It must have been "geezer day" at Crystal Lakes; I think everyone qualified for the Senior Pass for parking purposes. This was the first hike Bill has been able to do since severely spraining his ankle at Tuscahatchee Lake quite a while ago. He picked this destination since the trail is quite even with no areas of ankle abusing scree, talus, or loose rock. That said, the trail is still somewhat steep.
About half way up, there were 2 open areas with nice views across the valley to Rainier. We had hoped to see some elk but only saw a few fresh hoof prints and no other signs of recent activity. We did get to follow a grouse for 20 or so yards up the trail. It just waddled along pretty much ignoring our presence and then pulled off the trail - no flying off, no squawking, just slow waddling on the trail.
The wind picked up as we came into the lower lake basin and there was a tiny amount of snow here and there on the trail. We opted to continue to the upper lake where the wind was really blowing. We went over to the east end of the lake and found a nice sheltered spot for lunch. As I devoured a sandwich and a half, we discussed our previous trip to this area - at that time we floundered in 3+ feet of snow on the SE slope of the lake and then bailed. Today we just enjoyed the sunshine, lake, new snow, and fall color.
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