The trail to Snow Lake and on to Gem Lake is THE most beautiful, scenic, and picturesque excursion into the wilderness I have ever been on, bar none. And the irony of all ironies is that when this “be prepared” ex-Boy Scout turned on his camera at the beginning of the hike – the battery was dead! Unbelievable! After berating myself for not checking the battery last night, it occurred to me that although I would be getting no pictures of this hike, it gives me a perfect reason to come back again with a fully charged camera battery.
The weather today was absolutely glorious! The smog that blurred the views of last weeks hike have been blown away by unseasonably cool and blustery weather during the week, which gave way to a bright, sunny, and crystal clear summer day today. The trail head is at 3100 feet in the Alpental ski area just west of Snoqualmie Pass. The trail climbs to 4400 feet in 2.5 miles to the saddle, where it descends into the Snow Lake basin. Along the way are amazing views of Denny Mountain across the valley cut by the south fork of the Snoqualmie River, Chair Peak and Kaleetan Peak. Once at the saddle, the trail becomes a series of switchbacks that provide the most beautiful views of a subalpine mountain lake you’ve ever seen. Snow Lake is azure blue, surrounded by steep cliffs and talus fields (sloping mass of rock debris at the base of a cliff) and yes, even in late August, many large patches of snow. Oh how I wish I had pictures to show you!
Once at the lake we took a break near the mouth of a stream that feeds the lake. There are several undeveloped campsites among the trees near the lake, and the lucky people staying there were busy airing out sleeping bags and soaking in the sunshine, the views, and the tranquility. Our group circled around to the north side of Snow Lake to continue on to Gem Lake, and were treated to even more spectacular views from ridges looking north. Gem Lake is smaller than Snow Lake and about 800 feet higher. We ate our lunches while enjoying a terrific view of Wright Mountain on the opposite side of the lake. The hikers on top of Wright Mountain looked like they were having a good time, and I’m sure the views from up there were indescribable.
Our return trip was as beautiful as the hike in, however we encountered a little problem on the way down. We came across a party of 5 hikers, one of whom had broken her leg! A ranger had just arrived on scene and was trying to route hikers headed in both directions around her. She was laying across the trail near a switchback, so the ranger had us scramble down the hill between the trails, which was pretty steep and a bit scary. We all got down it alright and after about an hour of hiking we passed four rescue people on their way up with splints and a stretcher. We later learned that she had gotten her foot caught in a tree root and broke both the tibia and fibula bones in her right leg! Being as she was almost two miles from the trail head, I can’t image what the hike down must have been like for both her and the folks who had to carry her on the stretcher! There was an ambulance waiting for her at the bottom. It must have taken several hours for them to get her back down.
This was my favorite hike of all the ones I’ve been on with Hike for Discovery. We hiked 11 miles, with over 3200 feet of cumulative elevation gain, and spectacular scenic vistas that, camera or no camera, I will always remember. I can’t wait to go do this hike again! If any of you ever want to hike this trail, I’ll be glad to hike it with you.
With a couple of $100 donations this week (THANK YOU!!!) my personal fund raising total for the LLS has topped $2700!!! As a group, we have raised over $86,000. I cannot thank you all enough for your gifts and your support. There are so many good people who are going to benefit from your generosity. Thank you again!
Happy trails!
Ron
