06-06-24
This
week our mid-week after work
hike was farther from Seattle. Annette Lake is off the last exit before
Snoqualmie Pass. We met at Sunset Way at 2:20 pm and headed east. We
arrived at the Annette Lake Trailhead at 2:52 pm By 2:58 pm we were on
the trail. The lot was more than half full with nobody parked
in
the center. It was 70F on the highway but 66F in the forest. People
were coming down and heading up. We stopped at the bridge over Humpback
Creek for photos. There was a lot of water coming down from Annette
Lake. The creek was very photogenic with rushing water over the
cascades. The trail is almost all uphill to a point about half a mile
from the lake when it descends then rises again to the lake. My last
visit was in 2021 with John on an after work hike. Since
then,
the trail was closed and partly rebuilt. All I heard was that there
were not a lot of steps. Sometimes steps are needed. In my experience,
where four steps are needed twenty five are built. They often are very
close together with big drops. I am generally not happy with trail
"upgrades". With a lot of trepidation, I wondered it this would be one
of my last hikes to Annette Lake.
The first part of the trail up to the railroad grade had little recent work done on it. Above the grade, the steps began. Much to my relief, the steps are there but they are a full step apart and not at all steep. They actually improved traction without making the hike just a thousand steep steps. I am pleased. There are a lot of new steps. One of my favorite parts of the previous trail was the big log that was turned into a bridge. Now there is a long set of steps parallel to the old bridge. I recall many years ago when the trail was below the current one after the railroad grade crossing. One day I hiked that trail and saw the handrails on the long log bridge. That was when I found out there was a new trail section coming. Now that landmark is not more. Time marches on.
Hikers continued to pass us coming down. There are not a lot of wildflowers out now but as we ascended we started to see some. Purple trillium became bright white ones higher up. There were some yellow violets. We even saw a few wild ginger flowers. The highlight would wait until we started down the trail. We reached the high spot after crossing a few rock fields. That might be the biggest change in the trail. Previously, the crossings were on a little dirt and a bunch of rocks. The rocks are gone! They were either blasted and removed are covered over with dirt. The route through the rock fields are now dirt. They are much easier to hike and easier on my feet. We descended a bit and after the last rock field crossing the trail began to climb up to the lake. The old route was a narrow trail that meandered around trees and muddy spots. Now it is a smooth wide trail to the lake. Just before the lake, it used to climb a short mound and turn left through trees to the lake. Now it is flat and bypasses the mound right to the lake. We arrived at 4:41 pm. The lake level was high as expected. The spot over by the outlet was taken and the lake high enough to put brush in the way of a good look at the lake.
We went farther down the lake and found a spot with a partial view. John and I continued on to a better spot. It was in the sunshine which felt great. There were other hikers at the lake but I did not see any campers. David started down earlier and the John, Gary, and I stayed until 5:34 pm. We had almost an hour at the lake. The trip down was pretty easy. Smooth trail, no rocks in the rock field, and pretty gentle steps to descend. When we entered the first rock field I saw a beat up glacier lily near my feet. We had not seen any coming up. As I tried to get a photo of the poor pitiful flower, the other guys laughed as I did not see the couple dozen more at shoulder level up slope. They were right at their peak. The best flowers of the day.
After that we made steady progress on the way down. Back at the bridge over Humpback Creek the lighting was now much different. We stopped for more photos and I took a couple videos. We arrived back at the parking lot at 7:12 pm. We still had over two hours of daylight left. The ride home was easy as rush hour traffic was already at home.
This turned out to be a very nice hike. The temperature was perfect. The trail was not nearly as busy as on a weekend. It was nice to get well out of town for an after work hike not just another Tiger Mountain hike. The trail is different and some of the steps might be unnecessary but overall they did a good job. The trail is not a Lake Serene or Dorothy Lake mess of big steps endlessly ahead for as far as you can see. I hope to go back to Annette Lake many times in the future.
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larger pictures.
Trips - 2024
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The first part of the trail up to the railroad grade had little recent work done on it. Above the grade, the steps began. Much to my relief, the steps are there but they are a full step apart and not at all steep. They actually improved traction without making the hike just a thousand steep steps. I am pleased. There are a lot of new steps. One of my favorite parts of the previous trail was the big log that was turned into a bridge. Now there is a long set of steps parallel to the old bridge. I recall many years ago when the trail was below the current one after the railroad grade crossing. One day I hiked that trail and saw the handrails on the long log bridge. That was when I found out there was a new trail section coming. Now that landmark is not more. Time marches on.
Hikers continued to pass us coming down. There are not a lot of wildflowers out now but as we ascended we started to see some. Purple trillium became bright white ones higher up. There were some yellow violets. We even saw a few wild ginger flowers. The highlight would wait until we started down the trail. We reached the high spot after crossing a few rock fields. That might be the biggest change in the trail. Previously, the crossings were on a little dirt and a bunch of rocks. The rocks are gone! They were either blasted and removed are covered over with dirt. The route through the rock fields are now dirt. They are much easier to hike and easier on my feet. We descended a bit and after the last rock field crossing the trail began to climb up to the lake. The old route was a narrow trail that meandered around trees and muddy spots. Now it is a smooth wide trail to the lake. Just before the lake, it used to climb a short mound and turn left through trees to the lake. Now it is flat and bypasses the mound right to the lake. We arrived at 4:41 pm. The lake level was high as expected. The spot over by the outlet was taken and the lake high enough to put brush in the way of a good look at the lake.
We went farther down the lake and found a spot with a partial view. John and I continued on to a better spot. It was in the sunshine which felt great. There were other hikers at the lake but I did not see any campers. David started down earlier and the John, Gary, and I stayed until 5:34 pm. We had almost an hour at the lake. The trip down was pretty easy. Smooth trail, no rocks in the rock field, and pretty gentle steps to descend. When we entered the first rock field I saw a beat up glacier lily near my feet. We had not seen any coming up. As I tried to get a photo of the poor pitiful flower, the other guys laughed as I did not see the couple dozen more at shoulder level up slope. They were right at their peak. The best flowers of the day.
After that we made steady progress on the way down. Back at the bridge over Humpback Creek the lighting was now much different. We stopped for more photos and I took a couple videos. We arrived back at the parking lot at 7:12 pm. We still had over two hours of daylight left. The ride home was easy as rush hour traffic was already at home.
This turned out to be a very nice hike. The temperature was perfect. The trail was not nearly as busy as on a weekend. It was nice to get well out of town for an after work hike not just another Tiger Mountain hike. The trail is different and some of the steps might be unnecessary but overall they did a good job. The trail is not a Lake Serene or Dorothy Lake mess of big steps endlessly ahead for as far as you can see. I hope to go back to Annette Lake many times in the future.
 Under Bridge View |
 Humpback Creek |
 Bunchberries |
 Small Waterfall |
 Humpback Mountain |
 Trillium |
 At Annette Lake Shore |
 John On The Rocks |
 Inlet Waterfall |
 Abiel Peak Over Lake |
 Wider View Of Lake |
 Glacier Lilies |
 More Glacier Lilies |
 Yellow Violet |
 Bleeding Hearts |
 Smooth Trail Through Talus |
 Perfect Trillium |
 More Smooth Trail |
 Granite Mountain Lookout |
 Side Creek |
 Wide Smooth Trail |
 Wild Ginger |
 Muddy Spot |
 Humpback Creek Again |
 Last Creek Shot |
 Parking Lot |
Trips - 2024
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