Blue Lake — Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025

Absolutely stunning day, just a LONG drive from Seattle. Surprisingly felt not as crowded as my midweek hike at maple pass last year this same week. The forest part was lovely, started to see larches almost exactly at the 2 mile mark. The views got better as we went along. The lake was incredible. The lighting was unreal but it took until about 11am for the sun to be high enough where it reflected down on the lake to make it sparkle and the larches shine golden.

This felt like peak- most yellow/golden, a couple that were almost going to lose needles and maybe 10-15% that had some green.

With the tarn loop at the lake and the short hike on the road to the car, was 5.6 miles. Such a lovely hike and a nice stop at Diablo for views there as well (and clean potties). Tarn loop was so nice - saw a lone mallard swimming around. Also saw a spruce grouse.

Hike felt clean. No trash. Trailhead potty was OK. I would have felt overwhelmed to share this hike with 1,000 people though. If you can swing a weekday it REALLY adds to the experience.