Lake Isabel — Friday, May. 29, 2015

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

This was a great 1st overnight hike of the year. The 2 miles of old DNR/logging road up to actual trail was no fun as we baked in 80 plus degree weather on the hard pack gravel, but the remainder of the trail made it worthwhile. Healthy second growth forest and some good old growth interspersed as you gain elevation. Thanks to two of the previous trip reports we were able to find our way up through the meandering, difficult to stay on track, trail. The lack of flagging and developed trail made for a few miscues and added some distance to the overall hike. We opted to stay and camp at the base of the waterfall as some of the extra distance put us later into the evening than planned. But first thing in the morning we "scrambled" our way up to the lake in a short 17 minutes without packs. Overall a beautiful hike, we found a nice "spa" seat in a pond near the waterfall, the lake is large and is even more inviting with the available canoes left up there. We will be back for a midweek hike to take advantage and go explore the lake. This trail and alpine lake are great examples of how resilient the forest is, just a few short years ago you could practically drive up there. Now with garbage removed and a difficult trail to get up there, it is once again a true wilderness experience!