'Tis the season for fall colors and fungi, in case you were curious about my priorities. After such a great hike last weekend, it wasn't hard to convince my partner to come on an overnight to Round Lake via the Lost Creek Ridge trail.

The more brutal portions of the Mountain Loop Highway weren't tough to drive. Forest road 49 is a bit rough, but passable for my Outback. The trailhead parking lot and surrounding forest road had room for maybe 5+ more vehicles when we began hiking around 8:30. No bathrooms at the TH, so come prepared.

Expect a steep incline pretty much out the gate until Round Lake. It's well maintained, and there are only a handful of blowdowns (two huge ones you scramble underneath, and another fresh one a few miles northward). It's a green tunnel slog for about 3,200 feet until you poke above treeline. Keep in mind: from the trail junction to Round Lake down to the shore itself is about .75 and almost 800 feet of relatively rough trail, so be ready for more climbing.

We camped at Round Lake and did some light slackpacking along the ridge in the afternoon to nab a glimpse of Glacier Peak. It rained that evening and early in the morning, and we woke to temps in the 30s (we slept with our water filters). The moisture clinging to the inside and outside of our tent froze over night, so gloves were appreciated on this hike.

The hillsides are bustling with flaming red bushes ripe with delicious berries right now, so don't miss out. We also spotted numerous fungi species, including lobster mushroom, chanterelle, porcini and some old chicken of the woods. We saw three hikers on Sat and only four (mostly near the TH) on Sun.

Last note: someone left an index card on the trail warning of a hornets nest .5 miles up the trail dated on 9/1. As much as we all appreciate hikers looking out for hikers, please do not leave notes like this unless you have the full intention of coming back shortly after to retrieve them. It is a violation of Leave No Trace principles and is straight up litter. I'm happy to pack out your soggy, barely legible and month-late index card, but I shouldn't have to. Unlike packing out your litter, bumping into insects outdoors is an expectation, and other hikers don't need a warning for something so obvious and trivial.

Overall- This trail is wonderful! Nice views of surrounding peaks to a lovely blue lake tucked beneath steep terrain. 

Road- The approach road is rough w/ big potholes.  I think that every vehicle will make it, but will need to use caution. 

Water Source- There is NO water source along the trail until you reach the lake. Except for a small stream crossing the trail at approximately 0.5 miles from the parking lot (but you don't need any water at that point, do you?), the trail is bone dry. So bring plenty of water for the steep hike up. 

Bug Report- There were plenty of biting horseflies and mosquitos when stationary. They didn't bother me when I was on the move. I was happy to have my long pants and long sleeved shirt on to protect me. Bug spray did help a bit

Crowd report- There was about 6 cars in the small parking area when I arrived at 0800 on this Friday morning and also 6 cars when I was leaving in the afternoon. I saw 2 people (backpackers) the entire day

Flora and Fauna- There were plenty of huckleberries once I passed Bingley Gap. Many flowers still in bloom. Also had the opportunity to watch an Osprey fishing at Round Lake. 

Privy- No privy at the parking area

Personal Highlights of the trip: watching an Osprey fishing. swimming at Round lake with the sparkly gold flecks glittering in the water. seeing Sloan Peak and Mt. Pugh from a different angle.  seeing tadpoles in the marshy area. Solitude while hiking

Day trip from Lost Creek Ridge to Lake Byrne. Round Lake is fully melted out. First stream of water was around Zi-iob Peak, and there were plenty of snow-melt streams heading to Lake Byrne. Some snow banks still covered the trail on the north side of the ridge, but they were passable. Mosquitos and biting flies were out in full force on the ridge.

Smoke from the Miners Complex fire was visible, and may impact this trail if the winds shift or become stagnant.

Hiked to the Round Lake overlook today with Cable<3!

The road to Round Lake is a bit rough - we made it in 4WD sedan. Depending on your comfort driving on forest roads, the road would probably be fine in any car, with slow driving and some strategic pothole dodging.

The hike up to Round Lake is forested up to Bingley Gap. We were expecting views once we got to Bingley Gap, but no views were to be had. After Bingley Gap, we continued on, uphill, and got some peakaboo views of Mount Pugh, Sloan, and Glacier Peak. At this point we started grumbling a bit about the "peakaboo" part despite being above 5k feet. Eventually, we broke out of the trees to lovely, unobstructed views of Sloan, the valley below, and green hillsides. We could even see Stuart off in the distance. Soon after, we reached the overlook to Round Lake, which is improbably tucked away beneath the ridge.

Conditions have definitely changed since the last trip report. The way down to Round Lake is almost entirely snow free, and the lakeside itself is snow free. On the way down to the lake, there are some small stretches of trail with lingering snow (picture attached). There were no steps kicked in and the runout after the first two snow patches looked fairly steep, so we stayed at the overlook rather than going down to the lake.

Other than Round Lake itself, there is no water on the trail, except a small, potentially seasonal stream very close to the trailhead. We also only saw 2 other people all day, so this is a great trail for solitude if that's what you're after!

We hiked on Saturday, June 22. Snow started around 5,200 ft. but was intermittent to the pass at 5,600 ft. Snow wasn't a big deal on the way up.

The north side of the ridge dropping down to the lake was completely snowed in and the lake was 95% frozen. We didn't go to the lake but I imagine it would be a challenge with the snow on steep terrain.