08-31-24
I
had a hard time deciding where to hike on the first day of the Labor
Day Weekend. The high at Snoqualmie Pass was forecast to be 86F. That
is awfully hot for me to be out in the sunshine on a long hike. I
needed 11 miles to reach 600 at the two-thirds point in the year. I
decided on a trip to Rainbow and Blazer Lakes. I visited Rainbow on
6-22-24 but there was snow and I did not get to Blazer. It had been two
years since I last brushed out the abandoned trail from Rainbow down to
Blazer. I was a little later than I had hoped in reaching the Pratt
Lake
Trailhead. Usually in the summer arriving at 7:45 am the parking lot is
almost full. This day I took a spot on the west side where it is shady
in the afternoon. There were plenty of spots on the east side. It was
sunny but still in the low 60s. I was on my way at 7:47 am. I set a
good pace. One hiker ahead of me was moving at the same speed. I
quickly noticed the high humidity. That is worse for me than a high
temperature. The route would be mostly in shade and that did help.
I caught and passed three groups of two hikers in the first .70 miles. The hiker ahead turned onto the Granite Mountain Trail and I was alone. Other than passing a couple hikers going down, I had a lot of solitude on the way up. I expected more early starting backpackers after campsites at all the lakes. On my June trip there were lots of wildflowers along the trail. That was not the case this day. I did see some while traversing around Pratt Mountain but that was it. I expected to see saprophytes and that was a disappointment. I saw a few old ones on the way down but nothing while going in. That just left me with a very nice forest to enjoy. The Pratt Lake Trail is well-graded and hikes pretty fast.
I reached the Talapus Lake junction at 8:56 am. At 2.8 miles I was halfway to Rainbow Lake in 1:11. The humidity definitely slowed me down. At the Olallie Lake overlook I stopped for a little water and photos. I had a clear view of Mt. Rainier with Olallie Lake right below it. It would not be so clear on my afternoon return. I caught up with one hiker here who headed on before me.I arrived at 9:16 am. High on the talus field above the trail, I saw some first signs of fall. Lots of green leaves and some red and orange ones too. I reached the Pratt Lake - Defiance Trail junction at the same time as the other hiker. She headed down to Pratt Lake and I continued straight on the Defiance Trail. Earlier this year I hiked to Thompson Lake on from the north end of the trail. I have still not hiked the section from Thompson Lake to Mt. Defiance. There were lots of beargrass stalks along the trail. From here, the trail traverses around Pratt Mountain, climbs in five sets of switchbacks, and drops to Rainbow Lake.
When I first hiked this section some 35+ years ago. There were not a lot of trees. The trail is on a very steep hillside with a big drop off the side of the narrow trail. It was blasted by the sunshine in summer. Now, it is mostly forested. The views of Talapus Lake and peaks to the southeast are gone but it is much cooler now. The humidity seemed to lessen a bit as I hiked higher and the day warmed up. On this section, I did see one perfect orange Indian paintbrush, some penstemon, some past prime asters, and a few blooming pearly everlasting. Not a great flower show but not bad for the last day of August. The trail reaches the high point then drops down. I passed another spot with a talus field and some leaves just starting to turn color up above. I stopped at the viewpoint of Mt. Defiance for some photos. I still had blue sky and no haze.
The hike down to Rainbow Lake should have gone quickly. As I neared the lake I saw the berry crop. It is very good this year. Good and almost untouched. I hardly put a small dent in the several varieties of huckleberries right alongside the trail. I must have added at least 10 minutes to my hiking time. I reached the lake at 10:19 am. I took 2:32 to hike the 5.5 miles. It was still morning. I sat on my rock chair and footstool on the lakeshore. There was nobody else visible at the lake. The sun was already very warm. I could not stay in the sunshine as long as I wanted to. At 10:49 am I headed for Blazer Lake. One hiker did show up just in sight farther from the lake. A dad and small son arrived from their campsite at Talapus Lake.
