Lake 22

Lake Twenty-Two Trail is a beautiful hike to an alpine lake through old-growth forests ending with stunning mountain views of Mount Pilchuck. The path starts out gently enough on a dirt staircase through lush rainforest. You will hear flowing water from Twenty-Two Creek along the way. A bridge crosses the creek around a mile in where there is a particularly pretty waterfall. Here the trail gets steeper, with more rocks and some creek crossings. Gentle but persistent switchbacks lead to a long talus slope with the wall of Lake Twenty-Two looming above, seemingly insurmountable. The talus is a jumble of sharp rock, but navigable. The trail switches back and heads toward the large stream which outlets from the lake where it finally flattens out. A bit further down the trail you will encounter the lake itself, a turquoise lake with the enormous steep wall of Mount Pilchuck looming behind i…