Last June Barb had originally wanted to hike to Annette Lake for her birthday. But there was too much snow so she opted for her second choice, Cedar Butte.
Instead of 3.8 miles and 900 feet of elevation gain Annette Lake is 7.5 miles and 1400 feet of elevation gain. So they say. We discovered there was about 1600 feet of elevation gain and we reached an altitude of over 3700 feet. I’m not sure about the distance but 7.5 miles sounds about right.
It was easy trail to find and follow. Just follow the signs:
There were some interesting things along the way:
This sure looks out of place. I wonder where it came from.
That must have been a very strong wind storm to snap a tree like that.
Interesting bridge with the steps cut into the log.
Barb said she wouldn’t want to be standing here in the middle of an earthquake.
The lake was pretty but nothing epic.
Barb thinks these were wild blueberries.
The trail was a bit rough a lot of the time. My ankles got a “good” workout.
It was a hot day at home. It got up to about 90F. On the trail and at the lake it was no more than in the low 70s and in the shade almost all the time. It was a good choice for such a hot day.
Barb was correct about the berries.
🙂
Indeed – had I been along, those would have been consumed, post haste! There are multiple varieties of edible berries in the Cascades now – huckleberries, blueberries, the occasional high-bush cranberry, and a few more. They all typically fall under the catch-all term “huckleberry” although they are from several species and even genera.
We did eat a few.
I wondered if they were huckleberries. But in Idaho Huckleberries don’t grow below 5000 feet. Barb was pretty sure they were blueberries and I had no basis to dispute that.
Bet that they are Juneberries / Serviceberries.
Amelanchier is the genus.
They are really good eating.
“The lake was pretty but nothing epic.”
Maybe not to you. We don’t have any views like that in Virginny.
Yeah. Barb and I get kinda jaded with things here sometimes. When we went to Alaska all the descriptions of the areas gushed with how beautiful things were. But we were kinda, “Except for the glaciers it’s not that much different than things a few miles from home. And if we drive a couple hours from home we can see glaciers.”
We have nice views. Gorgeous views. Alpine lakes not being among them, though.