Lake George — Monday, Aug. 17, 2020

Three of us former classmates, all in our mid-60's and never hiked together before, took this as a three-day adventure.  Westside Road is gravel and easily passable, just keep your speed down for dust considerations and look out for a few stray potholes.  The road is gated at Dry Creek (3 miles in) but parking is usually not a problem.  The road bed is popular with bicyclists; you will see many on any given day.  I tried my bike on the trail a week before as a dry run but figured my own two feet were good enough - :D  Take water, especially if it's sunny and warm, when walking on the road, there's not a lot of cover, although the grade is easy.  The Tahoma Creek lahar washouts are still impressive.  The trailhead has a bike lock, but no bikes allowed on the trail itself - so a possible bike - hike combination is possible.  Lake George is exactly as I remember when I took my daughter there often years ago (when you could drive to the trailhead).  (A side note:  the privy has been worked on - new paint inside - and spotless!)  Smooth as glass and shallow, there are logs along shore used as sit-upons to dip your toes (although some were skinny-dipping!)  :O  We could hear rockfall off of Mt. Wow nearby.  Surprisingly , not a lot of chipmunks or birds making racket.  A great stop for base camp to hike up to Gobbler's - a long grade for sure, so day packs made it easier - but fabulous views of the mountain.    The road adds miles, so if you take a day hike, add some time, but the reward at the end of the trail is worth the effort.