The hike starts with single log spanning across to a logjam (first picture). It isn't too scary, but maybe me & my friends just have a good sense of balance. Anyway if it is, you can either shimmy across it on your butt or wade across about 60' downstream; the flow is already low enough that it wouldn't be tough. Just don't choose the horse ford (upstream) which looks steep, deep & muddy. The next 1/4 to 1/2 mile where the trail is really overgrown with cow parsley, nettles and other weeds isn't too fun in shorts.
After that you get into 2nd growth forest where the well engineered trail switchbacks on the steeps and gradually climbs at other times. The real steepness begins after the only bridge on the hike (over ""Shaefer"" Creek according to the GT map--a typo?), but again it's a nice series of switchbacks and doesn't take too long to reach the border of the wilderness area where the flat begins. Only 1 blowdown left on the trail & it looks like some maintenance has been done recently. Took us somewhere between 2 & 2.5 hours to make the lake.
The lake's nice with a series of great campgrounds. Just please remember it's a fragile alpine lake and there's a maximum party size of 12 heartbeats (humans, dogs, horses, etc...). It was a shame to see bits of paper towels & soap bubbles in the lake, and most of all step on dog crap while walking around it. Also had to pick up several pieces of trash on the way back down. Mosquitoes were present, but not voracious.
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