Heather Lake
Apr 21, 2012
by
MikeOnAHike
—
last modified
Apr 22, 2012 10:05 PM
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Heather Lake
- Region: North Cascades -- Mountain Loop Highway
- Agency: Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Darrington District
- Trails: Heather Lake (#701)
- Avg Rating: 3.68
- Be Aware Of
- Blowdowns
- Water on trail
- Snow on trail
The lake is still frozen.
The trail was in good shape. There were a couple of blowdowns, including one that required you to break your stride to cross it.
There was a lot of water flowing across the trail, but there was almost no mud. There was one 15 foot long section where I'm not sure it would have been possible to stay dry without waterproof boots.
The last little bit of the trail was through snow. The snow was hard packed, and I didn't have any problems post-holing as long as I stayed on the trail. The snow off of the trail was much softer, and you could sink in quite a bit. There was a layer of slush on the trail, so microspikes were really nice to have.
The snow at the lake was a little sketchy. Be careful stepping onto and off of the wooden bridges. Also, don't get too close to the edge of the creek - the snow there is breaking away from the shore.
I was hoping to see an avalanche at the lake, but wasn't that lucky. I heard plenty of movement, but didn't see more than a few globs of snow falling off the mountain. There's definitely evidence of avalanches though, so I'd suggest not hiking all the way around the lake.
There was a lot of water flowing across the trail, but there was almost no mud. There was one 15 foot long section where I'm not sure it would have been possible to stay dry without waterproof boots.
The last little bit of the trail was through snow. The snow was hard packed, and I didn't have any problems post-holing as long as I stayed on the trail. The snow off of the trail was much softer, and you could sink in quite a bit. There was a layer of slush on the trail, so microspikes were really nice to have.
The snow at the lake was a little sketchy. Be careful stepping onto and off of the wooden bridges. Also, don't get too close to the edge of the creek - the snow there is breaking away from the shore.
I was hoping to see an avalanche at the lake, but wasn't that lucky. I heard plenty of movement, but didn't see more than a few globs of snow falling off the mountain. There's definitely evidence of avalanches though, so I'd suggest not hiking all the way around the lake.
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The long wet section of the trail. Waterproof boots made it much easier to find good footing.
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