A beautiful day and no-one else on the trail, except a woman collecting mushrooms in the forest near the trailhead. The short distance to Independence lake is very pretty, but don't expect any views out. The final ascent to the Lake is steep, but short (more noticeably steep on the return descent). Independence lake was a deep blue-green colour and the water was amazingly clear. It doesn't offer much space to throw sticks for your dog, and I had difficulty finding a stick that would float, but it is an easy lake for them to get in and out of. Finding the path to North lake is not that easy - ignore the trails leading into the camping area in the woods and keep to the right as you go around the head of Independence Lake. When you're on the right trail, you'll know it - if you're in any doubt then go back and try again. The climb up to the ridge above North Lake is long, but there are plenty of views. There are false summits along the way however, so don't get too excited when you think you're nearly there. At the first saddle you come to the trail goes sharp right, but if you go up and left a bit you can get great views northwards to Mt Baker. Soon after you turn right you come to a very small tarn, beyond which you turn left up a rocky slope - I would have missed it except that the dogs led the way. The next saddle really is the top and the trail meanders along the hillside above North Lake, passing numerous pretty tarns along the way. This is the best part of the hike by far - even if you don't intend going all the way down to North Lake you should at least do this part of the trail. Once it starts heading down, the trail gets narrow, rocky and steep, putting great strain on your knees. North Lake itself is very pretty, but its bowl is surrounded by rocky mountains which block any outward views - I would not recommend descending to its shores unless you are after a really good workout. The shore does have a much more pleasant beach than Independence Lake and one could throw sticks here for hours and hours, but the return trek still has to be done. The whole trip took me less than 5 hours, and there were not many flies anywhere, but most of the forest trails were criss-crossed with spider webs, which almost got more irritating than mosquitoes. Finally, you should know that this is not an easy trail for an onleash dog - there are numerous steep, rocky or rooted sections to go up and down. A well-behaved offleash dog would be much less awkward.

I told my friend Craig about my trip to Independence Lake last week, and how a much better place was just up the trail from there, and he suggested we go there on Sunday. I picked him up in Everett at 6:30 am, and by 9 am we were on the trail, after a stops for breakfast and at Coal lake for a few pictures. Up and down and up and down to Independence lake, then a rest, then we tackled the ""SOB"". That unsavory term perfectly captures my view of the trail from Ind. lake up to the ridgetop. It gains 1,100 VF in well under a mile, and the grade is relentless. My dog Daisy loves Craig, so she ditched me to hike with him, always up ahead since my normal slowness reaches epic proportions on super-steep trails. Since I can usually only hike about 600 VF per hour regardless of distance, I felt I did pretty well to get up in 1 1/2 hours. That works out to slightly over 1/2 mile per hour, which sounds pathetic, but is also 750 VF per hour, which is good for me. I figure the ascent rate of the trail at close to 1,400 VF per mile, which is pretty steep. When we hit the ridgetop, we went left off-trail to a great but difficult-to-reach viewpoint of Three Fingers, Whitehorse, Mt Baker, Big Four Mtn, and Devil's Thumb. It was a brush beater, with some sidehilling that was barely do-able for me. There was no place to sit, and just enough room for Craig and I to stand at the same time at the best view spot. We stayed there an hour anyway, the views were so good. We beat our way back to the trail, and went up past the tarns and snow-covered meadows, reaching the second ridgetop and our first view of Glacier Peak. We went off trail to the right a short way, and were rewarded with a view of Big Four and others. Back on the trail again, we countoured over towards North Lake, which could be seen far below through the trees. We declined to descend to the lake, instead climbing up the ridge behind us to its knife edge. I stood at a spot with panoramic views in three directions including Glacier Peak, and a sheer drop to instant death in two directions, on a ridge about 8 inches wide. That was cool. We stayed there until 3:15, the latest we could and be back to at least Ind. Lake before dark. The descent to Ind. lake was tough on my knees and legs, but I manged OK with my cane-like hiking stick. I would bring two trekking poles next time, if only to use as brakes on that descent! We hit the lake at 4:40 and rested for 15 minutes. We made it back to the car by 5:15, using our headlamps for maybe the last ten minutes. We went about 6 miles total, with a gross elevation gain of 2,300 VF. (Net gain 1,400 VF, 200 VF off trail, 700 VF due to major downhill sections (on the way in) of the trail to Ind Lake and North lake trail on the ridgetops. An additional 700 VF would be incurred by descending to North lake.) Although the trail is steep and rocky/rooty, I saw no need for trail maintenance at any point. There was very little snow, and I never needed to use my Stabilicers or gaiters.

My brother and I Headed up the five mile Coal Lake Road off The Mountain Loop Highway, near Big Four to the Independence Lake trailhead. A little snow on the side of road, but road is clear. Water running down road during heavy rains caused a couple of deep ruts, but not too bad. We walked the one mile trail to Independence Lake. Very little snow on the trail, to this point. Independence Lake had about an inch of ice on surface. Two inches of snow at the Lake. Headed straight up steep switchbacks on North Lake Trail, which is mostly snow-covered. Small ponds and lakes before last leg to saddle are frozen over: Very picture-worthy, with several peaks in background. Eight hundred foot descent to North Lake is very icy in spots, but plenty of handholds are available. Many frozen waterfalls along trail. View of Glacier Peak and others was magnificent from the saddle on this sunny day. North Lake is not yet frozen, and very photogenic right now with the snowy shores and reflections. On the way back we did a five minute scramble to a flat rock at the very high point of the ridge. It was a knife edge, straight down hundreds of feet on the other side. The view from here was incredible: Baker, Three Fingers and too many more to identify. Very enjoyable day hike.

I got to the trailhead on the Coal Lake road off the Mountain Loop highway at 1 pm. It was cold. The hike in to Independence Lake gains 430 ft and loses 330. I made it in 1/2 an hour since it is only 3/4 mile. There was some snow around here and there, which Daisy loved. I played fetch the stick with her for an hour until my arm was numb from throwing and the rest of me was numb from the cold, and then we bailed. It takes the same time to get back as to get in. The forest is very nice, with plenty of really big trees. The trailhead area is great, with mega views of mountains and down the valley of the Stilly. We went up to Pass Lake, which is 1/2 mile and 200 VF, and well worth it. Nice little pond, a small meadow, more views. Next we drove back to the Coal Lake ""trailhead"". The trail is 100 ft long with 10 ft elevation gain. It is a scenic lake, nestled between two ridges, with good views in several directions. Then we parked at a good viewpoint along the road and watched the sunset for 2 hours while listening to the Best of Sam and Dave and other things. There was nobody else at any of the trailheads this afternoon. I saw no need of trail maintainance on the Independence trail, and the road was fine with a couple of recent repairs visible. Good, crisp day for a little jaunt.

Arrived to about 5 cars at the trailhead.. Faster than normal pace to Independence Lake then the trail started to climb, climb, and climb. Trail very brushy and the drizzle/mist didnt help either. Took wrong turn and ended up at a tarn which I thought was North Lake. Bugs galore. They kept my pace up cause everytime I slowed down they attacked me like crazy. Even though I didn't make it to North Lake the nice bonus was the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day. I ended up heading over to Mt Dickerman.. Awesome views from the summit. That is another story! *Note* A big ""Thank You"" to the forest service personnel and volunteers who were clearing out the busy parts of the trail..Trail was much better not having to bushwack on the way down! Good Job ladies and gents!!