My friends and I greatly enjoyed this trail. The wildflowers along the ridge line dazzled while Rainier, St. Helens, and Adams peaked over equally stunning ridges. We spent two nights at the lake, where we found maybe a dozen campsites, including a particularly beautiful one on the lake with a nice fire pit. Being independence day weekend, these sites filled up quickly, surely disappointing a few hikers.
The hike weaves in and out of the eruption zone, and any time you're outside the blast, i.e., in old-growth forest, a horde of mosquitoes will be circling you. This includes the lake, but we were able to deter them with a reasonable fire. During the day, we escaped them by heading up to the wildflower meadows on the ridge.
Nothing on the trail impeded us, although a fork near Deadman's lake initially confused us because the sign is nearly illegible. Go left here and you'll soon find the lake.
If you come from Randle, follow Google Maps directions along FR 25 and FR 26. You won't have any trouble with the roads. The entire section is paved except for the final 1/4 mile. We took this route from Portland.
Comments