'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.
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