Big Trees & Crystal Waters

Not a great weather day (raft trip got rained out) but we managed almost 7 miles of hiking. We started with the Trail of the Cedars - which wandered through an impressive grove of ancient Red Cedar and Hemlock trees and along the banks of Avalanche Creek. The Cedars trail then joined the Avalanche Lake Trail for what the Park Service calls a "moderate" trek (for us old farts it seemed a tad more difficulte) to glacier fed Avalanche Lake. The lake sits at the base of 8694-foot Bearhat Mountain, which rises almost 4800 feet above the lake - it's an impressive setting that is hard to capture in photos.

On the Trail of the Cedars.

 

Avalanche Lake - this first picture (although not a great photo) is included to give you a sense of the place. Those three white streaks in the center left are 1500+ foot tall waterfalls. The gray blotch is a avalanche field - I actually saw some action there, sounded like a freight train on the move. The white stuff to right, extending down to the lake in snow. The lake itself is crystal clear.

Avalanche Lake