I joined the swarms who descended en masse to get in one more late season hike. It was an exquisite day in the mountains. I picked Snow Lake since I hadn't been there in quite a few years and I was looking for something a little easier. The trail was indeed wet as others have reported - about as wet as the Rachel Lake/Rampart Ridge Trail in the summer. The mountains had a dusting of snow that reminded me of powdered sugar on brownies. There was about an inch or so of snow on the north facing slopes of the lake. I appreciated having my hiking poles, but I'm pregnant and a bit wobblier than usual. All in all a blissful day in the NW.

Made the hike to Snow Lakes on a day of a weather window of good conditions after the previous day's hard rain. I was on the same trail about five weeks ago. There has been a dramatic change in the amount of water everywhere-on the trail, waterfalls and the higher level of the lake.. There were some parts of the trail that had turned into a small stream as the path of least resistance was found. Expect a lot of mud on the trail and standing water. Except for some ground cover, most of the fall colors are gone but it is a beautiful area this time of year as the clouds drift in and out and with the higher peaks showing a dusting of fresh snow.

We thought that a Friday in the middle of October, with below-freezing weather forecast, would give Snow Lake Trail some semblance of wildness, but no such luck. Crowded as always, especially when we were walking back on Saturday. Most campsites taken by the time we got there around 5pm, though we found a sweet one on a bluff.

Oh well, the fall colors were spectacular, the lake pretty as always, late blueberries sweet, mild frostbyte --- priceless.

Anyone knows where the the trail that forks left at the top of the ridge go? We didn't have time to investigate...

Snow Lake 10/3/2009

What a beautiful crisp autumn day it was ! The forecast rain did not happen so I carried my rain gear in my pack all day. Our low temperature was 32 degrees at the parking lot with a high of about 43 in the late afternoon. Frost was on the bushes and ice on the trail in the shady spots. There were some beautiful ice crystals too. It was a mix of sun and clouds with more clouds later in the day. My group of 6 Mountaineers were rewarded for not canceling due to the bad weather forecast. We were all prepared for a cold wet day, but we got a nice day instead.
 
Trail 1013 climbs 1300 feet from the Alpental parking lot to the ridge top pass overlooking the lake at 4400 ft. Then the trail drops 400 feet to the lake shore. The stone foundations of a shelter building (probably built by the CCC in the 1930’s) remain near the shore line. A tiny waterfall drops into a picturesque pool just above the shelter. We left the crowd at the main beach area and continued on around the north side of the lake on the route to the lake outlet and the high trail to Gem Lake. We had lunch on a cold, sunny little peninsula with a full lake view. After lunch on the trail just above the lake shore we watched trout swimming in the super clear, clean , turquoise water. Then we proceeded on to admire the north side views of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie river valley.

On return we detoured at the ridge top and had a 2nd lunch break on a huge flat boulder with a full view of the lake basin. Here a bluebird amused us and came very close for birdseed. From this spot the , now abandoned, old trail proceeds across and then down the valley, finally joining the new trail at about the 1.5 mile point up from the parking lot. This old trail is more scenic and lonely but it does have some obstacles to cross. There are two small waterfalls and a major rock fall area to cross. Also a view of tiny Source Lake below, which is the source of the South Fork Snoqualmie river. Snow Lake drains into the Middle Fork Snoqualmie river.

Snow Lake is ringed with craggy peaks which all got a dusting of snow overnight: Denny, The Tooth, Chair, Wright, Roosevelt, Snoqualmie, and Bryant. These mountains rise about 2000 ft. above the lake shore. The pass is on the ridge line between Chair and Snoqualmie peaks.
  
There are 6 criteria for a classic trail, it is rare for any trail to have them all. Snow Lake scored very highly on this day.
1. Forest yes, classic old growth fir/hemlock
2. Flowers/berries/fall color yes all, sweet blueberries
3. Water yes, lake and baby waterfalls
4. Wildlife yes, bluebird, raven, pika, trout, other birds.
5. Views yes, lake and mountains all around
6. Solitude partial

I first saw Snow Lake in 1992. Thousands of hikers come here each year , because it’s a beautiful and accessible area. This is one of the jewels of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

 
Statistics: 8 miles, 1800 ft. gain
                    62 miles from my Seattle home.

Robert Michelson
Seattle Mountaineers