The trail starts at the popular Greenwaters lakes trail head. It is a flat yet scenic 2 mile walk to the pair of Greenwater lakes. This portion of the trail was busy. Think flip flop clad day hikers, but was a nice area none the less. The lakes are green and marshy, but nicer than a lot of lower elevation lakes in the area and have some good camp sites. Not long after passing the lakes the trail splits with the left fork heading to Echo Lake and the right to Lost Lake. Here we bared right and left most hikers behind.
Greenwater Lake
The trail continues through the forest for about 2 miles to Quinn Lake a small turquoise lake tucked a bit off trail. We stopped here for a brief break enjoying the quiet tranquil waters. Then it was back into the forest to continue our climb up to Lost Lake. Lost Lake is about 5 miles from the trail head and about 1400 ft in elevation. It is a large tree lined lake with some grassy camp sites. There were several groups camped around the lake and it was still early so we decided to refill our water and begin the 3 mile, 15oo ft climb up to George Lake.
Quinn Lake
Lost Lake
Once up on the ridge we were treated to some nice views to the north and our first glance of Noble Knob a large rock outcrop. The trail continues just past the knob where an obvious side trail on the right takes you up to the pass. From there we dropped down to the kidney shaped George Lake to set up camp for the night. The lake is relatively shallow which made it warm enough for a quick swim before heading to bed. We had the lake entirely to ourselves and had a sweet campsite overlooking the lake. That night as the temperature began to drop the lake became shrouded in a thin mist. Then we noticed that the logs that had been on the shore earlier were now floating in the middle of the lake. It was a little eerie. There was no wind, but the logs were definitely moving slowly across the lake. We assume the difference in air and water temperature was making a slight current. Crazy stuff.
View from the ridge
Descending into George Lake
Our campsite on the cliff
Noble Knob Reflection
Noble Knob Reflection 2
The next morning we woke to strong winds and cold temperatures and began to worry that a storm might roll in. Our previous blue bird sky day was gone and the clouds were here to stay. We were slow to pack up waiting for the wind to die down and keeping an eye on the sky. Eventually the wind calmed and we headed up onto the ridge. From the ridge I made the easy scramble up to Noble Knob for a cloudy view of the area. This section of the trail is known for its splendid views of Rainier up along the ridge, unfortunately, all we saw was a wall of clouds in the direction of Big R. As we continued along we ran into several unexpected trail junctions and a group of confused fishermen asking us if there were any lakes up here. The area was a little confusing with the many side trails, but we were able to mostly stay on course.
Trail up to the cloudy Noble Knob
Lost Lake through the clouds
A few hours later we arrived at Corral Pass for a late lunch and a few views of peaks breaking through the clouds. Here the trail dumps you out at a trail head and parking area which was a bit of a surprise. Luckily, it's only about 100 yards along the road until you are back on the trail descending to Echo Lake. On the drop down we encountered another group of hikers near the turn off for the small unexciting Hidden Lake. They warned us of the man eating mosquitoes that they had narrowly escaped from and told us to be prepared with lots of deet. We took the warning with a grain of salt, bugs have never been much of a bother to us. Little did we know...
Lupine on Corral Pass
Not long after hearing this warning we began to experience the mosquitoes for ourselves. Not too bad at first, just annoying buzzing around our face while we walked. I was wearing pants and long sleeves so I figured I was mostly safe. Then we stopped for a quick water break and the swarm came. Within seconds of stopping we were being bombarded from all sides by giant clouds of buzzing pests. We agreed to avoid any unnecessary stops and ford onto Echo Lake. Eventually we arrived along the marshy shores of the lake, found a nice spot and set down our packs. Again, within seconds the swarm attacked biting through my layers of clothing. I downed a hat for additional protection, but it was no use, hundreds of blood suckers descended upon me. Without too much thought the decision was made to carry on and look for a campsite along the river.
Echo Lake
Luckily, about a mile past the lake the swarms subsided and we were able to camp at peace at a small site along the river about a mile before the junction. The next morning was a quick jaunt back to the car and the discovery of a flat front tire. A quick change and before we knew it we were in Enumclaw enjoying a tasty breakfast and then back in Seattle.
The route
No comments:
Post a Comment