Moran State Park - Mount Constitution via Mountain Lake — Saturday, Jul. 3, 2010

Puget Sound and Islands > San Juan Islands

We decided to reverse the direction of the hike from that suggested in the Moran State Park brochure, preferring to warm up on the fairly gentle slope to Twin Lakes and then climb to the summit of Mt. Constitution from there. The plan worked well for us as it was more pleasant to go up the many switchbacks than it would have been to climb the trail straight up to the Little Summit area. The weather was nice when we started; foxgloves in bloom in sunny areas were quite beautiful. At Twin Lakes we saw a couple bald eagles up close. Then, on the way up to the summit, clouds closed in and I put on a sweater; my husband had only his rain jacket and was a bit chilly. We missed the spur trail mentioned in the park brochure, which supposedly leads to a knoll with a view. Since it would have been cold with no view, it was probably just as well. This is one of those hikes to a summit that can also be reached by road, which is a mixed blessing. In our case, we were very glad of the complimentary (donations accepted) warm beverages in the Summit Gift Shop, which is run by friendly Park volunteers. My husband was able to buy a warm vest here as well, which was very helpful as we were essentially inside a cloud on top of a mountain in the middle of a large body of water. We didn't bother to climb the tower to see the non-view (we had driven up at dusk the night before, when it was clear). We returned to Mountain Lake via the Little Summit trail (no view there either but the outhouse there was handy)and then punished our aging knees on the steep trail back down to the lake. On the way we saw a buck with velvet antlers growing in; he browsed without any concern for our presence at all. All trails were in good condition; however, I suspect the trail between Little Summit and Mountain Lake could be slippery in wet weather. We made the hike in high-end walking shoes rather than hiking boots and it was basically fine, although boots would probably be better.