Mirror and Cottonwood Lakes — Saturday, Jul. 11, 2009

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass

Mirror Lake via the Pacific Crest Trail south from Windy Pass is enough out of the way that the trail is pretty quiet, but close enough to Seattle to be perfect for those days when you have a dinner commitment in the metropolis. We've learned to ignore the advice of the hike books and head straight for Windy Pass at 3800 feet, then south on the Pacific Crest Trail about 3 miles to Mirror Lake. This is a true case of the journey being as pleasurable as the destination, because the PCT winds through old growth, scree slopes and frog ponds on the way to Mirror Lake, and each portion of the trail has its own set of wildflowers. Mirror Lake has a pleasant enough shore for lunch, but has little to distinguish it from other sub-alpine lakes. Most of our co-hikers seemed headed for Silver Peak, but that was not on our itinerary today. Details: When you get to Hyak, follow Hyak Drive E through the development. When you pass the sewage aeration pond on your left, you know you are on the right track. The Cold Creek road to Windy Pass has not been graded this year, so watch for some erosional ditches in the road. The trail still has some patches of snow, but all were readily navigable. Three members (and horses) of the Tahoma Back Country Horsemen were through with a chain saw taking care of blowdown. There were headed for Naches Pass, so the Snoqualmie to Naches Pass segment of the PCT should be well cleared of blowdown in a day or two.