Bring your snow-shoes!: 2 miles of heavy snow before the trail head. The trail itself is hikable for the first mile, at the bridge the snow is about 20-24 inches.Wait a coupple weeks for the snow to melt. Heavy pain for a otherwise easy hike.

For once, Miller River Road is open all the way to the trailhead! The trail is in good shape, albeit it pretty rocky in spots, and would be a good trip for a first time backpacker. The leaves are just starting to change. In another week or two, the colors should be spectacular. Speaking of colors, it is deer season and I ran into a couple hunters by the lake. I would advise you to wear something colorful and leave the antler covered hat at home.

A trail, consisting mostly of bare rocks and roots, climbing 800 feet over two miles, leads to beautiful Dorothy Lake. Lots of flower activity: Mertens Bluebells, Alpine Aster, Indian Thistle, Coltfood, and lots of Columbia Tiger Lilies.The trail meanders along the two mile long lake, often high above, with always gorgeous views. Unfortunately, several of the camp sites along the way with plenty evidence of very sloppy habits of some recent visitors, and this despite the readily available outdoor toilets. On one of the tiny Dorothy Lake islands we spotted the eagles' nest, as previously reported. Deer Lake and Bear Lake, after an additional 600 feet to climb, showed very little evidence of recent human activity. Interestingly, while climbing up to Deer Lake, we noticed repeatedly small frogs of dark brown color on the trail. Stretched out on a large polished stone slab, right at the shore of Deer Lake, we observed a Great Blue Heron going after its business. On our way back, along Dorothy lake, we were almost run of the trail by a couple of runners, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. We later picked up a bottle of 'fresh mountain water' on the trail that most likely slipped out of one of their waistpacks. A very interesting day !

The purpose of this trip was to inspect the contracted work on the Snoqualmie and Nordstrom Lake Trails. Surprisingly, there were no obstructions to the Miller River Trailhead. All trails were completely snow-free. There is a set of windfalls at the south end of Dorothy Lake and one on a switchback 0.2 miles before the ridge. There is one windfall between Beer and Dare Lakes and one suspended seven feet off the trail by Snoqualmie Lake. The Nordstrom Lake Trail has one windfall 0.2 miles before the lake. Both the Snoqualmie and Nordstrom Lake Trails have been brushed out and logged with the exceptions noted above. The Nordstrom Lake Trail should be renamed the K-Mart Lake Trail owing to the really worn out tread - very rooty, rocky and slippery. The Taylor River Road has some brushy spots between the four and six mile points. Nordrum Lake' We pronounce it NORDSTROM in Bellevue.

From the map, Lake Dorothy looks like a giant alien foot print with spots. Those spots are beautiful little islands. What the map doesnt show is a trail that has eroded to just boulders, roots, and mud! On the bright side, the distance is short and is completely free of snow. Nice campsites. If you do camp, bring something inflatable. You'll want to go out to the islands. One has an eagle's nest on it. Also bring plenty of bug repellent. The forecast on Northwest Cable News called for rain on Saturday. HA!!! We had nothing but blue sky and fluffy clouds. A perfect day at the lake.