Leslie and David's Wanderings: 15 July 2019 Avalanche Lake

Having learned our lesson, we set an alarm for this morning and arrived at the parking for Avalanche Lake Trailhead around 8:15. We quickly found a parking spot for the Behemoth and gathered ourselves up for the hike to Avalanche Lake. It was cool enough that we needed our coats starting out but quickly shed them on the climb up. We started out hiking one side of the Trail of the Cedars to the trailhead for Avalanche Lake trail (we took the other half of the loop on the way back). The walk through the giant western cedar trees, hemlock trees and black cotton wood trees made you feel tiny and humble. They have been there for up to a thousand years. Incredible.

The trail to Avalanche Lake (6.9 miles including Trail of the Cedars, 827 feet of elevation gain, 1,808 calories) starts at the opposite end of the Trail of Cedars loop and continues through a forest of cedar and hemlock. The first part of the trail climbs up along side a 200 foot canyon with a stream thundering through it. The trail continues to climb but veers off from the stream and into the forest. This trail is very popular, so there are lots of people heading up this trail and even a few on the way back already. It got to the point where we got tired of greeting people! About two thirds of the way to the lake, we came across an area in the trail where the trees had obviously been knocked down from an avalanche from the cliffs above. From the different ages of the fallen trees, it was obvious that this area had been hit by multiple avalanches over the years. A little farther down the trail we came on a deer grazing along side the trail, our first critter sighting after being in the park for three days. We arrived at Avalanche Lake and it took our breath away with its beauty. There were three waterfalls at the far end feeding the lake. Each of the waterfalls was several hundred feet high. We took lots of pictures and sat down to drink some water, have a snack, and absorb. But the beach where we were was quickly becoming filled with hikers. Having read on line reviews, we knew most people stopped as soon as they came to the lake. So we continued around the rim of the lake to another beach that gave closer views of the waterfalls. We then continued all the way to the end of trail marker where we were dumped into a swift flowing stream. Not wanting to hike back with wet feet, we turned back. But we did notice where some folks had bush wacked past the end of trail sign, but were not feeling adventurous to see where it led. We took our time hiking back, absorbing the cool air, cedar scent and the feeling of calm. As we hiked back, the quantity of people hiking up the trail kept continuing to increase. Whole busloads of folks were walking up in large groups. Even so, we were reluctant to complete the hike. This was one of the best trails Leslie and I have ever hiked. Absolutely beautiful.