Rattlesnake Ledge: The Fog on the Lake
At 9PM the night before, I got a text from Marina asking if I wanted to join her for a morning hike. Lately I’ve been wanting to go camping and hiking again, so I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve been staying up late playing video games until 6AM, but thankfully I woke up on time. ( ´ ∀｀) My breakfast made me late though…
We started out on the road at about 6AM, and got to the lake almost exactly at 7AM.
Back in 1906, there was a small town called Moncton that served the workers of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. After the Masonry Dam was built in 1915 to provide Seattle with water and power, the town slowly flooded and became the Rattlesnake Lake we see today. When the lake is low (supposedly best to see in Autumn), you can find old-growth tree stumps, foundations and other remains of the town that once was.
As we walked around the lake to the trailhead, the sun lightly skimmed the treetops, creating a beautiful array of warm colors. It didn’t feel like mid-April, with the oranges and yellows.
There was a lot of early morning fog, which looked incredible on the mountains and the lake.
Times like these I wish I had a different lens — but I love the colors and atmosphere captured all the same. I think my next investment will be a wide angle. 🙂
As the sun made its way across, the view changed dramatically.
Rattlesnake Ledge is a 5.1 mile out and back trail, with an elevation gain of 1470 ft. Being the first hike of the year for the both of us, it was pretty tough. I’m glad I brought my inhaler. LOL
The latter portion of the hike was spent on the cool side of the mountain, which was perfect for the crisp April morning. Since we went on a weekday, there was hardly anyone on the trails. Even when there was, they’d pass us pretty quickly (LOL). My shoelaces kept getting untied and I drank so much water…. but the clearings in the trees showed fantastic views.
At one point there was the sound of light bells jingling rhythmically, echoing above us on the mountain. It reminded me of guardian spirits watching over the forests, making their rounds and letting their presence be known. I half-wished we would experience something supernatural, but it turned out to be an old lady with a walking stick. Maybe that’s what she wanted us to believe, though, while she greeted the morning.
We made it to the top! It was practically empty — only two other hikers were there for awhile.
Looking down at Rattlesnake Lake.
Akita!
This mountain squirrel kept running in and out, haha!
After making our way back down, we had a picnic by the lakeshore. It was windy and cold, but it felt so nice eating the lunch Marina made. (*´∀`*) I brought chips and salsa, but I got soy sauce all over the containers… I also forgot to take a photo of the food but it was delicious.
A deserving rest! I’m looking forward to our next hikes!