Lake Serene 05-05-19

AppleWatch Stats:  8.84 miles RT, 2651 ft of elevation gain.

Well, I got in both distance and elevation with this classic hike off of Hwy 2.  I couldn't have asked for nicer weather - not too hot, but gloriously sunny.  I left Cedar and Luna at home as this would have been quite a push for them.  With the number of people on the trail, it's easier solo as well.  I was trying out these new socks by Injinji that came with sock liners that have individual toes to keep you from getting blisters in between.  I thought it might be annoying to have something between my toes, but they were quite comfortable, and I didn't get any blisters.  My stubby toes felt as comfy as swaddled babies. lol

Usually I skip the Bridal Veil Falls overlook, which is a 1/2 mile up stairs and incline, then back to the main trail, but this time I took that side trip.  It was worth it!  Also, like the WTA site says, do it on the way up.  No way will I ever want to add another mile by the time I get to that point on the way down.

The trail wanders through the sunny woods for the first couple miles, then it starts going up.  Quite a lot of the way up to the lake involves stairs - big wooden stairs, big rock stairs.  This hike is a great workout.

About halfway up, a man passed me from behind and said I was nearing switchback 9 - that there are 23 of them and then a 17 minute walk.  I had never counted these switchbacks, but around 13, I lost interest.  There are too many cool trees to look at, and I needed to move a little millipede off the trail so she wouldn't get flattened.

Then there were the views here and there of the valley below and the hills in the distance.

Plus more waterfalls, and streams to pick my way across.

And sooo many people!  I definitely want to do this hike in bad weather and/or start at 6am.  On the way down it's the worst because upcoming have the right of way and I had to step aside so many times, my Apple Watch thought my workout was over and kept pausing.

Once you come out of all those switchbacks at the top though, the sheer rock faces adorned with ice and snow just take your breath away and energize you all at once.

Once I made my way to the lake, I took a couple pictures of the lovely Lake Serene and then headed to lunch rock.  There I munched my PB&J sandwich and took some more photos.  There were a couple quiet little avalanches up in the crags. Just a slight rumble and then more snow and water would spew out over the precipice, giving extra volume to the waterfalls for a few moments before subsiding.

One good thing about having a lot of people on the trail - you can usually find someone to take a photo of you!  : )

The icy breeze coming off the water combined with the sunshine on the giant boulder to make the absolute perfect temperature.  I didn't want to leave.  I watched an ant carrying a butterfly wing for a bit and was entertained by the various snatches of conversation I heard around me.

On the way back down, I enjoyed the views again - of the Skykomish River below, the falls through the trees.  I also paid more attention to the wildflowers that were blooming - more trillium, bleeding hearts and violets, as well as this - mountain ash? The devil's clubs were just unfurling their spiny leaves, and the ferns' fiddleheads were starting to stretch up and become fronds.

I was surprised, as I passed under part of the large falls, to see two girls in long gauzy formal type dresses posing in the spray!  They had a bunch of people taking photos, so I didn't and just snapped one last one of the falls with the light making the spray shine like crystal.