The trailhead for Blue Lake is right on the highway between Washington Pass and Rainy Pass. Easy to get to and very popular. So why did it take me so long to visit this beautiful little lake?
Yesterday was a nice day for a hike – cool and sunny. Frost in the valley. I think I may have seen the first larches beginning to turn color. Luna and I had the place to ourselves til about lunch time when other folks began to arrive and on the way down we saw lots of hikers. Lots of climbers on the Liberty Bell rocks were shouting back and forth to each other too. I saw a few birds including a big flock of Gold-crowned Kinglets, an American Three-toed Woodpecker, a Sooty Grouse and numerous finches. Also, lots of pikas, chipmunks and squirrels
Luna liked swimming in the deep clear water
She wore a bandana so hopefully, no one would mistake her for a bear in the woods
I could easily see trout swimming in the shallows
Surprisingly, even after first snow and hard frosts, there are still flowers blooming including arnica, lupine, blue gentian, yarrow and others including this one I don’t know
A shallow pond near the trailhead
Now I know why this lake if often painted and photographed
My Everyday Photos 