A friend asked if I would be interested in going back and doing this hike again and it took only a second to answer 'yes'.

I was amazed to see how much change there was in the snow and water levels in the two weeks since I last did this hike. The lake itself was about the same, but the area around the lake was completely dry whereas two weeks prior it was very active with runoff from the surrounding peaks. The little pond just around the corner from the lake was completely dry where it was full and about four feet deep two weeks ago.

The other major difference was the bugs. LOTS of bugs this time. The bugs weren't too bad at the lake, but pretty intense the rest of the time.

We did encounter a few more goats as wells, there were eleven of them hanging around the lake and had a camper surrounded for a bit. He was able to move safely through the herd with no aggressive behavior from the goats. Four goats came over towards us after awhile, but clicking hiking poles together caused them to give us a comfortable berth.

We spent about an hour at the lake exploring, it is still my favorite hike, I absolutely love that place!

We hit the trail just after 8am, got to the Lake of the Angels trailhead within forty minutes, and the lake within three hours (getting lost last time allowed me to find, and stay on, the trail much more easily this time).

The head wall was a lot easier this time too. Although, on the way out we ran into a group that was turning back at the head wall.

Again this hike was well worth the effort!

This hike is easier going up than it is coming down...

Definitely one of the most challenging hikes I've done so far. Its steep and rocky, and especially where the trail has dried out, there are a fair amount of loose and flaky rocks. Otherwise there are significant portions of mud. After you make it through the "flat" section and move up above the stove line you start to beg for some monotonous switchbacks. Light bags and a few key water sources made this hike do-able for us in the heat. The bugs, however, were awful and relentless. Everyone we passed going up stopped to show us their patches of bug bites. Swarms of horse-flys and mosquitos made hanging around camp uncomfortable. Don't hesitate to bring DEET, our all natural bug repellent was almost inviting the bugs.

Give yourself a lot of time, because it was worth the journey, probably more so after the bugs have gone in the fall. A few steps after you've scramble up the rock wall and, in my opinion, the steepest part there was a clear and magnificent Mt. Rainier in front of you and a seemingly tropical basin with boasting waterfall behind. The wildflowers are still out and a lot of succulents are taking over crannies in rocks. You've still got a ways to go, but the muddy meadow gives you a little respite from the climb. Stay on the trail! This portion seemed so very fragile. Then the final push to the Lake begins... Once at the top we were greeted by a few mountain goats, and then a few more and then there were about 25 goats all roaming around the basin! Maybe more. Despite the difficulty of this climb there were 7 other tents and not as many tent spots near the lake. We settled for a less than ideal spot on the north side of the lake. But as we discovered the next day on our mini day hikes up the ridge there are a handful of spots with bigger views and slightly fewer bugs. Slightly. The very curious goats approached us many times throughout the evening and we're certain that they spent the night roaming our campsite, licking our tent poles and sleeping in the snow patch close by. But mostly they kept to themselves. Clapping and shouting causes them to retreat fairly quickly. But they are pretty habituated so use caution.

When we descended to the sign-in spot we decided to take the road back to the car. This was MUCH appreciated. There were a few wash outs but nothing major to navigate and our feet thanked us.

Definitely worth the trek, but boy, its a doozy!

I had been looking forward to making this hike since I first read about it on the WTA website last year. After checking the weather I decided on Friday the 3rd to go for it.

A bad dream woke me earlier than I had planned, but got me headed out a little early which was good. By many accounts the hike could take up to six hours to reach the lake. I reached the trail head around 0730 and was started on the trail by 0745 with a quick stop to pay regards to Carl Putvin. As noted in the description, the first part of this trail is a nice grade, shaded forest with many large boulders strewn about. Gorgeous.

I made it to the Lake of the Angels trail head in about fourty-five minutes and started up, and up. Generally my route-finding skills are weak, but I was able to stay with the trail for the most part, having to refer to the GPS occasionally.

As I was reading about this hike / climb two things began to concern me, 1) the head wall and, 2) the mountain goats. Upon reaching the head wall I was happy to find that is was well within my skill level (which is pretty low). But it could be disconcerting to some, just take your time and check each foot hold before committing all your weight.

Once past the head wall the grade became much less brutal and steered me through a long-forgotten fire zone. After that things got mushy, really really mushy. Whitehorse creek threw me a curve ball as I was crossing a rock rolled out from under me. While I was not injured my left foot was now completely soaked. Silly me, I had neglected to pack a spare set of socks. Never again!

The Lake of the False Prophet soon presented itself and I made a sport out of trying not to step on the frogs that were everywhere. Here is was again kind of easy to lose the trail, as the ground was really wet. I ended up following what looked like the trail up over a small ridge and down into the next chute. A marker flag on a tree led me down a path that dead-ended in a creek. I doubled back and started head up the ridge which led me to a small snow field. My GPS was guiding me up a chute which was nice and cool from the water. I headed up this for awhile, and decided it was getting too difficult for me, so I doubled back a bit and started pushing up the ridge to the left only to run into a sheer section of rock. Doubling back again I worked my way back down into the chute and considered options while filtering some water. Another push up the ridge to the right of the chute lead into dense foliage.

At this point I was considering aborting the trip, so I decided to work my way back to the last-known-good part of the trail and re-assess the situation. Once I got back to the base of the snow field I looked around and spotted what had to be the trail a couple of hundred yards off to the right of the snow field. Navigating carefully along the rocks to the right of the snow field -- the snow was collapsing into the stream below -- to avoid falling through I picked up the trail again quickly.

About twenty minutes later I found myself looking at the terminal moraine and realized the lake was just ahead of me. It took about four hours to make it to the lake, that with the hour of putzing around off trail.

As I came up on the lake I found two tents set up but no sign of people or animals. I made my way over to a nice sized rock to sit and eat and take a break before exploring. As I was setting up to take a picture I heard something and turned around to confront my second concern. There was a family of four mountain goats within forty or fifty feet of me. The rock was between us, but this was still too close for comfort. After quickly scolding myself for my lack of situational awareness, I picked up my hiking poles and yelled and waved the poles and the goats mostly backed off. As they moved off I went off in the opposite direction until they were on the opposite side of the lake, and then I walked back to MY rock ;-)

I spent just over an hour eating, taking pictures, relaxing, and filtering water before heading back. As with most steep trails the descent can be as -- of not more -- arduous than the ascent. I was able to make it back to my car in just over two-and-a-half hours.

I have to say that this is my favorite hike ever! It was difficult to be sure, but easier than Mailbox Peak, and not as hairy as the last push of Mt Storm King at Lake Crescent. But the idyllic setting and serenity of the location certainly do justice to the name The Valley of Heaven and Lake of the Angels.

This is a very steep hike. We took a 10 year on and two twelve year olds and they all made it without complaint, but they are all in decent shape. I would not recommend this hike to anyone that is not in pretty good shape. The views near the top and along the trail are very spectacular. The images will never quite do them justice. There are a couple of snow fields to cross and one little stream to cross. It requires some care to cross the stream without getting you feet wet. The stream is between the Pond of the False Prophets and the Lake of the Angels, so that crossing means that you are almost there. The lake itself was about 80% frozen over still. We happened to have a beautiful day for hiking.