Weekend Hiking Wrap-Up

At last! A gorgeous sunny weekend to savor. And many of you did. More than 100 Trip Reports have come in from the past three days, expounding upon pretty wildflowers, new destinations emerging from the snow, and plenty of blood-sucking mosquitoes.

Sorry about that last one, folks. You've wanted the snow to melt, and unfortunately bugs go along with the territory. But if you cover up and put on some mosquito repellant, you'll find some great places to hike over the next few weeks.

I've spent my morning reading Trip Reports, and I've found a few noteworthy trends as we head into late July:

• Most of the lakes on the west side of Snoqualmie Pass are accessible and snow-free. See these reports for details: Mason Lake, Pratt Lake, and Annette Lake.
• Hikers are racing for their favorite Olympics hikes, with four reports (and quite a bit of company) from Marmot Pass and Mount Townsend. They report a bit of easily negotiable snow.
• Higher elevation trails in Mount Rainier National Park, the Goat Rocks and Mount Baker remain August dreams. Two people encountered snow and slippery conditions for Summit Lake, jhiker navigated his way to Snowgrass Flat (more snow, less grass) and mtnowen encounter feet of snow on the trail to Church Mountain.
• Interested in wildflowers? Try Lodge Lake, Perry Creek, Ebey's Landing, Coldwater Lake, Goat Mountain, Tronsen Ridge, and Esmeralda Basin (among others).

And more good news: the wildflowers have yet to hit their peak on most trails. Hey, on some hikes they haven't even had a chance to bloom! And the snow is melting quickly, meaning that August is going to be a fabulous hiking month. Plan your vacation now, because you'll want to be hiking!

And since that is the case, why not sign up for Hike-a-Thon? There's a built-in incentive for hiking often AND you get to be raising money for what you already enjoy doing.

Whatever you do, have fun and post a Trip Report when you return.