So needing to get out, I picked this hike that I hadn’t done in a quite some time. The drive is short so you can be on the trail pretty quickly, but as soon as I got there, I noticed a frigid it was. I’ve hiked in cold weather before but this was just ridiculous. So I bundled up with pretty much everything I had and started hiking at a quick pace to warm up. The trail from the start until the junction where you can go up to the summit or go around the lake is very forested and beautiful. It did go a bit fast as I was still trying to warm up. When I got there, I decided to go around the lake. The weather forecast indicated it was going to get cloudy in the afternoon so if there was chance to get a nice picture it was going to be early. When I got to the first opening, where you get the first view of the lake, I did notice big lumps on the water. For a second I couldn’t make what it was. Was the lake almost dry? Was it something floating? But then I realized it was rocks and dirt people have thrown into the lake and landed over a sheet of ice that was covering about half of the lake surface. The trail around the lake was covered in a thin layer of snow and a bit slippery but I got the opportunity to stop on the southwest corner where you get the poster view. I didn’t quite get it because the ice doesn’t reflect as the water does, but it was still pretty nice. Then I picked up the pace and started climbing towards the summit. I didn’t have a plan so I just marched up. At some point, the trail reaches the ridge and turn sharply left. There’s a big rock pile at this turn indicating you should not go straight but by then, I needed a bathroom break. My first thought was to go around the rock pile but I had hikers coming down from the top and a small group behind me so I had to go a bit further beyond the rocks. Thru the trees I noticed what looked like a big boulder so I decided to do my business and go check it out. It turned out to be a big rock pile outcrop with ample views to both sides. I continued over the rocks and followed an animal path on the ridge line. Towards the north, the drop was pretty abrupt giving me a full view of Hwy26 down below. I did get to a point where the ridge starts dropping down fast so I decided to stop there, check the view and turn around. The view is pretty intense and I was happy to discover it. Back on the trail, I continued up and quickly got to the false summit. There was a big group there so I only stayed for a couple of minutes and then decided to continue on the ridge to the actual summit.
Not many people continue this path as it goes up and down over rocks following the ridge. Views are magnificent so I did enjoy the extra stretch. Once at the summit I had a bit of hot soup while I took a couple of pictures. I noticed a foot path coming down from the summit and pointing towards Mirror Lake. I followed that path for a bit and twisted my ankle which made me turn around and go back even though I did saw a path that seemed to go all the way down to the lake. Maybe another day exploration. After a short rest I limped my way back to the car.
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