I hiked across the first outlet creek and looked for the start of the Blazer Lake Trail. It was quite overgrown. The brush is low bush huckleberries and is only ankle deep. I headed down the trail. The water crossing at the meadow below did not look good for easy crossing so I went left into the brush and crossed the other creek. A right turn took me back to where the trail crossed the wide water spot. The outlet turns into a pond here with lots of lily pads. The trail is overgrown in my low bush huckleberries then reaches higher bush and becomes easy to follow. I started brushing it out here. I slowly made progress cutting off mostly big bush huckleberry branches. I could not waste the berries so I had to eat them. It is a very good crop this year. I ate a lot of berries. It was just two years ago that I brushed the trail and I was surprised to see so much new growth. I dropped to the viewpoint of Blazer Lake with Kaleetan Peak above it. The zoom on my new phone camera made a big difference in zooming in on Kaleetan Peak. I had one more steep drop to the washout spot. That is now all cleared out.
The trail fell down the hillside sometime before the late 1980s when I first came here. There was a signboard with an "abandoned trail" sign back then. From the meadow down there are half a dozen big blazes on trees. This was once a real trail. I built a short trail around the washout. It is very short. On the other side the trail has long been lost. The route goes almost straight down the slope in a forest of evergreen trees. It is very easy to follow. I found several big bolete mushrooms on the forest floor. That was another photo stop. The route leaves forest at a big boulder field. Above are cliffs. The path goes right down alongside the boulders. At the bottom, I had to push through a little brush to the water of Blazer Lake. In early season there is no shore and the lake is right there. By later summer the lake dries out at the inlet end. It was a little muddy but I was able to get down onto the lake bed easily. Photos of the lake have rocky Pratt Mountain right above the outlet end. The slope I came down is so steep that part of the shore was in shade. For once, the bugs were almost non-existent. It was time for another break. I can always count on solitude at Blazer Lake. There are signs that others have found my route but I have never seen anyone at the lake.
I arrived at Blazer Lake at 11:48 am. It was time for lunch. I headed back at 12:12 pm. The day was only getting hotter and I wanted to get the climb out of the Rainbow Lake basin before the heat of the day. It did not take long to get back up to the meadow. It is just under a quarter mile from Rainbow to Blazer. I did bush out the low bush berry plants leading into the meadow. This time I stepped onto a log and jumped to a rock over the wide water spot. I was right back on the trail there. A minute later I was back at Rainbow Lake. I saw a family at my usual spot. It was now much warmer. I had a few more berries and headed back. The climb out of the basin went quickly. Then I had mostly downhill then flat round Pratt Mountain. I passed the trail down to Pratt Lake where three hikers were resting. At the Olallie Lake overlook I stopped for water. Mt. Rainier was now very hazy.
The rest of the way back was a steady descent on nice trail in shady forest. Just about as good as I could have hoped on a hot summer day. I saw half a dozen groups coming up. That was still fewer than I expected. This is usually a very busy trail with a lookout and four lakes within 6.5 miles of the trailhead. For a sunny holiday weekend, I saw far fewer hikers and backpackers than expected. I reached the parking lot at 3:11 pm. My car was in the shade. There were 3 or 4 open parking spots. The road back to the interchange had only a couple cars parked there. My car registered 84F at the trailhead. It rose to 88F in Issaquah, and a much more comfortable at home in Seattle at 80F.
This turned out to be an even better hike than I had hoped. The big holiday weekend crowds never materialized. I have clear views in the morning. I could have done without the humidity but the shady forest kept the heat in check. I had Rainbow Lake to myself at first. I had Blazer Lake to myself as expected. I managed to get the whole trail brushed out except for the first 20' at Rainbow Lake. I even had a few wildflowers still in bloom. The abandoned Blazer Lake Trail should be good for the next couple years. All in all, it was a great day to be on the trail.
