[Andrew]

Today was a beautiful day to go hiking. The skies were devoid of clouds and the sun tempted my brother and I to visit Heather Lake. Two weeks ago, we'd visited Lake 22 and we wanted to see which of the two were better. Outside of Granite Falls, the roads were somewhat slippery, so if you intend on hiking in the area, be sure to have snow tires, chains, four wheel drive, or lots of experience! Heading up to the Heather Lake trailhead, we counted ZERO cars, all SUVs. There were a lot of families out hitting the hilly forest roads to go sledding/intertubing. There were more then a dozen vehicles at the trailhead. We arrived at 12:45. For the most part, the trial was well established and compacted, thanks to the numerous snowshoers that'd passed us. The forest was the ideal winter wonderland, and the air was pure and crisp. At the start it felt very cold, enough to feel the "frost bite" at the ears. But as we hiked up and up, so did our body temperature. Much to my surprise, there weren't any side-trail waterfalls like Lake 22. About 3/4ths of the way up, there was a tiny clearing upon which I stepped ankle deep into a muddy/slushy waterhole. It was here where I realized how valuable a pair of gators could be ! At least one ankle got wet and not the whole foot. When we arrived at the lake, we had it all to ourselves. I chugged my nearly frozen water and basked in the silent loudness (it is, isn't it? ). The top of Mount Pilchuck (I think that's the peak on the other side of the lake) was set ablazeby the sun's light orange rays. Combined with the clear blue sky, this made for an immensely beautiful sight. Once the cold temperature started to take a toll on me, we decided to head back to the trailhead. We passed two groups, each having dogs. I swear, we must've run into a dozen dogs the whole hike!! Like usual, the trip back felt like an eternity, but we finally made it. All in all a very worthwhile trip. I wish I'd taken more time to photograph the area's beauty, but the bone-curdling temperature made it seem like a hassle. Out of the two, I prefer Lake 22 because it's nearly identical to Heather Lake, AND it has several waterfalls on the way to the lake. Heather Lake is still a great hike.

[Slugman]

God bless you, Enigma, for understanding that there is no reason to prefer one of those lakes over the other, and on the LK 22 trail you get the waterfalls. It is one of my most pointless pet peeves to hate it when someone says that Heather Lake is great but Lake 22 is average!

[Andrew]

Your pointless pet peeve (that's alliteration eh ) has now become my own.

[sarbar]

I likey Lake 22 better because it's a better hike-you get views, not just boring 2cnd growth dark dank forest on the way up. I like both lakes, though Heather does have a better shoreline! How was the snow going up to Heather? (ie, how deep, is it good for snowshoes at all?)

[Allison]

Lake 22 is stupid! Heather Lake rules! Hey anyone want to go up there with me later this week, say maybe Wednesday?

[jenjen]

Ml, if I hadn't caught a cold from my dear little niece, I'd take you up on Heather lake. But only if we could do Lake 22 also and then stop for pie at the Mountain View Cafe in Verlot. As it is, this cough is keeping me indoors for now. Speaking as someone who has never seen either lake thawed out, maybe we need to switch the 2 lakes. So the wonderful trail with all the great waterfalls leads to Heather lake and the sort of insipid trail leads to Lake 22. So if we all close our eyes, and spin counterclockwise, and click our shoes together while wishing real hard -- well, we'll just look kinda silly. Never mind.

[Allison]

Aww, sickness! Take some Theraflu and fool your body! You're on the right track with the lake swap. I suggested that here a few months back.

[jenjen]

My experience with going the Theraflu route is that you just end up sick longer because you didn't stay inside and nap and let the body heal. Maybe next week? I know I'm gonna want to get in some kind of serious exercise.

[peppersteak'n'ale]

[Wazzuhiker]

Me and a friend are doing it Tuesday with snowshoes would you be interested?

[Allison]

I'd love to, but tomorrow I have to work in the AM and ski after that. The Alpental freshies are calling me, injury or not.

[Andrew]

Sarbar, most everybody we passed had snowshoes on. I don't know the best snowshoe conditions, but the path was nice and soft. On the edges it got deep.

[sarbar]

Thank you! Then it might be nice if it keeps snowing

[Andrew]

I hope you have a 4wd truck! I barely got up the forest road in my mother's front wheel drive Altima, thanks to the families who thought it was a sledder's dream. They really didn't care to get out of the way Also, there are some gigantic potholes at the top. Take extra care and remember! Turn into the slide

[sarbar]

Well, I am currentley having a very entertaining morning watching all the rear wheel drive cars going up 272nd here Oh yeah, peeling out, sliding and carsledding! The worst is it is a halfpipe basically-a hill at both ends!