WHAT: Hiking in the Pacific Northwest
WHERE: Lake Twenty-two
WHEN: 5/1/99
I love this hike. Brian and I have been up here together, but this picture was taken a few years before we started dating.
Perched in a spectacular basin at the base of Mount Pilchuck's sheer northern face, sparkling Lake Twenty-two is a stunning sight. For much of the way the well-constructed trail follows cascading Twenty-two Creek through an exemplary ancient forest of gargantuan cedars.
As delightful a destination as Lake Twenty-two may be, the real treat on this hike is the forest. Nearly 800 acres of pristine forest surrounding the lake and its outlet were set aside in 1947 as a Research Natural Area (RNA) to study the effects on water, wildlife, and timber of an area left in its virgin state compared to a similar area that has been intensively managed.
The surroundings are lush. Water appears to seep and bubble from the ground everywhere. Moss carpets boulders and rotting logs. Maidenhair, deer, and lady ferns form showy bouquets beneath the behemoth trees. Although western hemlock and silver fir are the predominant species, it's the western red cedars that will garner most of your attention. Colonnades of the giants, some with trunks measuring almost 12 feet in diameter, hold up the sky.
Enjoy!
Stacy
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