A few weeks ago, I had my summer break week. As in, there was a week when I did not have classes and I did not have to teach. It was a wonderful, magical time filled with lots of sleep and sunshine. There was also this fun little hike. SIL S and I decided that even though the weather in Seattle was grey and cloudy, we bet that on the other side of Snoqulamie Pass, there might be sunshine to be found. We were right! We decided to hike up to Margaret Lake, and figured that, as it was a weekday, it wouldn’t be too crowded. We were right, and were given the wonderful gift of having the trail essential to ourselves. Sweet!
The first few miles of the trail follow the same trail as the trail to Twin Lakes, but the way to Margaret Lake drops off at the ridge instead of continuing on to Twin Lakes. The hike up is exposed and warm until you get through an old clear cut and into some nice old (er) growth near the ridge. Oh, and there are Rainier views, which are always sweet. As I mentioned, you quickly drop over the other side of the ridge down a steeper and rougher trail down to the lake. The lake its self is on the small side but very pretty, with Mount Margaret as the backdrop and pikas whistling all around. The day was warm, and so was the lake! We swam around for about 20 minutes before settling down for lunch. It was so peaceful to have the lake all to ourselves. What a treat. I need to hike more on the weekdays!
I can’t believe I chose sleep over this. 🙁 I’m glad you had such a good day, the weather looked perfect!