Trail Report

• Parking: Arrived at 7:00 AM and found plenty of space. By 10:30 AM the lot was completely full.
• Trail Conditions: The first half of the trail is an easy gravel incline, making for a smooth start. The second half transitions into slippery rocks and roots—trekking poles are highly recommended for stability.
• Scenery: The summit was foggy this morning, but still beautiful and worth the climb.
• Road to Trailhead: A few small potholes along the way, but the road is passable for all vehicles.
• Bugs: None to note today.
• Other Notes: Found a water bottle on the trail by the lake and left it at the trailhead.It has lots of sentimental stickers and there was still ice in it so we think maybe less than 24 hrs since it was left behind. 

I would recommend using hiking poles, especially for the trip down. There are sections that require stepping down two feet and the mass of roots and rocks can be difficult for some to navigate. Poles will help.

As part of the WTA #hikeathon, Miles the Marmot went on a hike with me on this very well maintained trail, no doubt thanks to many hours of WTA volunteers hauling rocks and gravel up the hill to regrade the trail for improved drainage. There was quite a lot of water running down the trail, so waterproof shoes are advised.

The loop around the lake was worth it, affording me and Miles (the Marmot) a beautiful view of the rock wall towering above us on the far end of the lake. The water was completely clear, which was probably a sign of fresh snowmelt, but nonetheless several parties jumped in and resurfaced only to exclaim "that was a lot colder than I thought it would be!" Miles was smart and didn't even try to go for a swim on the lake, lest he becomes a soggy piece of paper. 

The road to the trailhead is gravel, but minimal potholes. Quite a few sedans were seen in the parking lot.

I'm always going to think of this trail as the root route. To find out why, keep reading. 

T. and I were looking for a place more or less halfway between Seattle and Bellingham where we could meet for a hike. I recruited E. in the 'Ham and T. recruited J and J recruited V in Seattle, and we met very conveniently at 9:00 a.m. Quite a few cars, but still plenty of room, at the trailhead. 

All of us have some forest science background, and observing forest history was a highlight of this trip. After we left the wide, graveled former road with numerous pressure-treated gravel stairways, we entered the root route, which stretches all the way to the lake. Years upon years of boots and rain, rain and boots, have exposed massive expanses of root staircases, root trail segments, and just plain roots. Roots between the rocks, roots under shallow water, roots with mud between them, huge upended root balls. 

But that's only the most recent history. The first part of the root route was clearly highgraded (cutting the biggest trees), presumably pre-WWII, and probably most of the other trees were cut after the war. With no management, this has resulted in a strange brown hellscape of one-foot thick matchsticks growing cheek by jowl (do trees have jowls?) above the bare ground, hardly an understory plant in sight. Nobody has thinned it forever, and they won't, because we have this idea that nature will heal itself. Well it will heal itself a lot faster if those who have done the original damage will try to remedy it. Then all of a sudden, maybe halfway to the lake, the signs of early logging stopped (too steep? too far?) and the green magically reappeared. Bracken, Lady, and Sword ferns, various vaccinia (unfortunately berryless), elderberry, mountain ash, and much of the usual westside understory. Brown turned rapidly to green, and many big trees, which would have been cut if they had been just a few hundred yards down the hill, are still standing. Some really big cedars have conifers (T thought maybe mountain hemlock?) or vaccinia growing out of burls on the trunks, sometimes 50 or 60 feet up. 

Being interested in this stuff (the older I get, the less I think of hiking as a competitive sport, and the more I think of it as an opportunity to learn about the natural world) we stopped for frequent seminars and were passed by several parties of hurriers. But eventually the roots became fewer, the trail narrower, smoother, and flatter, and we got to the lake, nestled in an almost vertical cirque and half full of lime-green reeds. 

We decided to look for a lunch and swimming spot, and went left (clockwise). We found some flattish rocks at the far end, and V. and I eagerly approached the shore barefoot. V. was first, swam about four strokes of breaststroke, and turned around--too refreshing. I tried next. It was so cold that my head ached, my feet nearly cramped, and I felt a little dizzy. So I got about eight strokes in and thought the better of it. J came down next, and only got about thigh-deep before she also thought the better of it. T and E laughed at us from the rocks a short distance up the bank. I tried the water twice more, thinking I'd get used to it, but nope. So we joined the others for lunch and more ecology and psychology seminars. 

We continued around the lake, taking advantage of some circumlacustrine puncheon to cross marshy parts, and then hit the root route (or maybe the rocky road) down again. 

Walking in the forest, not just through the forest, we spent about 5-1/2 hours, much of it observing and contemplating. Much better than racing. 

Very enjoyable hike with quite the view for the mileage! The gravel road to the trailhead was easily passable with a Honda Accord so I imagine just about any car would be fine. I arrived late (9:30 am) on a Friday and the overflow lot had only a few cars in it. The last 1/3 of the trail before the lake had the most roots/ rocks, which made for some pretty big steps down on the way back. Definitely recommend hiking poles, especially for folks with bad knees or balance issues. The flowers by the lake were nearly finished putting on their show, but there were still a few blooms. I imagine a few weeks ago it was stunning. Overall it was a lovely hike!