Indian Heaven #33,(Bird Mt. Loop)

We set out on this glorious morning to hike the shorter (6.7 miles) of two ""Bird Mountain Loops,"" according to a loop trails book I have. Fortunately the book mentioned the Indian Heaven #33 trail because nowhere did we see any sign mentioning ""Bird Mountain."" Anyway, we found the trail head in the Cultus Creek Campground and began the arduous 1.5 mile climb to where the trail finally levels out a bit. We got a fabulous view of Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier from an opening about 1 mile up. Most of the rest of the loop is in the forest with views and access to several lakes. We stopped for lunch at the very pretty and peaceful Cultus Lake. Other folks were fishing and picnic-ing there as well.

We didn't see many flowers on this late-summer hike but we did see an amazing variety of mushrooms, from tiny to huge! Also the huckleberries were ripe and abundant -- yum! Our wildlife sightings were limited to a few chipmunks, birds and one curious pika. A few horses (with riders) also passed us along the way.

The trail is in good shape and well signed, with various side trails to other lakes and destinations. Also, the loop includes a section of the Pacific Crest Trail. We were grateful for those signs since hiking a loop trail for the first time can be a bit disorienting. The final 1.5 miles back down to the campground is very steep and it led us to a different spot in the campground than where we began.

The 9-mile gravel road to the campground is in pretty good shape (as far as gravel roads go) but very dusty at this time of year. We didn't much appreciate the hot-dogging truck driver going way too fast and stirring up even more dust than necessary. All in all, this was a most enjoyable hike!