Heather Lake — Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

A pot-holed road leads you to the trailhead where you are greeted with a sheet of compact snow and ice. The icy patch right at the trailhead disappears as soon you enter the tree canopy. For the next 1.5 miles, the trail is virtually snow and ice-free. Only one wind-fall to scramble over on the whole trail. After that, expect to deal with boot-compacted snow and ice all the way to the lake. The train and boardwalk around the lake are well packed, and no loose snow is encountered unless you choose to step off the trail. The cirque provides its own sound effects with numerous unseen rock falls coming off the top. But the most unnerving is the unexpected gurgling and ""whoomping"" sounds coming from the lake itself as the water level changes and the ice shifts. One expects the second cousin of Loch Ness Monster to burst through at any moment, snorting steam and swallowing human visitors as hors d'oeuvres.