Type of Hike
Day hike
Although the Salmon La Sac area is two-plus hours away from Seattle, some of the hikes are now snow-free. Not wanting to slog through a single drop of slush, we ventured over to the Pete Lake area for a fine adventure. The road to this area is in good shape for any car. Unfortunately, there were tons of bugs from start to finish, so bring plenty of bug death. Still, the largely flat trail to the lake is a lovely forest walk, decorated by plenty of creeks, most of which were easy to cross. One or two required a short log crossing, but nothing major. We noticed plenty of vanilla leaf, wild strawberries (unripe), manzanita, bunchberry, and some penstamon. Since we hiked on a weekday, we saw very few people. However, there is no question that lots of horses use this trail. The trail follows Cooper River for a time, which is gorgeous. Enormous boulders appear along the route, as well as a pristine meadow. Although one could certainly turn around at Pete Lake, the four mile mark, we had some extra energy and decided to take a side trip up Trail 1329, which is steep and features some slippery gravel along the way. However, this is where you get views of snowy peaks such as Chikamin, so it's well worth the extra effort. Plus, the manzanita-covered slopes are someone unique. After a mile or so, we entered deep forest and lost the views, so we turned around and descended back to a fabulous creek for some theraputic foot-soaking. The bugs worsened as the we trekked the Pete Lake trail back to the car, so we really hoofed it to avoid being eaten alive. Still, we had a splendid time. To top all this off, I-90 was relatively clear all the way back home. What more could you want?
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