Merritt Lake

This is hike #45 in Craig Romano's "Day Hiking the Central Cascades" and hike #41 in Ira Spring's "55 Hikes Around Stevens Pass." The trail is in good shape; there are no obstructions. There are a few small patches of snow in the last quarter mile or so before the Lake, but they are no problem. Mosquitos were not bad until I got close to the Lake. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most mosquitos I ever saw, I would say the population of mosquitos at the Lake right now is a 5 or a 6. There are plenty of them, but they are not in swarms and they did respect my insect repellent.

There was a nice variety of wildflowers during the first mile or so on the trail, but almost none after that. The road from Highway 2 to the trailhead is rough; better have a vehicle with good clearance and drive slow.