Hiking: Annette Lake

Here in the Pacific Northwest, it always amazes me how quickly our mood shifts according to the weather – one day it was rainy and gloomy, the other sunny and uplifted. Fortunately later was the case on Saturday. And it just so happened to be the day of the Chinese Double Ninth Festival, also known as the climbing festival.

22815381_1355765701219079_2482557931342365258_n.jpg

So there we are, setting out to a mountain.

We arrived at the trail head around 10:40 AM. The outside temperature was damp and chilly. We wasted no time and began the ascent.

The forest consists primarily of cedars, hemlocks and Douglas firs. The trail is well-maintained with wooden bridges.

Watch for the intertwining roots, they could be slippery when damp.

There were running streams and countless waterfalls

And no lack of fall colors.

22886168_1355083181287331_8339887149626691117_n

With all the stops and picture-taking, it took us nearly 2 hours to reach the alpine lake.

22815458_1355102421285407_8517778950309768131_n.jpg

22861600_1355102154618767_8829038745673007104_n.jpg

The color of the water was incredible.

22886066_1355095651286084_5711485950736812264_n

22894098_1355083394620643_8930299321981273822_n

reflecting the surrounding towering peaks.

22815375_1355102291285420_8208684089778488272_n.jpg

Everybody was out enjoying the warmth of the sunbeam

22815210_1355085547953761_1918925623988571512_n

including this little dog

22815240_1355104281285221_7512536493921038670_n

who was the only one brave enough to dip into the icy water.

22851932_1355104261285223_3880182998010943966_n.jpg

Back to the trail head, we decided to extend our day hike with the half-mile Asahel Curtis Nature Trail

22815135_1355117527950563_1889742647399154970_n.jpg

over the downstream of Humpback Creek

22894105_1355113001284349_4848267366850247958_n.jpg

featuring a well crafted wooden bridge

22852233_1355113154617667_2083044846101153660_n.jpg

wooden walkways

22813986_1355113354617647_7233877255873947226_n.jpg

many more trees

and fallen leaves

22814054_1355117464617236_3068326803813056866_n.jpg

Of course no hiking day is complete without delicious food afterwards. My friend Xin is a profession chef and she effortlessly cooked up a meal fit for a Chinese emperor 🙂

After dinner, we sat around and enjoyed a cup of chrysanthemum tea – which happens to be, yet another tradition of the aforementioned festival.

Note:

Annette Lake is 7.5 miles trail in the Snoqualmie Pass area – an hour drive from Seattle. The elevation gain is stated at 1800 ft. This hike is known for wild flowers in the spring. The 0.5 mile relatively flat Asahel Curtis Nature Trail shares the same trail head and parking lot with Annette Lake and is worth checking out while in the area.

45 thoughts on “Hiking: Annette Lake”

  17. Love the pictures! The colors of the trees are very pretty. That is a really cute doggie. Looks like an amazing trail! Would love to walk it one day. The bridges and roots look like fun to walk.

    We are thinking of going to Banff this winter to play in the snow. We are hooked on the west coast. We feel like we need to spend more time in nature and we have been craving mountains. We didn’t get enough snow last year so I wasn’t able to roll in it so we decided to go away to do it 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. My son and I have hiked up here a few times, just beautiful! We didn’t get the great dinner afterward though-looks like we missed out on that one! Hope all is well with you 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. I get up in Northern California and miss nature like this. Moat of my adult life has been spent in the Midwest where I’ve developed a special place in my heart for rolling wheat fields. Thanks for the great pictures and description.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment