realized the trail was open (on Google Maps it's still listed as closed, which I think deterred some people) and decided to do a hike closer to home than my original plan. 4th car in the lot at around 7:00am on a Sunday. The road to the trailhead is one of the most pleasant gravel/dirt roads I've driven in a while, no potholes to speak of or anything.
The first half of the trail has been updated with freshly laid gravel and new steps, which was great. This part of the trail is wide and clear, with minimal elevation gain. during the second half, it becomes very rocky with lots of roots. I'm short and only had to use my hands once to get up, so nothing unreasonable. It's fairly steep in some small sections, but otherwise a moderate uphill with switchbacks. make sure you look where you're going or the roots will trip you. There is a fallen tree when you get closer to the lake that you need to climb over, it's annoying but not too difficult (but slippery!). I will be entirely candid and say I didn't encounter it going up, but swear I never went off trail, so either I've lost it a little bit or the tree fell during the time I was at the lake. who knows.
The lake was beautiful as always, very lush and green. The mosquitoes were annoying but not awful, and bug spray kept them away. The short trail around the perimeter of the lake is very overgrown, but luckily it's overgrown with salmonberry and huckleberry bushes! spent my time happily grazing before making it over to the north end of the lake to sit on one of the boulders and enjoy my breakfast. beautiful wildflowers in this area too, including a ton of Columbia lilies. At the south end of the lake there are several large rocks, and if you're not too tall, they're great for jumping off into the lake. chilly but refreshing!
saw a lot of wildlife around the lake, including a few pika, and many bird species (yellow and wilson's warblers, several species of flycatchers, grosbeaks, flickers, and even a pygmy owl!).
Lot was almost full when I got back to my car around noon. I expect this one to get busier on weekends once the 'temporarily closed' label is removed on Maps.
enjoy!
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