For those of you who happen to find this post because of a web search, this is in Washington State, north of Seattle, east of Marysville, between Granite Falls and Darrington... near the Verlot Ranger Station. Official Description is available from the US Forest Service.
This is a very popular trail, virtually year round.
Departed from home about 9:45am, started hiking at just after 11:00am.
Took the last 'legit' parking spot in the lot (at that time).
It wasn't a very good day for pictures, unfortunately.
The trail begins in the woods and crosses or passes near by a number of waterfalls as it progresses slowly higher toward an open valley which provides a view of a nearby peak: Liberty Mountain.
On this trip there was still a lot of snow at the lake. In fact, the lake was mostly still under ice. Later in the summer, when most of the snow is gone, there is a nice trail that surrounds the lake.
The lake sits in a glacial cirque beneath Mount Pilchuck. The surrounding cliffs are so tall and so close it's almost impossible to capture the whole scene without a wide angle lens.
Here is a zoom of a couple waterfalls tumbling down from snowfields atop Pilchuck:
On the opposite side of one of these cirque walls sits Heather Lake, which is where I headed after I finished this hike today.
While hiking back down to the trail head there was a girl and her mother, hiking with their little dog. The dog was being carried in a unique pack, made by Outward Hound.
Happy Trails!
~E
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