will eventually come back to the ridgeline and follow it for a 1/2 mile before heading back over to the main road from the trailhead. Take a few minutes here and enjoy looking down into Irish Basin and Cache Creek. Turn right back on the old road and head down the hill to the trailhead. Actually, the last 1/3 of a mile to the trailhead is uphill and a real bugger if you have had a rough day.
Be prepared to be assaulted by mosquitos and biting flies while trying to relax and change at your vehicle. I find this trailhead to be the worst for bugs, especially later in day. I made an early summer trip into Kid Lake one year before the first gate was open and hiked the road out in the evening. I spent the entire 3 miles back on the road being swarmed by a cloud of mosquitos. Anymore, I just toss the pack in the truck and drive out to the gate before getting changed and enjoying the end of a trip.
