Saturday, April 27, 2013

27 April 2013 Mirror Lake

Between being in Kenya and rainy Fridays, it  has been awhile since I was hiking.  It was a beautiful, warm sunny day in our area so I headed to Mirror Lake.  I had called the ranger at ZigZag, and his report was that snowshoeing conditions were excellent.  But, his information was a bit off, what snow there was on the trail did not require snowshoes.  The snow was mostly melted, and it was downright ugly, strewn with dirt and blow-down material.  I have been spoiled by the pristine beauty of new snow in the Cascades!
Once I made it to the lake, however, the snow was deep and mushy so I put the snowshoes back on to circle around the lake to get a view of Mt Hood.  I lost the path around the lake and ended up following some footprints that headed in the right direction...wasn't sure if I was walking over the lake or not.  I hurried, as if that would help me not to fall in.  I reached my destination, took my photos and headed back the way I came.  I could hear running water, and was not sure what I was standing on.  I didn't see a soul until I was well on my way back down.
the trail


looking southeast

a bit of unfrozen lake

Mt Hood with frozen lake in foreground

pan

logs over a little stream 


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