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Trips - 2024
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I caught and passed three groups of two hikers in the first .70 miles. The hiker ahead turned onto the Granite Mountain Trail and I was alone. Other than passing a couple hikers going down, I had a lot of solitude on the way up. I expected more early starting backpackers after campsites at all the lakes. On my June trip there were lots of wildflowers along the trail. That was not the case this day. I did see some while traversing around Pratt Mountain but that was it. I expected to see saprophytes and that was a disappointment. I saw a few old ones on the way down but nothing while going in. That just left me with a very nice forest to enjoy. The Pratt Lake Trail is well-graded and hikes pretty fast.
I reached the Talapus Lake junction at 8:56 am. At 2.8 miles I was halfway to Rainbow Lake in 1:11. The humidity definitely slowed me down. At the Olallie Lake overlook I stopped for a little water and photos. I had a clear view of Mt. Rainier with Olallie Lake right below it. It would not be so clear on my afternoon return. I caught up with one hiker here who headed on before me.I arrived at 9:16 am. High on the talus field above the trail, I saw some first signs of fall. Lots of green leaves and some red and orange ones too. I reached the Pratt Lake - Defiance Trail junction at the same time as the other hiker. She headed down to Pratt Lake and I continued straight on the Defiance Trail. Earlier this year I hiked to Thompson Lake on from the north end of the trail. I have still not hiked the section from Thompson Lake to Mt. Defiance. There were lots of beargrass stalks along the trail. From here, the trail traverses around Pratt Mountain, climbs in five sets of switchbacks, and drops to Rainbow Lake.
When I first hiked this section some 35+ years ago. There were not a lot of trees. The trail is on a very steep hillside with a big drop off the side of the narrow trail. It was blasted by the sunshine in summer. Now, it is mostly forested. The views of Talapus Lake and peaks to the southeast are gone but it is much cooler now. The humidity seemed to lessen a bit as I hiked higher and the day warmed up. On this section, I did see one perfect orange Indian paintbrush, some penstemon, some past prime asters, and a few blooming pearly everlasting. Not a great flower show but not bad for the last day of August. The trail reaches the high point then drops down. I passed another spot with a talus field and some leaves just starting to turn color up above. I stopped at the viewpoint of Mt. Defiance for some photos. I still had blue sky and no haze.
The hike down to Rainbow Lake should have gone quickly. As I neared the lake I saw the berry crop. It is very good this year. Good and almost untouched. I hardly put a small dent in the several varieties of huckleberries right alongside the trail. I must have added at least 10 minutes to my hiking time. I reached the lake at 10:19 am. I took 2:32 to hike the 5.5 miles. It was still morning. I sat on my rock chair and footstool on the lakeshore. There was nobody else visible at the lake. The sun was already very warm. I could not stay in the sunshine as long as I wanted to. At 10:49 am I headed for Blazer Lake. One hiker did show up just in sight farther from the lake. A dad and small son arrived from their campsite at Talapus Lake.
I hiked across the first outlet creek and looked for the start of the Blazer Lake Trail. It was quite overgrown. The brush is low bush huckleberries and is only ankle deep. I headed down the trail. The water crossing at the meadow below did not look good for easy crossing so I went left into the brush and crossed the other creek. A right turn took me back to where the trail crossed the wide water spot. The outlet turns into a pond here with lots of lily pads. The trail is overgrown in my low bush huckleberries then reaches higher bush and becomes easy to follow. I started brushing it out here. I slowly made progress cutting off mostly big bush huckleberry branches. I could not waste the berries so I had to eat them. It is a very good crop this year. I ate a lot of berries. It was just two years ago that I brushed the trail and I was surprised to see so much new growth. I dropped to the viewpoint of Blazer Lake with Kaleetan Peak above it. The zoom on my new phone camera made a big difference in zooming in on Kaleetan Peak. I had one more steep drop to the washout spot. That is now all cleared out.
