Annette Lake
It’s a Tuesday morning, and the parking lot is nearly empty when we arrive at Annette Lake, a 7.8 mile trail near Snoqualmie Pass. The Asahel Curtis Nature Trail shares this trailhead, and both routes are known for old-growth forests of western red cedar, fir and hemlock.
Our trek will take us across Humpback Creek and along the western slope of Silver Peak. There is a trail to the summit of the peak, but it’s on the opposite side of the mountain. Today, we’re heading for the lake, which fills a subalpine bowl at around 3,600 feet. With summer temperatures and autumnal light, this lovely September day is a pleasant bridge between the seasons.
In less than a mile, we cross over the Iron Horse Trail and enter a cathedralic, old-growth forest. Mushrooms cling to trees and bloom out of fallen logs. We can hear the rush of wind and glimpse puzzle pieces of sky through the canopy of leaves. Along the trail, we marvel at this ingenious feat of trail-crafting: a massive fallen tree has been repurposed as a bridge with hand-crafted steps running the full length of trunk.
As we climb the switchbacks in the midsection of the trail, Humpback Peak is visible across the valley. Reading about these mountains, I learned a new word: “cordillera,” which comes from the Spanish for “cord.” The America Cordilleras, which include the Cascades, are a continuous sequence of ranges from Alaska through Canada to the southern reaches of the Chilean Andes.
We pause to look at these folded rocks, a fragment of this geological feature that is approximately 8,500 miles long, 180 million old, and oblivious to the national boundaries it crosses. If there was a theme for the day, it would be interconnectedness. The air is hazy from the smoke of wildfires burning miles away, a network of subterranean mycelium unites the forest, and, beneath our boots, the America Cordilleras bridge the world, north and south.
When we reach the top of the switchbacks, our quest to see a pika is fulfilled! I’ve had the joy of of seeing pikas at Mount Rainier and Lake Clark National Park, but this is Jeff’s first sighting of the elusive lagomorph. I always thought they were rodents, but no, they are related to rabbits. Pikas stockpile vegetation among the rocks to eat during winter. But they must defend their haypiles from marauding neighbors. Such is the internecine pika-struggles playing out in these boulder fields.
We arrived at Annette Lake around lunchtime. This tranquil spot is flanked by three peaks, all over 5,000 feet. Here is Silver Peak to the east. Humpback Peak is to the west, but hidden from view by the trees surrounding the lake.
A squirrel watched us warily while we ate our lunch in the shadow of the basalt walls of Abiel Peak, the third sentry overlooking the lake. In 1853, Abiel Tinkham was George McClellan’s lieutenant in his search for a suitable pass for the railroad that would connect the coasts.
On our way down the trail, we had a closer look at the many fungi. I’ve started reading more about fungi, and everything I learn about them makes them more fascinating. They are decomposers, life-bringers, and assemblers of beautiful, complex structures. Yeast was there at the dawn of civilization, and the so-called mycelium revolution might transform the way we consume and create in the future.
From mushrooms to pikas to grandeurs of geology, Annette Lake is a great adventure! Hopefully we’ll get a few more fall hikes before the snows come. Happy September!
