3-23-21
John
and I decided on Annette Lake for our after work hike. It would be in
the mid 70s when we started and the trail is mostly in forest heading
to a lake. Worth the drive to near Snoqualmie Pass. We met at High
Point as 3:20 pm and I drove from there. With the whole freeway drive
at 70 mph we made good time. We exited the freeway at Denny Creek and
the short dirt road to the trailhead as as bad as advertised. Lots of
pot holes though any car can drive it. I was afraid that many other
would have the same idea and fill the parking lot. Instead we found
only 20 cars. We quickly packed up and were on the trail at 3:53 pm. It
was warm but not stiflingly hot. At the bridge we stopped for photos of
fast and frothy Humpback Creek. Lots of water and a cool breeze. I
thought the open section under the powerlines would be very hot but
half of it was in the shade. As we hiked up a steady stream of hikers
passed us coming down. We were pleased that it seemed few would be at
the lake when we arrived.
Our pace was steady but the head kept me from hiking faster. Much of the elevation gain is in the middle of the hike. After that it is a downhill then another short climb to the lake. Reports mentioned a number of down logs on the trail. That is very accurate. One big one to duck under and a couple to climb over. None were much of a problem. The water fall past the half way point had quite a bit of water coming down. John noticed a fresh saprophyte along the trail. Few wildflowers until the open talus fields to cross. They had lots of yellow violets and quite a few trillium in bloom. We were almost to the lake when we found the last lingering snow. It was on the trail but was quickly hiked. We arrived at the lake at 5:32 pm. 1:39 to hike 3.5 miles is not a fast pace but was good for a hot afternoon.
First we went to the spot near the outlet. The lake was so high that we could not leave the forest to go down onto the rocky shore for great views of the lake. We decided to hike along the lake. At the next good viewpoint there were people. We went most of the way to a spot looking out and across tot he waterfall to take our break. Still some snow on the other side of the lake and up higher on the slope. Abiel Peak was right above us. We could not see up to Silver Peak. We had both sunshine and shade available. It was very pleasant. Probably nor more than 70 degrees and almost cool in the shade. So much better than being in Seattle or another hike up Tiger Mountain. Will worth the 55 mile one way drive. We were in no hurry to leave. We spent 57 minutes up there.
It was 6:30 pm when we packed up and headed down. We had about an hour and a half to hike down then an hour drive home. The hike down went pretty fast with one miss step. On a rocky spot I managed to trip on something and crash tot he ground. I don't recall the last time I did that without ice involved. Other than a good sized bruised I emerged unscathed. Near the bottom of the hike we met a group of young folks heading up and then a single person doing the same. Back at the bridge over Humpback Creek we stopped for more photos. The lighting was very good. John showed me how to get under the bridge for some low level shots of the rocks and whitewater. From there it is a short hike back to the trailhead.
The drive back to High Point was fine. After that I was heading west into Seattle with the sun just over the horizon. It was completely blinding at times. Right before sunset with sunglasses on. This was an excellent choice for this day's hike. It was less crowded than expected. We got in 7 miles with 1900' of elevation gain. Enough for a good hike but not too hard uphill in the relative heat. Relative since the weekend will bring the hottest temperatures recorded in the Seattle area. We went through North Bend at 83 degrees. Sunday the forecast high will be 107 with 109 on Monday. The highest temperature recorded in Seattle in 103 one time. Even early morning may be too hot to hike. I can always head for the Snoqualmie Tunnel however. Crazy hot then but it was very nice at Annette Lake.
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Trips - 2021
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Our pace was steady but the head kept me from hiking faster. Much of the elevation gain is in the middle of the hike. After that it is a downhill then another short climb to the lake. Reports mentioned a number of down logs on the trail. That is very accurate. One big one to duck under and a couple to climb over. None were much of a problem. The water fall past the half way point had quite a bit of water coming down. John noticed a fresh saprophyte along the trail. Few wildflowers until the open talus fields to cross. They had lots of yellow violets and quite a few trillium in bloom. We were almost to the lake when we found the last lingering snow. It was on the trail but was quickly hiked. We arrived at the lake at 5:32 pm. 1:39 to hike 3.5 miles is not a fast pace but was good for a hot afternoon.
First we went to the spot near the outlet. The lake was so high that we could not leave the forest to go down onto the rocky shore for great views of the lake. We decided to hike along the lake. At the next good viewpoint there were people. We went most of the way to a spot looking out and across tot he waterfall to take our break. Still some snow on the other side of the lake and up higher on the slope. Abiel Peak was right above us. We could not see up to Silver Peak. We had both sunshine and shade available. It was very pleasant. Probably nor more than 70 degrees and almost cool in the shade. So much better than being in Seattle or another hike up Tiger Mountain. Will worth the 55 mile one way drive. We were in no hurry to leave. We spent 57 minutes up there.
It was 6:30 pm when we packed up and headed down. We had about an hour and a half to hike down then an hour drive home. The hike down went pretty fast with one miss step. On a rocky spot I managed to trip on something and crash tot he ground. I don't recall the last time I did that without ice involved. Other than a good sized bruised I emerged unscathed. Near the bottom of the hike we met a group of young folks heading up and then a single person doing the same. Back at the bridge over Humpback Creek we stopped for more photos. The lighting was very good. John showed me how to get under the bridge for some low level shots of the rocks and whitewater. From there it is a short hike back to the trailhead.
The drive back to High Point was fine. After that I was heading west into Seattle with the sun just over the horizon. It was completely blinding at times. Right before sunset with sunglasses on. This was an excellent choice for this day's hike. It was less crowded than expected. We got in 7 miles with 1900' of elevation gain. Enough for a good hike but not too hard uphill in the relative heat. Relative since the weekend will bring the hottest temperatures recorded in the Seattle area. We went through North Bend at 83 degrees. Sunday the forecast high will be 107 with 109 on Monday. The highest temperature recorded in Seattle in 103 one time. Even early morning may be too hot to hike. I can always head for the Snoqualmie Tunnel however. Crazy hot then but it was very nice at Annette Lake.
 Humpback Creek |
 Creek Again |
 Bunchberry |
 Granite Mountain |
 John & Falls |
 Waterfall |
 Trillium |
 Lake From Outlet |
 Abiel Peak & Lake |
 View From Break Spot |
 Salmonberry |
 Campsite |
 John Sluder |
 Bridge Over Creek |
 Big Bridge |
 Back At The Creek |
 Looking Downstream |
 Darker Lighting |
 Under Bridge View |
 Downstream |
 Creek Panorama |
Trips - 2021
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