Packwood Lake — Thursday, May. 22, 2003

South Cascades > Goat Rocks

Lena The Dog and I left Olympia at about 8:00 AM and arrived at the trailhead just outside of Packwood shortly after 10:00. Nice spot to park - great views of Rainier and the Goat Rocks, and a fancy-new potty to boot! Two trails will get you to the lake - we took the upper trail (#78) on the way in and took the lower one (#?) on the way out. Trail starts at about 2000', gets up to 3200' or so, before dropping to the lake at about 2900'. Tail is very smooth and gentle, well maintained, and offers a couple of mountain views. Only saw a few snow patches far off the trail. Lena enjoyed the 3-4 spots of running water across the path for easy drinks - it's easier than waiting for me to get her water bowl and bottle out anyway. The lake is very pretty with a big mountain (name?) out in all of it's glory beyond the south end of the lake. Took some pictures and just sat and watched the trees, water and mountain for a couple of hours. I can't think of many better ways to burn an afternoon. Took the lower trail back to the car. It offered many views of the valley and mountains to the north (including the Big One) - but these appear to have come as a result of development by the hydro power company (I assume so anyway). Nice trail. Saw a few groups of overnight campers heading to the south end of the lake. At the time we got back to the car (4:30 PM), the lot was packed. Lena seemed happy to get the trip in at a time of relative solitude. This trail must be a super-highway during the weekends.