We got up around 9ish and started getting ready. We took Amy to work and picked up a few groceries at the store to take with us on our hike. We went back to his house and made breakfast and lunch. We got on the road shortly after in his dad's truck. (His Explorer had a minor mishap and will be going to the shop the next day.)
We were on our way to Mowich.
We drove through South Prairie, part of Carbonado and Wilkeson on the 165. I've been up past the Fairfax Bridge with Bob about a year ago. We turned around before we got any further because it was snowing. I have no idea what is beyond our turn around point.
We followed the road until the pavement turned into a dirt road. It was nice until we got closer to the lake, we encountered very large potholes. I didn't realize how popular this place was. We had close to five different cars behind us. One of them was a douche and tried to pass us. Really?
We got to the trail head by the seasonal gate around 12:30. The gate to the lake was closed!! What!? We saw that we had to pay to be here too. We were so unprepared for this. A few minutes after arriving, the park ranger for the area rumbled down the road in his truck. He got out and answered everyone's questions.
We heard since the gate is closed you have to hike to Mowich. Since the gate is closed there is no fee. The gate opens tomorrow and it's going to be an 8-mile hike round trip to Mowich. That meant we weren't going to have enough time or energy to do Tolmie. It will have to be another time.
We got started up the 4 mile dirt road incline. We weren't exactly sure how long it would take us to walk to the lake.
We saw a few waterfalls along the way.
About halfway there, two guys in hiking packs were right behind gaining on us. The first guy was named Quinn and the second was Ethan, both were from the Gig Harbor area who now live in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. They were heading to Sunrise. We chatted for a while as we walked closer and closer to Mowich Lake. Then they wanted to take pictures so we walked ahead without them.
Along the way we saw some beautiful views, remnants of snow pack along the road, flowers, lots of birds, insects and trickling water from rocks above us.
About the last half mile or so, we went around a long corner and saw our back packer friends and another guy wandering around up ahead. I guess there is a trail that cuts off some of the road so you don't have to walk as far but we weren't sure about it. The guy wondered where he was and asked where the lake was. We told him the other way because he got disoriented when he came out of the woods. I guess the trail still had some snow on it and was muddy. We all continued at our own pace towards the lake.
We finally saw the sign! We made it!!
I couldn't believe how much snow was still around! The scenery was gorgeous! It was like looking at a postcard. Why haven't I been here before!! The views from the road were breathtaking. We decided to get a closer look and find a place to eat our lunch. We found a small trail that led to the lake. I took my pack off and my shoes and socks. Ben took his off as well. We thought it would be a great idea to soak our feet in the frigid glacial waters. You could only stand to be in there for about ten seconds. After that it kinda paralyzed your feet. You couldn't walk and had to limp to the shore. We did this a few times before sitting down to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some Doritos.
We took in all we could while we ate. We snapped a bunch of pictures of the scenery and of course ourselves being silly.
Before we left we found some giant frogs and Ben had to play with them. Lol!
It was about time that we thought we should head back. It was after three and we had 4 miles to walk...at least it was downhill this time. We used the restroom and saw that Quinn and Ethan had set up camp nearby. We talked to them for a bit and decided to make the trek back.
On our way down, we decided to try the "short cut" that they boys used. The trail marker said it was called the Grindstone Trail. I sure hoped that it shaved off some mileage. Indeed, there were some patches of snow still on the ground which made it really muddy in places. We made it back down to the main road and continued on the Grindstone just to see how far it really cut off.
We walked through the forest for a while talking about various things. Eventually it took us back down to the road. From there, the trail ended so we continued down the road towards the gate. It actually took off at least a mile from our previous walk up to Mowich. We got back to the gate around 6ish and took our boots and socks off and got into the truck to go home. I was hungry. Trish was going to make steaks and potatoes on the grill. The entire hike took us about 5.5 hours and we gained about 1,300 feet in elevation. I wished the gate would have been open so we could have gone to Tolmie that day. Oh well I guess. I hope to get around to it this summer on a nice clear day.
Next Adventure: Port Angeles, Sequim, Ediz Hook and Hurricane Ridge
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