Lake Twenty-two

Hubby, Salem and I took advantage of the glorious weather today to do a hike up in the Cascades. This lake is stuck with its number from some kind of old system they used when they first surveyed the area. It was about 6 miles RT with ~1500 feet of elevation gain. The trail was challenging because it was rooty and rocky with a lot of water going across here and there making it slick. One good thing about that is I don't have to carry water for Salem, she stops in the streams when she is thirsty.

What a gorgeous place it is too. There is a trail all the way around the lake and this viewpoint is the opposite end of where the trail comes out. The fireweed was really popping. I also got to see how the false hellebore blooms after wondering about that for 3-4 years (extra). What you can't see in the photo is behind us is a pretty sheer wall of rock, several hundred feet high, with some snow at the base. It didn't really come out well in the photos because of the angle of the sun and the remaining haze.

BTW, some birds have found our new feeder, particularly this one junco who I've watched gorge itself for a couple of days now (extra).

Thanks to everyone who visits my journal - I love connecting with you.