Elliott Creek/Goat Lake

On Saturday, accompanied by an excellent hiking companion in the form of my mother, I took a photo adventure on the Elliott Creek/Goat Lake Trail in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Darrington Ranger District (the trail itself passes into the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness). It's a nice trail, and pretty tame for most of it. At the end come a series of grueling hills that will seem longer than the .5 mile that the trail guide says they last. But the views of waterfalls and the lake are worth the hike. All in all, the hike is about 4.5 or 5 miles each way.

The trail begins in very hemlock- and alder-heavy forest. The trail temporarily splits in two, and I took the lower trail, which runs along Elliott Creek.

Hemlocks, anyone?

The lower trail is dominated by hemlocks, but when you start veering back toward the other trail, you pass into areas more recently logged, where alder groves are the rule:

After this, you head into the wilderness area, where the forest becomes again very hemlock-heavy. Soon you head way, way, way uphill, past some waterfalls and up to the lake. The lake is very lovely, especially yesterday with spring-like foliage juxtaposed against the still-snowy mountains:

A few other interesting pictures of note. I liked the way the sunlight was hitting this tree:

I also saw bunchberry flowers for the first time; I had never seen them anywhere before, or at least noticed them:

And, because I can't resist, some more views from the lake:

And this one from the trail:

There was some fireweed up at the lake, and along the upper trail (we took that one on the way back; it is a veritable alder wonderland. The groves, and the trail making a tunnel through them, look like a fantasy world). They aren't blooming yet - the plants up here are a bit behind those at sea-level - but when they do, this trail will be even prettier! It was a long day, but I'm definitely coming up here again!