Lake 22 and more

Well I did another hike, this time a solo hike to Lake 22. I have included a slideshow of this hike, as well as, my day hike with Brian to Heather Lake.

I started early in the morning, hoping to beat any traffic on the road . I knew if I were able to climb to the lake then I would want to spend a while there, maybe play with some rocks and build something, swim in the lake, and then probably smoke my cigar. It is dependent on whether there was still a lot of snow up there or not. Due to a very harsh winter and a lot of late snowfall, I just wasn't sure.

I had the entire trail to myself all morning and I ran up along the mountainside. The trail was very slick and wet, with a lot of tiny waterfalls pouring down the mountain. It seemed very likely there would still be a lot of snow at the lake.

When I crested and saw the lake for the first time, it took my breath away because of all the ice still in the waters, like little ice cubes in a giant cup of water. I walked to the waters edge and put my fingers in and found it would be too cold for a dip.

I could talk about this trip some more but really the photos are all you need.

Heather Lake

Brian and I took a day hike to Heather Lake, a place I like to trail run. The snow is still lingering in the mountains, especially higher up where I would have liked to take him. Since Heather Lake is a little lower elevation, it seemed like our best bet, plus he had never been to it and it is rather gorgeous anyway.

To get to Heather Lake you just need to get to the Mountain Loop Highway in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, about 1 H 30 M drive. Not bad at all.

The trail takes you through dense wet forests, with ancient cedar stumps that were cut down by loggers in the turn of the 20th century. You can see the notches in them still, where the loggers wedged their boards in to stand on as they cut away at the huge trees.

You climb up and up until you then begin climbing down, down to where the lake is formed, at the based of Mt. Pilchuck. There was snow everywhere and we had to be careful for a lot of it was in the process of melting and it was quite unsteady. We made our way to the lake, with was so clear there were mirror images of the mountains sweeping across it. If only it weren't so cold up there with the snowy air, for there is a wonderful swimming hole on the sound end.

We found a huge boulder, climbed up on it and gawked at the Heather Lake's majesty surrounding us from all sides. We had a little lunch, smoked a cigar, talked about anything and everything, and even listened to some music.

Out of nowhere there was a loud crack, like Thunder and the earth rumbled. An avalanche had begun on Mt. Pilchuck. We were nervous at first because we didn't know where the snow was coming but we ended up being fine for it was on the other side of the mountain. The whole experience was otherworldly, giving me goosebumps for rarely do you experience an avalanche like that. We just sat and listened to it, completely blown away.

Rock Slide

Ok one final video clip from our epic day trip to Mt. Rainier. On parts of the trail there was still some ice packs. Because of this, we had to navigate around the ice since we were pole-less and there were sheer cliffs.
Actually, a ranger we met on the trail ask us if we could get his pole for him. He has two fake knees and can't move very well on unsteady ground. So fetch we did, it was the least we could do.

Below us a few thousand feet you could see all the lava flow from the base of Mt. Rainier. Also, there are beautiful blue-green lakes and we were wondering if it was due to the acidic water or just algae. Still need to find that out.

Ranger Station

This was Brian and I on top of the ranger station at Mt Fremont Lookout. We are about 7,200 feet in the thin thin air.

Lunch Spot

This is where Brian and I had lunch after we climbed. We sat facing north, looking at Mt. Baker and Glacier Peak off in the distances. It was glorious. Love Mt. Rainier day trips.

And so I went hiking...

Mt. Rainier Day Trip. We climbed and then we climbed some more.
After all was said and done we hiked about 10 miles with massive elevation gain. The air was thin but pure. The sun kissed our faces. The view was beyond breathtaking, making picture taking seem a trifle silly.
After zigzagging our way through Mt. Rainier National Park we ascended to Sunrise Lodge, parked the car, grabbed the day packs and off we went.
Here are some video because photos just don't do it justice.

Note to self: Next time bring poles. It makes trudging through the snow on the sides of mountains a lot easier.