Relative Obscurity
Louise Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
I have to admit I have been rather envious of the gorgeous images that numerous Flickr contacts have been posting lately of their trips to the stunning Canadian Rockies. So this past weekend I made a visit of my own to Louise Lake. No, not that one π Just a much less famous namesake, tucked away in relative obscurity in a glacial cirque off the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park.
Sitting just down the road from the iconic Reflection Lakes, this Louise has no roadside parking, nor signage for it other than one small sign on the trail with an arrow saying "Lake Access". Most park visitors who see it do so from above, from the viewpoint at Faraway Rock along the Lakes Trail. Having seen that view on a hike a few years ago, I had wondered about getting to the lake itself. Since I was in the Reflection Lakes area on Sunday, I consulted my map and from that it looked like the lake was accessible via a spur trail from the Wonderland. So I headed down the trail (and I do mean DOWN, as there was a significant elevation drop to the lake, which meant a long climb back back up on the return trip). Beautiful fall foliage lined the edges of the trail, views of Tahoma peeked through now and then, and through breaks in the trees the lake was visible below, shimmering brightly in shades of blue and green. And I saw no other hikers on that section of the trail (and only one other person at a distance while I was at the lake), which is almost miraculous on a sunny and warm October weekend at the Park.
After starting to wonder at one point if I had missed the turnoff to the lake, I finally saw the sign pointing to the spur trail, which was a narrow path full of rocks and tree roots, and clearly not as frequently used as most other Mount Rainier trails. But at the end it opened up to that sandy shoreline and autumn colors that can be seen below in this photo and I spent a wonderful hour enjoying the lakeside sunshine in near solitude.
Relative Obscurity
Louise Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
I have to admit I have been rather envious of the gorgeous images that numerous Flickr contacts have been posting lately of their trips to the stunning Canadian Rockies. So this past weekend I made a visit of my own to Louise Lake. No, not that one π Just a much less famous namesake, tucked away in relative obscurity in a glacial cirque off the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park.
Sitting just down the road from the iconic Reflection Lakes, this Louise has no roadside parking, nor signage for it other than one small sign on the trail with an arrow saying "Lake Access". Most park visitors who see it do so from above, from the viewpoint at Faraway Rock along the Lakes Trail. Having seen that view on a hike a few years ago, I had wondered about getting to the lake itself. Since I was in the Reflection Lakes area on Sunday, I consulted my map and from that it looked like the lake was accessible via a spur trail from the Wonderland. So I headed down the trail (and I do mean DOWN, as there was a significant elevation drop to the lake, which meant a long climb back back up on the return trip). Beautiful fall foliage lined the edges of the trail, views of Tahoma peeked through now and then, and through breaks in the trees the lake was visible below, shimmering brightly in shades of blue and green. And I saw no other hikers on that section of the trail (and only one other person at a distance while I was at the lake), which is almost miraculous on a sunny and warm October weekend at the Park.
After starting to wonder at one point if I had missed the turnoff to the lake, I finally saw the sign pointing to the spur trail, which was a narrow path full of rocks and tree roots, and clearly not as frequently used as most other Mount Rainier trails. But at the end it opened up to that sandy shoreline and autumn colors that can be seen below in this photo and I spent a wonderful hour enjoying the lakeside sunshine in near solitude.