The trail fell down the hillside sometime before the late 1980s when I first came here. There was a signboard with an "abandoned trail" sign back then. From the meadow down there are half a dozen big blazes on trees. This was once a real trail. I built a short trail around the washout. It is very short. On the other side the trail has long been lost. The route goes almost straight down the slope in a forest of evergreen trees. It is very easy to follow. I found several big bolete mushrooms on the forest floor. That was another photo stop. The route leaves forest at a big boulder field. Above are cliffs. The path goes right down alongside the boulders. At the bottom, I had to push through a little brush to the water of Blazer Lake. In early season there is no shore and the lake is right there. By later summer the lake dries out at the inlet end. It was a little muddy but I was able to get down onto the lake bed easily. Photos of the lake have rocky Pratt Mountain right above the outlet end. The slope I came down is so steep that part of the shore was in shade. For once, the bugs were almost non-existent. It was time for another break. I can always count on solitude at Blazer Lake. There are signs that others have found my route but I have never seen anyone at the lake.
I arrived at Blazer Lake at 11:48 am. It was time for lunch. I headed back at 12:12 pm. The day was only getting hotter and I wanted to get the climb out of the Rainbow Lake basin before the heat of the day. It did not take long to get back up to the meadow. It is just under a quarter mile from Rainbow to Blazer. I did bush out the low bush berry plants leading into the meadow. This time I stepped onto a log and jumped to a rock over the wide water spot. I was right back on the trail there. A minute later I was back at Rainbow Lake. I saw a family at my usual spot. It was now much warmer. I had a few more berries and headed back. The climb out of the basin went quickly. Then I had mostly downhill then flat round Pratt Mountain. I passed the trail down to Pratt Lake where three hikers were resting. At the Olallie Lake overlook I stopped for water. Mt. Rainier was now very hazy.
The rest of the way back was a steady descent on nice trail in shady forest. Just about as good as I could have hoped on a hot summer day. I saw half a dozen groups coming up. That was still fewer than I expected. This is usually a very busy trail with a lookout and four lakes within 6.5 miles of the trailhead. For a sunny holiday weekend, I saw far fewer hikers and backpackers than expected. I reached the parking lot at 3:11 pm. My car was in the shade. There were 3 or 4 open parking spots. The road back to the interchange had only a couple cars parked there. My car registered 84F at the trailhead. It rose to 88F in Issaquah, and a much more comfortable at home in Seattle at 80F.
This turned out to be an even better hike than I had hoped. The big holiday weekend crowds never materialized. I have clear views in the morning. I could have done without the humidity but the shady forest kept the heat in check. I had Rainbow Lake to myself at first. I had Blazer Lake to myself as expected. I managed to get the whole trail brushed out except for the first 20' at Rainbow Lake. I even had a few wildflowers still in bloom. The abandoned Blazer Lake Trail should be good for the next couple years. All in all, it was a great day to be on the trail.
 Alpine Lakes Wilderness |
 Bunchberry Berries |
 Fungus |
 Cool Breeze |
 Red Berries |
 Long Boardwalk |
 Pratt Lake Trail |
 Olallie Lake Overlook |
 Mt. Rainier |
 First Fall Color |
 Fresh Mushroom |
 Beargrass Stalks |
 Penstemon |
 Past Prime Flowers |
 Indian Paintbrush |
 Another Fungus |
 Mountain Ash Berries |
 Mt. Defiance View |
 Ripe Huckleberry |
 View Of Rainbow Lake |
 At Rainbow Lake |
 Rock Recliner At Lake |
 Rainbow Meadow |
 Berries On Trail |
 View Of Blazer Lake |
 Kaleetan Peak |
 Big Bolete Mushroom |
 Another Bolete |
 At Blazer Lake |
 Steep Slope Above Lake |
 Cliffs Above Lake |
 Big Red Berries |
 Brushed Out Trail |
 Brushing Out Trail |
 Pond Between Lakes |
 Back At Rainbow Lake |
 Heading Back |
 Red Leaves |
 Zoomed Mt. Defiance |
 Silver Peak |
 Better Fall Colors |
 Very Red Leaves |
 Fungus Or Mold? |
 Pinedrop |
 Last Boardwalk |
Trips - 2024
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