The beautiful fall weather just doesn't seem to stop. We took advantage of the bright, sunny Monday to hike to Mirror Lake and Tinkham Peak. We drove to the trailhead via a rough road in the Lost Lake basin near Stampede Pass; look for instructions in a guidebook for detailed directions to this hard-to-find place. The final quarter mile to the trailhead requires a high clearance vehicle...many people just park lower down and walk up the hill.

The mile-long Mirror Lake trail starts at a curve in the road. It is in generally good condition, but muddy in places. There are a few thin patches of snow here and there. Calm and shallow Cottonwood Lake is passed in a half mile. Another half mile of easy climbing up a quiet little alpine valley brings you to the Pacific Crest Trail. Mirror Lake is just a few steps beyond the junction. The lake is quite a gem: deep, large, with the cliffs of Tinkham Peak forming a scenic backdrop. In this heavily clearcut and generally abused region south of Snoqualmie Pass, the beauty of the place comes as quite a surprise. Colorful vine maples still add splashes of red and yellow along the lake shore.

The Tinkham Peak way trail starts at the outlet of Mirror Lake. The vague path passes some heavily used campsites along the lake shore, then climbs steeply up to the ridgeline east of Tinkham Peak. The route is marked by a few ribbons. Once on the ridge, the path follows the ridge, marked by frequent Seattle City Watershed signs (this is its boundary), to the rocky west summit of the peak, where there are spectacular views all around. Mount Rainier loomed in the haze to the south; numerous Cascade Peaks pierced the clear air to the north.