Here We Go Again

I went hiking yesterday! Something I've done almost none of this year, with all the stuff going on taking up my time, with planning permission and Kuro being chronically ill and just ugh. When I got back from the birdwatching weekend in Yakima, I said, 'And now I'll start going hiking!' and then promptly twisted my knee weeding the garden, so didn't hike for three weeks while it stopped aching.

Anyway, hiking happened!

I've done Mirror Lake before, but last time I did the longer route via the Pacific Crest Trail. You need a high clearance vehicle to get there unfortunately (I went with a friend that time). So with my very much not-high-clearance car, I took the shorter route, and figured that would be better for testing out my knee anyway.

( Mirror Lake - the short version )

Last week, I hiked to Annette Lake. The first proper hike after covid! 7.5 miles return, 1700 feet of gain, still pretty chill, but enjoyable. I'd intended to do a proper hike the week before, but the weather decided to rain a lot, and that's no fun, so I stayed at home.

( Annette Lake )

Another perfect Friday, and I took off for Mount Rainier (Tahoma) National Park, and the Burroughs Loop out of Sunrise, which I haven't done in quite a few years (definitely pre-covid) but blows my mind every time.

( Burroughs Mountain, with too many photos of The Mountain )

I went hiking last Friday for the first time in three weeks. A couple of weeks ago, I chose to go diving on my free day instead. It was actually a lovely dive, with unexpectedly clear water for the time of year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz0NrtTqzTg

Ten days ago, I planned to go hiking, and then the forecast changed to thunderstorms. (Sadly we didn't get any thunderstorms here. If I'm going to cancel my plans, I at least want to see the lightning! They did happen in other places, though, so my choice was correct.)

The last week of August was unseasonably dismal weather here - grey and showery, with highs around 68/20. But Friday's forecast said the clouds would clear mid-morning, so I decided to believe it. We also needed to have enough time to go grocery shopping that day, so I couldn't drive too far. I've never been to Wallace Lake in all these years of living here, though I've been to Wallace Falls several times, so off I went to fix that.

( Wallace Lake )

I hiked to Mason Lake on Tuesday. According to my photo files, it's ten years since I last there. That's not a reflection on Mason Lake, more on how many different amazing places there are to go hiking around here.

( Mason Lake below )

Hiking season is upon us again! Partly at least. When we drove over Chinook Pass a week ago, there was still snow at road level, so the high mountains need to wait another month or so, but the lower slopes are opening up.

This was a good hike to start the season - 6.2 miles round trip and only 1220 feet up hill, on a reasonably steady trail with no steep parts. Max elevation was only 3780 feet, but there were still a few snow patches in shady areas here and there around Olallie.

( Up to the lakes )

Source Lake was rather generously named, since it's definitely more of a large pond. It is, however, the source of the Snoqualmie River, so its status outweighs its size. And so do its surroundings. Monday was probably the last day of real summer - 79F/26C, shorts and a sleeveless shirt in October, I'll take it!

( Source Lake )

There are some great reasons to go to Snow Lake. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's easy to get to, only an hour's drive from Seattle, and the trailhead is just two miles from I-90. The trailhead's also a ski resort in winter, so there's plenty of parking - not much risk of getting there and finding it's full.

These are the same reasons NOT to go to Snow Lake. Because 10,000 other people go there each summer. What that means in practice is you never go at the weekend, and you never go during the school holidays. It's a trip to make in June when the snow first disappears or at the tail end of the hiking season when most people are at work. You'll still meet a bunch of people on the trail, but thinly enough spread that you can enjoy the mountains.

( Snow Lake )

Monday was hiking day again, a real one! I've heard good things about Spray Park at Mount Tahoma (Rainier) for years as a flower destination. Usually I've been to Berkeley Park or Naches Peak for flowers, but with the awful construction on Hwy 410, this year I decided to check out the alternative. Especially since the trip reports for the weekend said the mosquito hordes had gone from 'terrible' to 'not too bad'.

( Flower Meadows )

I've never hiked Lake 22 in the summer. I've hiked it in winter, when it's accessible by snowshoe or with microspikes. I've hiked it in spring, when it's one of the first mountain lakes to melt out. In August, I'd usually be heading up to higher elevations, in the places that are only accessible for three months of the year.

But the reports from those places currently all concur on one thing - the mosquitoes are appalling. "I've been hiking here for thirty years and I've never known it this bad," people say. "No amount of bug spray deters them," they say. "It wasn't too bad on the trail, but when we reached the lake, we only stayed for five minutes and then we fled," they say. I think the cold, wet spring with a late snow melt means all the mosquitoes hatched at once instead of in batches...

Anyway, none of that sounds like fun, so on Monday I went to Lake 22, at a lowly 2400 feet. And it was glorious.

( Lake in a bowl )