I am not quite confident to be on trails alone. So this was the perfect option for us this particular day, esp. I love mountains. There were only 2 -3 families, and the place was quiet. And all the sudden, I saw a fighter jet going across the mountains. It would have been the great photo but I missed the opportunity. Trails were well maintained and quite beautiful. There were several picnic tables in front of the pond, which was very clear and looked very deep. I did not see a house/shad near the peninsula until I was on the other side of the pond. The problem was, especially on the hot summer day, a lack of shade. And there is no garbage bin, so you need to take your dog's poop bag with you in your car. But the scenery was beautiful, and this was a piece of history. I drove around nearby exists for other trails. Franklin Falls trail head and Denny Creek trail head were filled with cars!

Traffic into Seattle saw us with an hour of sitting in our cars so we chose to wait by Gold Creek Pond instead. There were few people there. We had only ever been around the pond in the winter time so this was quite a treat. We walked half way around on the ADA accessible trail and threw our blanket down in some shade under a tree by the water. Much better than traffic:) On this brief, 1 mile hike we counted almost 20 different wildflowers. My favorite thing there was an enormous ant hill, sure to amaze and please young children (and adults like me). Oh yeah, very cool to learn that this pond was a gravel pit back in the 70s when there was I-90 construction going on. The plan all along was to convert it to this beautiful little space.

I had great plans to hike up a mountain in the North Cascades today, but life had other ideas. I developed a temporary medical issue and am under doctor's orders to "take it a little easier". So American Pharaoh has nothing on me--I did my trifecta all in one day. Gold Creek Pond hardly qualifies as a hike, being more of a stroll on a paved trail. It served as the warmup and would be good for little kids or people n wheelchairs. Next, Lodge Lake was more of a hike, although not really my kind of hike. I prefer open country with elevation and more of an alpine feel. Woodsy dark lakes are OK, but more for exercise than for experience. I thought the coolest part of the hike was traversing through the ski area, which brought back memories of almost 60 years ago. I learned to ski on that very slope, also how to sneak on the lifts w/o a ticket because I had little to no money. We were even at times known to draw our own counterfeit tickets, which sometimes worked and other times failed hilariously. Anyway, by high school, I got on ski patrol and was able to get free room, board, and lift tickets. That was at Ski Acres, now known by the imaginative (ha ha) name of Summit Central. My mom learned to ski at the Summit in the late 1930s and early 1940s. So the Snoqualmie Pass history runs deep with me and my family. The Franklin Falls trail is very well done. I liked it a lot. It took under a half hour to get to the falls. I am impressed by how robust the falls is on a very dry year. It does drain a large area, but I bet later in the summer it will be anemic. I would be very careful taking little kids on that trail. There are many many places to fall over the cliff and the railings are porous. So this turned out to be an exploration of easy to moderate trails that I had not previously bothered with, all being short and of low elevation gain. It was fun, and did fill in some gaps in my knowledge of this fantastic part of the range. Total mileage about 6-7 miles and elevation gain 1300-1400 feet. Just right for a take it easy day.

This is my third time hiking at Green Mountain. If you are looking for a local, easy hike, this is where you should go. Green Mountain is full of beauty and drowns out any traffic or suburban noise in the nearby areas. If you planning to hike with children, I would recommend the north parking lot and hiking from there due to the southern side of the mountain starting off at a decent grade. While hiking, I encountered bikers and ATV's. Most of the paths are made for most modes of travel and I have had no problem sharing the paths with the previously mentioned people. Happy trails.