Friday, June 27, 2014

Pinnacle Lake Trail

Bear Lake on the Pinnacle Lake Trail September 2012 

Oplopanax horridus (Devil's Club) & Tsuga heterophylla (Western Hemlock) Pinnacle Lake Trail September 2012 

Cladothamnus pyroliflorus (Copperbush) Pinnacle Lake Trail September 2012 

Mountain tarn on the Pinnacle Lake Trail September 2012  

Pinnacle Lake September 2012

Click here to see more photos of the Pinnacle Lake Trail.

The Pinnacle Lake Trail takes you through a beautiful forest to the subalpine zone near Mount Pilchuck on the Mountain Loop Highway in Snohomish County.  The flora & terrain are both very interesting here.  It is mucky & grassy in the subalpine zone.  This is quite a contrast to the nearby Ashland Lake Trail, which ends in a wet environment filled with trees & bog plants.  The difference must be that Pinnacle Lake is 800 feet higher in elevation.  The trail was in poor condition in September 2012.  It was rocky & filled with the roots of huge trees.  It is also steep.  Pinnacle Lake itself is fairly small & not exceptionally beautiful.  The smaller tarn, in the same narrow cleft that contains Pinnacle Lake, is much more charming.  Bear Lake, near the start of the trail, is also pleasing.  The trail starts at 2,700 feet in elevation & climbs to 3,800 feet (1,158 meters).  It is 3.8 miles round trip.  

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