The Old Man of Blanca Lake

AN UNUSUAL OR OVERLOOKED HISTORY OF THE ALPINE LAKES 

BLANCA LAKE 

Blanca Lake is a mineral rich basin lake that sits at 4,000 ft, an impressive altitude when you consider the ocean lies just fifteen miles to the west. The lake holds a place in this chapter for a persistent story told about it in the settlement days. The story was commonly told in the Monte Cristo, Holden and Gold Bar communities as late as the 1970s, and has been retold as a ghost story amidst local hikers since.  

"The Old Man Of Blanca Lake"  

Before old Mineral Hill got famous for its ore deposits, the Lesser Bonanza Range was full of adventurous (or crazy) prospectors looking to make it rich. One of these prospectors was a young kid named Billy Morton. out of Skamania county. Billy had an education in ecology and figured he knew where some good ore deposits could be found, if he could just find the right crease or formation in the mountains. One day, he saw a snowy ridge and set out to mount it for  a better vantage over the various creases he had been looking for. Upon summiting the ridge, he saw a great, blue-green lake in a neighboring valley. It was an exceedingly beautiful sight, as if a gem had been inset on the floor of the mountain valley. On account of its unusual beauty, Billy set out  to survey it.

Upon reaching the lake, Billy was so overwhelmed by the beauty of it that he sat on the bank for an extended time. So beautiful was the scene that he was known to often describe it as “so majestic, I could not comprehend it.” He chose to name it Blanca Lake, after a crush of his that had since left town. Better yet, he found scattered gold deposits on the shore. After collecting samples, Billy set out to return to his camp.  

The sun fell behind a ridge and Billy couldn't shake the sudden feeling he was being watched. At first he wondered if it was a cougar, but he knew if that particular beast was stalking him, it  was best he wander quickly down the hillside.  Dusk hit the ridge early and Billy began to feel turned around. Though he knew he was certainly returning the same direction, if not the exact path, he felt as if he was on the wrong trajectory. The air had taken on an overpowering hostile feel, and he could not place what was causing him to feel so spooked. At a break in the trees, he stopped to take a breath and align himself at an overlook. As he surveyed the horizon, he heard a snapping twig. He froze in fear, realizing his strange sense of foreboding was not all in his head.

Resolving to confront whatever beast stalked him, Billy Morton turned quickly. He was quickly frozen by what he saw next. A wild eyed man with dark hair and dressed in ragged expedition gear stared back. He must have been 30 or 40 by Billy's estimation, and had not seen the comforts of civilization in some time. This was evident to Billy by the horrifying hungry gleam in the man's eyes. There was no touch of sentient humans in the strange man’s eyes and Billy realized his very life was in danger. Before Billy could attempt to communicate, the strange man growled, a terribly feral noise that sent shivers down Billy’s spine for years after the encounter. Billy estimated a good two miles to his camp from the hill and believed his best option was to run. 

Billy ran like the wind and has estimated his speed to have broken the world record for elevation descent. He could hear the creature follow him down the mountain, making great snarls and terrible howls that humans should not need to make in this modern era. He feels the only reason he made it off  the mountain was a rotting stump that tripped the man and sent him tumbling down a mountain slope.