On the way through Sultan I saw a coyote trotting down the railroad tracks. Last time I saw a coyote on the way to the trail head, it was one of the best hikes ever, so I took this as a good portent.
I got out to the trailhead before 8:30am and there were plenty of parking spaces left. The trees were dripping, but the sky wasn't, and mist was rising here and there amongst the hills, so it was really a beautiful northwest fall day. The first mile and a half or so of this hike, while climbing slightly, is flat compared to the rest. This hike was closed all summer due to logging in the area - you could see where they had been from the trail.
We skipped the stairs to the waterfall viewing area and headed straight for the lake. The mossy trees were so green and beautiful.
Although we skipped the waterfall overview, there is still a lower view of the falls that we enjoyed. Also there were other falls further up the trail.
I had forgotten how many stairs were on this trail! And boulders and stone steps! Up, up, up! Cedar and Luna sprung up them like they were both puppies on springs. Lucky things with four legs instead of two.
Once we cleared the stair stepper switchbacks through the trees, we could enjoy misty views of the peaks surrounding us, as well as the fall colors of the devils club and vine maple leaves.
The lake was a lovely turquoise color and we enjoyed watching the rain start to come down again and dimple the surface as we ate our lunch.
On the way back down, at the base of the falls again, I met a couple people with two dogs and the husky really seemed especially curious and pretty and soft. She sat between two trees as we walked up and looked like some dog out of a story book. She reminded me of a white husky I had met on this trail 7 yrs ago who stepped out of the mist at a switchback looking like a white wolf, but also very sweet. I chatted for a moment and then went on. They later passed me, and when they did the man seemed familiar too. I didn't think I would catch up, but they stopped to talk to a ranger and I did catch up then and asked the man if he had a white husky on that trail back in 2011 - he had given me advice for my attempt at climbing Mount Rainier. He said, "That was Misty!" It WAS him. Such a small world. We talked about hiking for a bit, and then we all went our separate ways. I don't know what it is about his dogs, but they are enchanting.
The ranger said I was the 105th person she had counted that day, and it was only about 1pm.
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