Lake Twenty Two Trail

I had Thursday and Friday off work last week, so for once we planned ahead! When I told a few friends we were hiking the "Lake Twenty Two Trail", I was surprised by how many people said it was their favorite. I expected such a generically named trail to be relatively unknown and unremarkable. 

I was wrong!

We arrived at the trailhead around 1pm. This trail is super popular, and when we saw cars parked down the road we worried we'd have trouble parking, but we easily found a spot in the actual lot.

The beginning of the hike was shady but warm, with a gradual incline and many newly-built bridges and stairs. A steady trickle of water ran down the center of the trail and we passed so many little waterfalls and streams. The snowmelt definitely keeps this trail wet!

The terrain early on is large expanses of alternating smooth and jagged shale, which eventually gave way to a packed-dirt path interrupted by lots of rocks.

About a mile into the hike, we paused for lunch on a big boulder just off trail, and not long after that we hit the switchbacks. This is where the majority of the 1500-foot elevation gain happens, and it was brutal. Not only were we in direct sun, but the switchbacks are also covered in loose rocks. This was a rough climb, but I was struck by how improved my stamina is! Usually I'd need quite a few breaks on this part of a hike, but we powered through without stopping.

Once at the top of the switchbacks, it wasn't long before we started to see snow on the ground. And then, suddenly, we were at the lake!

The view was absolutely breathtaking. The lake was mostly still frozen over, but that only made it more majestic. Based on reviews, we knew following the boardwalk all the way around might be impossible, we tried, first going clockwise and then counterclockwise. 

Once we got to the really snowy areas, I opted to go back the way we came, but not until after we'd ventured out to a little island of trees and set up the hammock for a bit. Zoe also had a great time romping in the snow.

The hike back down was easy-peasy, although balancing on those switchbacks was pretty brutal. I told Matt we really got a good leg workout on this hike, since hiking through snow really targets your inner thighs and core muscles.

We got back to the car around 5:45pm, refueled with Dairy Queen (for me) and a boba waffle (for Matt).

I can see why this hike is a favorite for so many of my friends. It has a little of everything view-wise, it's a workout but not the most challenging hike I've done, the payoff is fantastic, and there's a lot of gorgeous scenery along the way. I'd be down to hike it again in the summer to see the lake when everything is thawed.

Ali