Lake 22

Hello Cascade mountain range—I have missed you!

Take a look at the reflection in the lake—it’s perfect. There are a bunch more like this in the gallery.

Austin and I hiked up to Lake 22 last Tuesday. It was about 6 miles round trip (including a walk around the lake) in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

The cool thing about this hike is it is through an area designated as “protected” in the 1940’s, and it’s never been logged. There are tons of huge old growth trees, streams over the trail, and about a thousand kinds of fungus growing everywhere.

To our surprise (and the dismay of my running shoes), we hit the snow level. There was about two inches at the top, we guessed from the previous night based on footprints, and it made for an amazing view.

The best part—hiking with an eagle scout.

Austin carried the backpack, and pulled out everything I hadn’t thought about at the top:

First aid kit (that’s the green item on the left), various types of protein-rich food, a flashlight, about a gallon of water, and some other important stuff I’ve already forgotten about.

See how happy we look after clif bars and beef jerky? Cascade hikes are my very favorite.