Summit Lake — Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024

Trail was in great shape, moist in spots but not muddy. No mosquitoes.

Delightful red foliage on shrubs in sub-alpine meadows up the trail, and gobs of large mushrooms at the lake and summit. Stunning blue lake. Views for miles at Summit Peak on a clear day - Rainier, the Cascade Range, and the Puyallup plain stretching to Puget Sound.

Approachable day hike for this human and his 1.75 year old corgi pup.

At a slow pace, took about 5.5hrs to hike with breaks; 2 hrs from parking lot’s trailhead to Summit Lake, another 1 hr to Summit Peak, then 2.5hrs from Summit Peak to Summit Lake to parking lot’s trailhead.

There is a trail around Summit Lake, and it hits Summit Peak. One trail approaches the peak from the northeast (a long and gradual climb), the other trail approaches the peak from the southwest (short and steep). Each trail has a different flavor and both were lovely.

Lots of people out hiking on a Saturday (and a few families with kids), and lots of dogs, too. Parking lot was completely full at 11:00am, some cars were even parking down the road on turn-outs along the hillside, wherever they could find a place to park.

Several tents were set up to camp along the trail, yet gobs of vacant camp sites remained all along the trail, so there was no shortage of dispersed camping sites.

Road to the trailhead’s parking lot is quite rough and is so for several miles, with deep cuts from water drainage, large deep puddles spanning the width of the road in a few places, large sharp rock outcroppings, and football-size loose boulders strewn about. High clearance vehicle with AWD or 4x4 highly recommend. Fasten your loads and passengers, and brace for a long bumpy ride.

Lots of trash along trail - toilet paper, bags of dog poop, graffiti. Leave a minimal trace of your presence here, guys. Pack out your trash. Dig a poop hole with a trowel or use the toilet at Summit Lake. Please respect the place, the rangers, the volunteers, and future visitors. We’re all guests to this special place.