Jean
This was my second “winter hike” of the season. It was a great moderate hike with Jared, Eve, and Jonathan. A little snow here and there. Great to get out and stretch my legs.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014. Hike: Annette Lake, 7.5 miles. Elevation gain: 1400 feet. High point: 3600 feet.
We woke at a reasonable time and rallied the troops. In the car around 9. On the trail around 10:30. We drove away from the clouds that hung in the city into a mostly overcast Snoqualmie area. We parked near the only two other cars in the lot and spent the first 5 minutes in gently spattering rain. Just enough to feel justified in bringing my hiking umbrella. We hiked and chatted and took many pictures. The rivers were raging from heavy rains over the past couple of days. Small streams overtook the trail in places. Yet surprisingly the rocks were easy to hop across and presented no slipping hazards.
As we climbed higher, the mud and water gave way to small amounts of ice and snow. The dusting of snow grew thicker as we approached the lake, at most an inch in a few spots. Temps were chilly but not cold. I was comfortable in my thin wool tee and super light houdini jacket while moving. Over streams, up a few switchbacks, across talus slopes. When we reached the lake, the air chilled. The small waterfall at the far end of the lake brought cool air with it and I donned my puffy. The lake was pretty. Covered with a thin layer of ice and appearing very green. It looked less gray than I remembered from my hike not long ago with Jared, Sam, and Megan.
We snacked at the lake on trail mix and hummus (thanks Jonathan), and a pear. Two women with their pink sweatervest-clad dog Claire, took our pic. And then we hiked down. As usual, down was fast. Back over streams, down switchbacks, and over the raging river. We reached by bottom at 2:30. Back to the city at 3:30 with plenty of time to prepare for our Thanksgiving feasts the next day.
