There is a lake way up in the mountains near where we live. At about half an acre, and a depth of only about three feet, it’s not really a lake so much as a large pond. Many, many years ago my uncle, who worked for the Forest Service at the time, discovered the lake and named it after our family.

The Forest Service no longer maintains the road and trail to the lake, but a group of citizens in our area got together and formed a club called Curry Citizens For Public Land Access. They clear and maintain some of the roads that the Forest Service no longer does. They cleared the road to Southard Lake after it became overgrown.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife still stocks the lake with trout every spring.

I had been to this lake numerous times as a kid, and had a craving to see what it looked like after so many years had passed. So this year during hunting season we got together a picnic lunch, packed up the trucks, and headed up the mountain. Wow, 40 years can really change the landscape! Where I remember bare and rocky ground with wild black raspberries growing there are now full grown trees. The duff from the trees has covered the rocky ground and there is a well-maintained trail around the lake that is soft to walk on. There are also large rhododendrons, salal berry bushes, and manzanita growing around the lake.

Of course, as soon as we got to the lake, the fishing poles came out. There were many fish caught and released to be caught another day.

We all had a great time, including the dogs, and are looking forward to going back again.