Blue Lake — Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

Had a great hike on Wednesday 10/15! Crowded as expected, but could have been worse. We got there at 3pm and got a prime spot in the lot, as others were leaving. There were probably two dozen cars parked on the road.

We hiked with our 11-week-old in a carrier, and felt confident doing so thanks to spikes and poles. We did see lots of folks slipping without proper footwear or other necessary gear.

Reminder: Leave No Trace principles mean you shouldn’t leave half-eaten oranges on the trail, and don’t walk off the trail for photo-taking purposes (especially dumb to do when the ground is snow-covered and there are many streams in the area). I also saw many people collecting large sticks to use as hiking poles and then leaving them at the trailhead— not ideal.