Lake Serene

This hike was excellent. Because I hiked early Monday morning, I didn't see any crowds. In fact, I didn't see anyone until I was on my way down.

The things I especially liked about this hike:
+ Once you get to the top, it's not difficult to find ripe blueberries
+ Every step you take is rewarded handsomely. The first two miles seem really easy, and you end up in front of a waterfall. From there, it seems to ascend much more rapidly, but with each switchback you see more and more of the scenery
+ The lake is appropriately named. The lake was completely still. So much so, in fact, that I didn't realize that it was a lake at all, as the reflection of Mount Index was undistorted by ripples. I could imagine, though, if there were crowds, the lake wouldn't seem so serene.

The things I wasn't crazy about:
+ I didn't see any wildlife (except for the slug below)
+ Even from the top, the sounds of cars and trains were audible