Decided east of Snoqualmie Pass might be drier than the west side. This turned out not to be exactly the case but it was dry enough for us. A little sun even came out. We exited I-90 at Salmon la Sac and drove through Roslyn, continuing on past Cooper Lake. Road signs are easily followed.

A few mosquitos but not real voracious yet. Just keep moving! This is certainly a gentle ramble but you cross a few creeks, some easier than others. Mostly you can keep your feet dry by a few well placed logs and rocks. Watch out for horse doo on the trail. Also, water in the middle of the trail along the way is easily navigated in most cases. The 8 mi. round trip to the lake is easy enough for kids to do with no real problem. One of us found poles useful, especially for those creek crossings.

The lake itself is pretty with numerous campsites placed far enough away from one another. It makes for a long day by the time you drive back to the big city but a nice getaway on a Saturday that started out just a bit gloomy. No snow found except on the distant hills.

Had to park about 5 minutes up from the trailhead because of snow on the road. Majority of the trail had snow on it as well, but it was easy to tell the way by following the foot prints. Quite a few water crossings - stepping on stones or crossing on big logs. Only flowers were trillium. Nice to have so few people on the trail.

It seems we have blessed with not only endless Summer but now endless Autumn and so it seems a crime to waste it and not head for the high places at every opportunity-this being so, we did what was right and headed up the Pete Lake trail. We found that we couldn't get through on the Tired Creek trail turnoff so went a little farther down the Pete trail and took the road connector to the right(bike exit), which once you hit the old road takes you back down to the Tired Creek trail, the other side of the huge blocking tree.(why hasn't this trail been cleared?) Tired Creek trail we thought should have been renamed ""Tired Horses"" trail as it climbs relentlessly! Finally after about 1 1/2 hours we reached the intersection with the Pollalie Ridege trail and turned right to climb the last little way to old lookout. What an amazing panorama! From Three Queens on the left to Chikamin, Lemah, Bear's breast to Mt Daniel-all the highest peaks in total splendor before you-all the work is worth the views. Too bad the horses didn't enjoy the view but they did get a good hour's snooze in the sun and some yummy carrots.

It was another ""wednesday riding"" adventure as usual...it was pouring rain in North Bend where Judy and Linda and Delcie and I met so after I loaded up my horse and tack with Judy, we headed east toward Salmon La Sac and the Cooper Lake trailhead in search of the sun. I had two alternate plans if the rain extented eastward, Stafford creek in the Teanaway or if it was really bad-Joe Watt near Ellensburg. But of course as soon as we got through the pass into the eastside of the mountains, the sun came out and the clouds dissipated. So we decided to ""go for it"" as Linda said and it was a wonderfully cool sunny day and the fall colors were gorgeous and we took a lot of pictures at Pete Lake with the snowy Lemah peaks high above us. As we went over one old moldy log bridge a bunch of bees came swarming out like the ogre who lived under the bridge, and hopped on Delcie's dog and appeared to be staying there until spring so I had to jump off and try to swipe them off-poor doggie. The bridge by the huge waterfall was amazing and a little daunting as usual and I took a few pictures of the girls gingerly crossing it. We had two young horses with us. Bell, Linda's 4 year old did great but Delcie was nervous over some of those slippery rock switchbacks so got off her young one and walked a few times. Judy's horse did a couple of those back foot off the edge of the trail tricks and one down to the knees scare giving her a few breathless moments. Once we got to Spectacle Lake (yes we tied up the horses before we got there)the cold wind started coming over from the west so after shivering awhile admiring the stupendous view for a few minutes, we sat in the sun in the shelter of a big rock facing south and I could have lay there in the sun all day-mmmmmmm good, views, smells, peace, laughter... But it is a long way back (about 3 hours) so about 3 pm we headed down and almost beat the setting sun. It is getting pretty cold up that high now (over 5000 feet) so we promised ourselves hot cocoa in Judy's camper when we reached the trailhead. Fabulous ride!-a ""must do"" at least once a year. Not much longer and that area will be covered with snow. Judy and I completed the day by yodeling along with the cowboy tapes all the way back to North Bend.