Heather Lake

Mike and I hiked up to Heather Lake this morning. We arrived early, meeting in Smokey Point at 7 AM, but three cars beat us to the trailhead. People are getting out there. We watched five cars come into the lot, in a line, when we returned. Heather Lake is not a secret. I came away thinking this might be a really good one to snowshoe in February or March, as it is not too steep, the distance is moderate for snowshoeing, and the destination is gorgeous.

I have done this hike before--I recognized certain turns of the trail--but it's probably been 15 years, as I can't recall further details. The age goonies got my memory.

The trailhead is on the Mt. Pilchuk road, which is one mile past the Verlot Ranger Station on the Mountain Loop Highway. The trip was less than 100 miles roundtrip from my doorstep. The hike itself turned out to be shorter than I thought too--2 miles in and out, with climbing, but nothing too steep. So, an easy day.

As the pictures show here, the lake is still frozen, but the melt is on. We didn't hit serious snow until about 3/4 of the way in, and it was all easily navigable, though we made one brief wrong turn. There is a lot of water on the trail going up, with a couple minor stream crossings. We were not punching through the snow all that much.

Upon return, Mike and I discussed the possibility of connecting Lake Twenty-Two and Heather Lake, by breaking a bit of trail, as it were.

Heather Lake is beautiful in its frozen state. We heard, then saw one minor avalanche, up high. We also hiked over avalanche debris, and studied the ice melt holes, but chose not to circle the whole lake. Snowshoes would be helpful for that. Some odd sort of flea filled our snowy footprints. There is old growth on the way up, though not as much as on the Lake Twenty-Two trail.

Good day.

Lake Twenty-Two

Friend Mike and I headed up to Lake Twenty-Two on Saturday.  Lake Twenty-Two is a really popular hike in the Glacier Peak area, off the Mountain Loop Highway.  I hiked it some fifteen years ago, and it’s been on my mind the last couple years to check it out again. 

The hike is short—less than 6 miles roundtrip—which is probably why I haven’t gone back more recently, with my typical longer distance focus.  But the trailhead in near, 52 miles from home, not far from the Ron Herzog start line.  The trail is known for its old growth, waterfalls, and the beautiful mountain lake.

We actually didn’t settle on Lake Twenty-Two until 8 AM at the Verlot Ranger Station, after an early meetup at 7 AM at Smokey Point. You don’t have to choose early, really—there’s a lot of nearby trailheads to choose from. Someday, when I heal up, I may try to do two or three trails in a day around here (e.g. Mt. Pilchuk, Lake Twenty-Two, Heather Lake). It'd make for a fun day.

The first two-thirds of the trail are now snow-free, with massive old growth cedars lining the trail, and a few large waterfalls, spilling out full bore. After that, the trail quickly switches to snow and ice.  We packed snowshoes—I thought that’s what we were going to do--but didn’t end up using them. Steps were kicked in most of the way.

We punched through to our waists a few times, and less deep several more times. The snow is soft and melting fast today, and soon to be gone. We encountered one sketchy creek crossing, with a gap to jump over a melted snowbridge, over an eight foot drop. Have to be careful with these kind of things, because it's possible to fall and wash under the snowcover. We ended up dropping into the creek and climbing out of it, as jumping on to a sloped ice cube seemed a bad idea. It's easier to jump coming down, which I did, letting myself fall forward.

Lake Twenty-Two was gorgeous.  Spectacular, fair to say, as we arrived, and no one was there, and the basin was pure white, the small lake covered in ice. Thousand foot cliffs form a cirque above the far side. Avalanches are happening--we heard a few falls. We were advised at the Ranger Station against walking on the lake, but we watched one fella give it a go in snowshoes, successfully.  I would've fallen through, no doubt.

We were the early birds, first up to the lake in the morning.  Many people were coming up as we came down.  Next time, I’d probably come up here even earlier in the year, before the summer crowds, but today was perfect. Great to hit the trail with Mike too--been a while. Thanks Mike! Also, nice too to be home by early afternoon, to work around the place. More weekends like THIS, please.

Ice Caves

The Ice Caves trail is off the Mountain Loop Highway, east of Granite Falls. Significant blowdowns midway in, with snow not too deep. A very popular trail in the summer, and potentially hazardous due to falling rock and ice. I'm not sure how far--a few hours in the snow.

Here are a few pics. Based on forecasts and reports, there's a whole lot more snow up there now then there was on Sunday. The Mountain Loop Highway is definitely a place worthy of further exploration. I'm thinking maybe a snowshoe trip or two is in order this winter.

Christmas was good, but short. Family time in Kirkland, with a memorable egg nog pie. I've caught a frustrating cold, but am considering jogging the Last Chance on Friday, if work and health allow. If not, oh well.

As I wrote the word "jog", I thought--people don't use the term jogger too much anymore, except with kid joggers.  Maybe next year I'm going to be a jogger. A super jogger.