4/28/01 For my second trip report and hike in as many saturdays, I went to Lake Twentytwo, off of the mountain loop highway.

This 2.5 mile hike starts out climbing slowly for the first 0.6 miles to the one and only crossing of Twentytwo creek... the creek seemed pretty full, quite a surprise given the dry winter we have had. Past the bridge, the trail switched back several times, with nice views of full waterfalls on every switch toward the creek, and for a while the trail stayed within earshot of the creek. Up a little further, the trail broke away broke away from the creek for a bit, out onto a rocky and sometimes difficult to navigate talus slope. It switched back on the talus several times, and I took note of the moss on the alder trees, a beautiful juxtaposition with the red leaves still decaying from last autumn. Had it not been raining quite hard, I would have snapped some pictures of this wonderful scene. Beyond the talus, the trail re-entered the forest, and got closer to the creek once again. Much of this stretch of the trail was very mucky and waterlogged (though this might just have been caused by the rain today). Above the muck, some snow began appearing trailside, and over a very short distance, the trail turned from a mucky muddy mess to packed snow. After only a short distance on the snow, I reached the lake. The lake itself was mostly frozen, with the area near the outlet melted. There was not much space to sit (or stand) as I did, because of the snow, so don't plan on lingering too long unless you have something to keep yourself dry. The lowlight of the hike for me was the sight of remnants of a fire on the snow, a black scar on the white landscape near the lake. For a rainy saturday afternoon, the trail was surprisingly busy. As I took my time slowly up the trail, I was passed quite a bit by hikers on their way up, and by those on their way back down.

Even in the rain, this was a great hike - Streamside scenery, old-growth forests, an interesting display of color on a talus slope, and a beautiful frozen tarn with a half-mile high mountain wall as a backdrop make this worth doing.

RCB

Lake 22 is a practically perfect little hike this time of year. Old growth forest, a gentle climb, just enough snow to provide variety. The trail is in good condition with snow for the last 1/4 mile. The lake is still frozen. Spectacular scenery looking across the lake.

Due to easy access and low elevation, this trail will be crowded on weekends. The picnic area is tiny. Go early or during the week.

Round-trip hiking time including lunch, snack and tea-time is about 4 hours.

Compact snow on the upper half of the trail. Easy going. Weather was clear and warm at the lake(90 per cent frozen) at noon.Avalanches constantly on cliff above lake on side opposite where trail gets to the lake.

When I got to the Verlot Ranger Station, there was 3 to 4 inches of new snow on the ground. Since I don't have a four wheel vehicle, I opt for a hike close to the Mountain Loop Highway since the side roads in the area now had several inches of the white stuff. Only a couple of cars at the trail head when I started to up to the lake. The trail was snow covered about 95% of the way. Once I got to the boulder field area, the snow got deeper, 8 inches and still snowing. By the time I arrived at Lake 22 their was between 18 to 20 inches of new snow. Three other hikers had gotten to the lake ahead of me.

If you wanted to wander around the shore of the lake, snowshoes would be needed. You could hear large avalanches coming down off the north face of Mt. Pilchuck, but you couldn't see them as it was cloudy. In all, I counted 20 hikers who were going to the lake. Most with the proper gear, and a few with out, running shoes or jeans, great clothes for hiking in the snow. Wild life was scarce. I saw one raven flying around the boulder field and a lone bumble bee checking out a few flowers that had already blossomed. Looks like winter arrived late at Lake 22.