Lake Stuart

Spent a pleasant day hiking with other hikers in the Basic Wilderness Travel course of the Mountaineers to Lake Stuart. It is a long drive from Seattle, so I'm glad we made an early start.

The trail was in good condition although a couple of the low log crossings will need to be repaired at some point. However, the crossings were easy to get over. It is a big step up to the big log bridge over the Mountaineer Creek. But the view and sound of the rushing, tumbling water is awesome.

The mosquitos started coming out on our way up to Lake Stuart shortly after the trail juncture to Lake Colchuck. Bring our bug spray or mosquito netting! They were worse in the meadow that has the magnificent view of Argonaut Peak. It was worth stopping for the photo shoot though.

The lake was perfectly calm and the reflection of the mountains and peaks in it were beautiful. We stopped for lunch in a small area marked "No Camping" that had some rocks and logs to sit on.

The hike down had less mosquitos. On the hike we saw a couple of chipmunks, a hare, a very small garter snake, a humming bird and butterfiles. There were columbine and queen's cup blooming among other wildflowers along the trail.