Lake Twenty Two

I hiked to Lake Twenty Two in the North Cascades on Sunday, August 3rd. Lake 22 is one of the many great hikes along the Mountain Loop Highway, east of Granite Falls, Washington (about an hour drive from North Seattle). This trail has pretty much everything you could want on an easy day hike: old growth forest, rivers, waterfalls, wildflowers, wooden bridges, mountain views, wild berries, animals, snow, glacial rocks, towering Mount Pilchuck, and of course beautiful Lake 22.

The trail begins from a parking lot right off the Mountain Loop Highway about 12 miles east of Granite Falls. This was a nice change from the eight miles of gravel roads required to reach Tonga Ridge. The trail is 5.4 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 1,300 feet. We arrived at 8:30 a.m. for an early start. For any interested in hiking to Lake 22, I strongly recommend getting started early. The trail was empty on the way up and we got the best lunch spot on the lake. The air felt crisp and refreshing in the morning. By the time we were on our way back down in the early afternoon, we were meeting fellow hikers every 100 yards on the trail and the air was getting humid and warm.

The first mile of the trail climbs gradually through old growth forest and gigantic cedar trees. The trail crosses Lake 22 Creek, and a number of switchbacks follow. As you gain more elevation, there are views of waterfalls and cataracts along the trail. For one of these I stepped a few feet off the trail to get a better view, looked down, and there was a steep gorge that dropped right into the swift-moving creek.

The trail exits the old growth forest, continuing through open talus slopes and a forest of old growth maple trees. We came across a squirrel and pika snacking on their breakfast. Getting closer to the lake, we encountered an avalanche chute where large trees were strewn across the trail. This required some skillful maneuvering and climbing. Once we crossed the tree field, we discovered there was a large amount of snow left on the last stretch of the trail to the lake. Stepping carefully to avoid falling through hollow patches of snow, we made it to Lake 22. I was astounded by the beauty of the lake and the half-mile high peaks of Mount Pilchuck towering over the ice-covered lake.

We traveled a quarter of the way around the lake to a prime lunch spot. From the wooden bridge (seen below) at the end of the lake where the creek begins, it looked like ice was covering only half of the lake. But from our lunch spot vantage point, we realized ice was still covering about ninety percent of the lake. At the far end, debris from an avalanche was still sitting on top of the ice covering. Lake 22 was beautiful. All the alpine lakes I've hiked before Lake 22 have been snow free - so it was fun to see all the snow and ice left, and the snow and cold water contributed to the cool breeze at our lunch spot.

Of the hikes I've done in the Cascades so far (including Snow Lake and Annette Lake), Lake 22 is my favorite. It was not too challenging and offered so much trail variety and incredible views. I will also get an earlier start on hikes from now on, the morning is an amazing time to hike. And the drive is easy and short. I took tons of photos, so here are some of my favorites:

There is a nice wooden bridge across the Lake 22 Creek. But my dad found the old crossing - a large, worn tree that had fallen across the creek.

The first mile or so of the trail is through old growth forest - those trees are gigantic!

The trail was really well-maintained. There were a lot of stairs, which made the climbing easy.

We found this little pika snacking on the fern along the trail. He was probably wondering what the hell we were and why we were interrupting his breakfast. Another bonus about starting early on the trail: this little guy was nowhere to be seen on the way down with tons of people on the trail.

Not as many flowers as Tonga Ridge, but still pretty! A lot of tiny streams crossed the trail, giving the rainy-look seen on these flowers.

At about two miles up the trail are these old mossy maple trees growing at uncomfortable-looking angles. My dad pointed out these maples looked like they came of out Tolkien's Entwood.

Trees had fallen across the trail from an avalanche. This made trail crossing a little difficult.

We made it to Lake 22! There was another newly-constructed bridge.

Lake 22 and Mount Pilchuck (I had to merge about ten photos to get this one).

I read on hike Web sites that there is a trail around the entire lake. This was not accessible with the amount of snow left, unless we wanted to swim in 35 degree water. No thanks! You can also see in this photo how deceptive this angle is - it looks like there is not much ice on the lake.A view of the North Cascades on our way back down the trail.

Now I can't wait to go on another hike since Lake 22 was so incredible. Some I am considering are: Surprise Lake, Cutthroat Lake, Cascade Pass, and Denny Creek-Melakwa Lake. All of these are longer and more difficult than Lake 22, but I am up for the challenge. Anyone have favorite hikes to suggest?