Hope and Mig Lakes — Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

My husband and I arrived at the trailhead (the Tunnel Creek Trail) at around 9:45 a.m. we were confused about the trailhead at first because we didn't expect it to be where it was. The GPS said it was further. However, it's off on the left about .2 miles before the GPS says it is. There's a bit of parking but there were about 10 cars in the lot and on the side of the road when we arrived. The trail is narrow and I quickly retracted my hiking poles and put them in my backpack. It's a mile an a half of upward climbing to Hope Lake. I'd say you're doing 1200 feet of elevation in that time with the other 300 on your way to Mig Lake. It's a thigh burner if you're moving along. It took us about an hour to get to Hope Lake. There were a few PCT Backpackers there when we got to it, but it was still very quiet. We continued on to Mig lake by heading to the left on the PCT trail. The Blueberries were everywhere! We even saw a few people who had obviously been prepared to go berry picking and had several bags and buckets filled with them. The hike to Mig Lake was flat and quiet. When we arrived at the lake we found a quiet spot on the far side and had a snack. It was so peaceful. I could have sat their all day with a book. But, we had to get back. There were a few bugs at the bottom and we saw 1 mosquito but it was probably too cool for them to be out.