Heather Lake, Heather Lake Snowshoe — Saturday, Dec. 29, 2001

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

Glad I got to the trailhead early, since the crowd was huge by the time I returned. It was such a beautiful day, and I am glad I went before the rain came in again the following day. The trail was in good shape and did not see any snow on it until about a third of the way beyond the old road section. Even though the snow did become deeper, snowshoes were not required to get to the lake. Once there, at 12:00hrs, I strapped on the snowshoes and took a hike farther toward the back of the lake and up the slopes. There I placed the ridgerest on a nice curvature on the slope and took a nice lunch break. Listened to the sound of some minor slides off the mountain, as well as a lonely crow. The lake ice seems thin and good for an unexpected polar-bear swim. I headed down at 13:00 hrs and used the snowshoes travelling on and off the main trail. Almost fell in a stream, and I took a good fall when running downhill, but it was all fun. The snowshoes helped a lot on the descent in the slippery snowcovered trail. Once back at the trailhead, it was like rush-hour traffic. This is obviously a very popular hike all year long and the best way to enjoy the solitude is by leaving early and wandering off the lakeshore end of the trail.