Greenwater lakes, Norse Peak wilderness, 4-24-06

[Slugman]

I took advantage of the sparkling weather yesterday and headed over to Greenwater lakes, off of Hiway 410 past Enumclaw. I loaded the dog up with all the heavy stuff, and took off up the snow-free trail at 12:30. We cruised on up to the lakes, stopping to check out the many log bridges on this trail. Photography was difficult, as everything was half in bright sunlight, half in shade. We took a nice long break in the warm sun on the shore of the largest of the "lakes", hardly big enough to make a respectable pond. It was perfect hiking weather, warm but not hot, breezy but not windy, medium humidity, sun out but not oppressive.

By the time I was all "rested up" it was 3 pm, so we motivated further up the trail, seeing more log bridges, reaching the wilderness boundary, and eventually the Lost/Echo trail junction. We went up the Lost lake trail about a third of a mile before the snow kicked in then became constant. So we turned around and went down the Echo lake trail. This was a better choice, as the trail drops a bit to a nice crossing of Lost creek (another log bridge) then contours over to the Greenwater river valley again, then heads up the Greenwater river towards Echo lake. Eventually (maybe 3/4 mile from the junction) we reached solid snow again, and it was now 5:30, so we took our dinner break. It was 6:30 by the time we headed back, the car about four miles away. But the hiking was super-easy, about the easiest around, smooth trail, no snow, mostly flat or downhill, but even the downhill parts not steep. We made the car at 8:30, no flashlight needed.

This really is a good early-season hike. Lots of massive trees, scenic ponds, log bridges, moss gardens, boulders, rushing streams, campsites, real wilderness. All snow-free, with a paved road right to the trailhead. Pics can be viewed here:http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13854&highlight=greenwater+river

[Webmaster]

The Greenwater trail is another of my favorites. I take this trail several times a year, but typically go only about an hour to about an hour and a half. I have been to Lost lake one time. It was a very enjoyable outing. I was running late on that trip and came back in the twilight. It was the first time I realized the need to carry a flashlight and extra batteries. I’ll make it to Echo lake in ’07. This a fine trek at any time of the year. When it’s cold and we haven’t had significant snowfall for a while the trail is pretty easy to walk, the scenery with all the frozen water, trees, plant life is enjoyable, and the trail is as easy to walk as in the summer. But the bridges can be pretty darned slippery!

On one winter outing, one of the bigger lakes was mostly frozen over. The combination of frozen and non frozen fresh water created the appearance of a vortex on the ground. It literally looked as if the lake were caught in the top of a black hole and was tilted and falling into it. I’ll see if I can find a photo. I remember taking several but they didn’t do it justice. It was a weird sight!

Thanks for the posts Sluggo!!