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Kathleen
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Kathleen
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PostTue Apr 10, 2007 8:43 pm 
I'm trying to identify a lake I hiked to as a little girl. Since I was so young and my dad claims his memory is shot in his "old" age (he is only 50 so I think this is an excuse) I have no idea what this place was. Summer 1988 was the year of the trip. It had to have occured in July although August is possible. I'm thinking July because my mom gave birth to my little brother on labor day and I am pretty sure we were at home in the weeks preceding his birth in case she went into labor early. We were camping at Colonial Creek Campground in the North Cascades National Park. I can even tell you what loop we were on from looking at the map because I clearly remember that it was a lakeside camp site. My dad. grandpa and uncle took me and one of my brothers on a fishing trip. The trailhead was not in the campground. Several years later we backpacked the thunder creek trail to mccallister and the trail I am thinking of is in a different place. We had to drive a short distance from colonial creek to reach the trailhead. I remember it being on the right side of the freeway going from colonial creek towards washington pass although I may be wrong. It was probably not a long hike but I was seven and it was mostly uphill through the forest so it seemed long. I remember the lake itself was surrounded in tall grasses and the highlight of the hike was a giant antlered beast scaring me when I wandered away from the adults to explore. My dad still laughs at me to this day when we talk about this hike because I got scared of the antlered beast (probably a buck but as a bitty kid it looked like a monster to me and my dad never saw it. Fishing was apparently in season at this lake but it may no longer be a fishing lake. I'm sorry I don't have more details about this trip. It's a fuzzy childhood memory but I always wanted to find this place again. Anyone have any ideas what this mystery trail might be?

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Magellan
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Magellan
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PostTue Apr 10, 2007 8:47 pm 
Isn't Pyramid Lake the next hike up the 20? Edit: Actually it's a ways before Colonial. 4.5 mile R/T, 1500' gain, almost kid friendly.

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Quark
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Quark
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PostTue Apr 10, 2007 8:54 pm 
Pyramid isn't ringed with tall grasses, but then again it might have seemed so. It is short; don't think it's famous for fishing. Blue Lake is a possibility; very family oriented, but it's not super close to Colonial Creek. Memory can be tricky. Either the "shore" of Pyramid seemed grassy, or Blue Lake seemed closer...Rainy Lake maybe - there's a wooded view platform there, but don't know when that was put in... Lake Ann....? You can knock out all these trails in a day next summer to find it. Cutthroat is ringed with grasses for sure, and has fish in it (hence the name); but it's beyond the Pass (unless you go up & over Cutthroat Pass) - either route is on the left. I think that about covers 'em all.

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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Magellan
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Magellan
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PostTue Apr 10, 2007 8:56 pm 
Q is right. Take a day and do em all. Then you'll know. Or you will still be wondering dizzy.gif

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Sore Feet
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PostWed Apr 11, 2007 12:10 am 
Most likely Blue or Ann, there are no grasses around Rainy and the trail is flat.

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sarbar
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sarbar
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PostWed Apr 11, 2007 9:01 pm 
Blue Lake is an alpine lake, rocky, etc. I'd say Pyramid. It is just up the road from Colonial CG (you leave the CG, go over Thunder Creek and up teh road a couple miles, right near the winter gates for Hwy 20.) Also, while a bit of Blue is in the trees, it is open trees with views across the way. Same with Lake Ann. Rainy is in the woods, but it is alpine woods.

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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Don
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Don
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PostWed Apr 11, 2007 9:09 pm 
Actually, Pyramid is before Colonial. Had they back-tracked, it would have been on the left side of the road. It also is not grassy.

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Quark
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Quark
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PostWed Apr 11, 2007 9:18 pm 
ha! The Great Lake Debate rages on! I think Kathleen needs to go hike all these; and be sure to tuck in Cutthroat. It's not on the right, not uphill (unless they went via Cutt.Pass access, which is unlikely), but it's a good fishing hole ringed with grass. Pyramid - ringed 3 sides by cliffs, and the "shore" is a logjam. No fish in their right mind would live there, either. But I don't know the right mind of a fish, so.... who knows. It could have been a low water year and swampy grasses were on the shore... Lk. Ann looks un-treed, from what I recall. But I may be faulty in this regard. Sure Blue Lk isn't ringed with grass, but we're dealing with a kiddo memory here. Not that Kathleen's a complete incompetent rememberer, but maybe she explored the little grass-ringed pond off to the west when the antlered beast scared her, and she remembers the grassiness. There's also that grassy pond near the Blue trailhead - off the main trail about 5 minutes...? maybe they went there for a few minutes, and that got mixed up in the memory. Kathleen, you'd better get out there and clear this up.

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostWed Apr 11, 2007 9:19 pm 
I think blue or Ann they boith have grassy spots near the outlet and are a pretty moderate hike in.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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sarbar
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sarbar
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PostWed Apr 11, 2007 9:19 pm 
Don wrote:
Actually, Pyramid is before Colonial. Had they back-tracked, it would have been on the left side of the road. It also is not grassy.
Doh, yeah, I was thinking up, not down Hwy 20.

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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sarbar
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sarbar
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PostWed Apr 11, 2007 9:23 pm 
Quark, there is even grassy meadowed ponds at Rainy Pass, near the TH. Lake Ann is pretty open, but does have a bit of a meadow look.

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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treeswarper
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treeswarper
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PostThu Apr 12, 2007 7:13 pm 
The platform at Rainy Lake was built in 1983 or 84. The trail was paved also...if this helps at all.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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Kathleen
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Kathleen
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PostThu Apr 12, 2007 7:27 pm 
I don't think the trail was paved but I could be wrong. As for fishing I thought we did catch fish in whatever lake it was but we were also camped right on Ross Lake so we had fish from there too. Pyramid Lake sounds like the place other than the lack of fish there. I know I've been to Lake Ann. It was the site of my first hiking trip ever. Although since I couldn't walk at the time it probably doesn't count. I got carried in a baby pack at the age of 7 months to Lake Ann. That picture doesn't look like the lake I remember though. But memory is a tricky thing and I think I probably do need to try and get up there this summer and do some hiking. Farther than where I normally hike now but doable. Especially since the close hiking (rainier) was so damaged from the storms. I was only seven so a lot of memories of that trip are fuzzy. Maybe my dad took pictures on that trip. I can check my mom's picture boxes some weekend. Probably not this weekend since my mom is adopting a puppy from the humane society and he is getting picked up saturday morning so things will be a bit hectic.

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