This was a great half-day hike - popular, but not over-populated on this day (Friday where it was wet in the morning).  The trail was almost overgroomed at the beginning (recent trail work there) and was tougher in the later half - lots of cool, complex roots to maneuver through.  Old growth (and huge) tree stumps with lots of baby trees, plants and moss growing out of them.  Lots of blueberries (or huckleberries?) and some salmonberries near the lake.  Amazing dome spiderwebs were especially visible in the misty weather.

The day was just awesome, starting out very misty and got gradually sunnier throughout the hike.  When we got to the lake, we could only see some of the closer rocks and trees - couldn't see the other side of the lake.  It actually felt a little like an Arthurian legend combined with a little Tolkien...!

This hike is a good warm-up for Pilchuck and Blanca Lake, which are definitely more difficult than this one..  

We arrived at the TH around 8:30.   Maybe half a dozen cars in the lot when we started our hike.   The first 3/4 mile or so is now a graveled highway with a few staircases.   Once you past the refined gravel trail, you are back to a natural setting- and for me, a more enjoyable trail.

Lots of Devils Club, Red Elderberry and spider webs along the trail.   Huckleberries and salmonberries ripe for picking around the lake.

Toilet at TH in decent shape, but no TP when we arrived- but it was stocked when we returned.

I didn't get to the trailhead until 9:30am, which is an unusually late start for me. Despite that I still was only the 8th vehicle in the lot. The thick, low clouds this morning had caused me to scuttle my original hiking plans so I decided to do this one instead. I haven't hiked this one since 2002 so it felt like a new experience. BTW thanks to the recent road repair pretty much any vehicle can make it... no more bomb craters to dodge.

I began the hike in a cool, dark misty forest. The first 3/4 mile of the trail has been completely regraded with gravel and fresh stairs and is basically a cakewalk. Then it abruptly changes and you're right back to the rocky, rooty mess everybody knows and loves. The trail was damp from yesterday evening's brief rainfall, but there was no mud to contend with. Just slippery rocks and roots, plus one fallen snag that you have to pull yourself up and over. I hiked in complete solitude until encountering a few ladies not far from the lake, and by the time I reached it after one hour I immediately decided to hang right and do a counter-clockwise loop.

A third of the way around I found a nice large boulder overlooking the lake, not unlike Lake Serene's "Lunch Rock" where you can park your posterior and relax while taking in the view. I stopped there for awhile and ate an early lunch, then continued my journey around the lake. The clouds finally parted while I was at the lake and the cliffs of Mount Pilchuck were in full view. There were also lots of blooming wildflowers, plus plenty of berries which per my usual custom I left alone for sake of the wild animals that rely on them for food. Thankfully the bugs all minded their own business today, unlike my previous hike last week where they tried to suck me dry.

By the time I was back to the loop junction quite a few other parties had arrived at the lake, including some young men playing loud rap music. I headed back down, and at which point I started to encounter an endless stream of people heading to the lake. Some were just couples w/dogs or kids, but a few were very large groups of a dozen or more. However everybody was friendly and trail etiquette was mostly followed. I did pass one dude near the bottom who reeked of marijuana, but oh well. Once back in the forest it became cool and misty again, all the way back to the trailhead. Once there I saw the parking lot was completely full, with 35+ vehicles plus another dozen or so in the neighboring overflow lot. And cars were still arriving as I left.

Overall it was a very pleasant and pretty hike, although the upper two thirds of the trail are still quite rough and will challenge anyone with bad knees or ankles. However I was shocked to see how busy it got on a mostly cloudy Tuesday. I would hate to do this one on the weekend as it must be a madhouse of people, dogs, and loud music. Definitely go on a weekday, and get here early.

This is the story of Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde. The first part of the trail where the new work has been done is a pleasure to hike. The old trail is the same  rocky rooty mess of type 2 fun that it always has been. Don't be fooled by the first half. There was a bit of rain/mist up there overnight and the rocks were very slippery and took some maneuvering to get over and around. Coming down was a real PITA for this old gal. However the prize that awaits you is worth it, this little lake is an emerald gem, and once 22 opens back up it will hopefully be much quieter. We got there early so it didn't have the hiking hordes yet. Coming back it was a different story, a couple of large groups and families coming up, the kids were doing it just fine, better than a couple of us hiking grandmas. A bear sighting was reported by someone sitting on the large lunch rock, but I'm sure the crowds were too much as the day wore on. The trail around the lake was somewhat overgrown, but easy to find. We did the loop right at the Y. Lots of hucks and salmonberries ready for picking and be sure and look for the white bog orchid by the boardwalk on the far side of the lake. Loo in good shape, restocked with TP while we hiked. Road good, you can take the low rider. I only posted 1 pic of the lake, everyone's already seen the pics, chose to post other interesting things. 

Such a pleasant, short but sweet hike! There was a tree fallen over on part of the trail and some rocky/tree roots parts that can be a bit tricky but otherwise a well maintained and easy to follow path. Lake was gorgeous, we had lunch at the far end of the lake in a boulder field. Think we saw a pika!