Heather Lake — Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017

If you're looking for a quick hike that gets your heart pumping and allows you to still have time in your day to finish other tasks, this is the hike for you!

Road conditions:As previous posts mentioned, the road is riddled with pot holes but avoidable. This hike is also nice because the distance from Mountain Loop Highway on the forest road is quite short when compared to other trails requiring upwards of 10 miles on forest roads.

Time to complete (round trip): 2 hours 9 minutes including several stops for photos and the loop around the lake. 1:20 to and around the lake, 49 minutes back to the parking lot.

Trail conditions: Proper footwear is a must for the remainder of the winter. The trail was either covered with running water, mud or slushy snow. No traction devices needed at this time but will certainly be necessary in the future. The trail is known for freezing over with the rocks covered in sheets of ice. My dog did slip and slide a bit today but not overly so. The loop around the lake is well trodden but the snow is not as compact as the remainder of the trail. Gaiters, at a minimum, are recommended. I didn't expect to see the spectacular view of the mountains that I experienced last October (see last year's report) due to the snowfall. The lake, however, is certainly a winter wonderland and not one to be missed as it's only a short jaunt from Everett.

Clothing: Temps in the low 30's, windchill 29 degrees. Because I tend to prefer hiking at a moderate-fast pace on short hikes to get the most out of the short time on trail, the lightweight wool base layers and winter rain/snow pants that I was wearing were overkill on the way up. At the lake and on the way back down, however, I was thankful that I wore them as the temps dropped later in the day. Rain coat and pack cover are definitely recommended purely to stay dry from the snow dropping unexpectedly from the trees. I used my goretex mitten shells on the way back down but never needed warmer gloves. Gaiters definitely recommended if not wearing snow/rain pants as the trail is very wet.

Dogs: Great trail for all sizes of dogs. Older dogs would also likely do well with the exception of the high-stepping required near the lake. Otherwise, the trail is a gentle grade.

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