Forum Index > Trip Reports > Mineral Creek, Park lake, Spectacle lake and Pete lake
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DadFly
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Joined: 02 Jul 2012
Posts: 402 | TRs | Pics
Location: Redmond
DadFly
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PostSun Jun 09, 2019 8:05 am 
June 7, 8 and 9 was supposed to be Rainier but the weather didn’t cooperate. So we thought about skiing Adams but that was a longer drive for likely the same bad experience. So we went for “Plan C”. We put a car at the Pete Lake trailhead and drove down to the Mineral creek trailhead. The hike was the usual brushy experience made wet by a pretty constant drizzle. I was in front shaking most of the water off the leaves. It was like a cold shower for two or three miles. The scenery is amazing though.
About three miles in a two year old cub crashed away from us in the brush and disappeared. No mama around so the cub was probably pushed away to make room for a new cub. His tracks were heading down and ours were heading up so our paths did not cross again.
The snow patches started a little ways below Park lake and was deep around the lake.
We paused for a break at the lake before heading up and over the knoll to Spectacle lake. As we started up the knoll on the PCT the snow began to fall hard.
There was no sign of the trail under four feet of snow but my GAIA GPS app did a good job of keeping us on route. The view from the knoll was mostly fog. So we started down toward Spectacle lake on a still buried trail.
Even in overcast conditions Spectacle lake is beautiful.
Plenty of nice campsites on the peninsula.
It drizzled all evening but my trusty rain fly kept me dry.
The morning brought clearing skies and we were packed and hiking after a short breakfast. The waterfall was full of course.
And the spring plants were exploding into life. The smells were incredible.
What a great little adventure.

"May you live in interesting times"
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olderthanIusedtobe
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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostSun Jun 09, 2019 11:41 am 
up.gif Cool. I've done that from both directions but never as a thru hike w/ 2 cars. Good idea.

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DadFly
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Joined: 02 Jul 2012
Posts: 402 | TRs | Pics
Location: Redmond
DadFly
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PostSun Jun 09, 2019 1:44 pm 
Blowdown report. Two blowdowns on the trail up high in Mineral creek. About 15-20 blowdowns in the burn section below the falls on the way down from Spectacle lake. About 5 of them were a problem. One is huge and had to be climbed over. The others were awkward hights. Two were laying the length of the logs on the trail.

"May you live in interesting times"
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