Lake Janus and Grizzly Peak — Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East

Our family, with 7 and 11 year boys, and our friends, with a 4 year old girl and 7 year old boy, did the hike to Lake Janus. The trail was in great condition. There were a few logs to cross, but nothing too complicated. We didn't encounter any snow. The plants along the way were great. Still some Red Columbine, lots of Lupine, and some Pink Monkey Flowers, among others. No ripe blueberries or huckleberries, though. The mosquitoes were out, and there were a lot of flies of some sort at the lake, but all in all, not too bad. This is a great hike for kids. The first mile up climbs, but the switchbacks are very gentle. After reaching the PCT, the trail descends roughly another mile, then a bit of an ascent again to the lake. There's a beautiful waterfall shortly before the lake, where we saw some frongs. The lake was gorgeous and is very accessible on the end of the lake where the trail meets the lake (but I didn't see many other access points. It's easy to enter the lake from there, and our whole party went for a dip. The water wasn't too cold. For a beautiful Saturday in mid-August, the trail wasn't at all crowded. We came across about 10 other hikers all day. A wonderful trail and hike.