BOU AVENUE
Heather Lake
On 11 January 2017, Zosia Zgolak and I made an aborted attempt to hike up Mount Pilchuck east of Everett, Washington. The access road was closed well short of the trailhead, and although we started hiking up the road, we eventually conceded that Mount PIlchuck was much too far to walk as a day trip from where we started.  Instead, we returned to my car and settled for a shorter hike to Heather Lake which is situated in a bowl just northeast of Mount Pilchuck.  Although much of the trail was snow-covered, there had been enough recent traffic here to allow us to hike all the way to the lake without the need for snowshoes.  Sitting in the shadow of Mount Pilchuck, the snow-covered lake was too frigid for us to linger, and we promptly retraced our steps back to the trailhead.  Heather Lake was a nice "Plan B" for the day, but I hope to return with Zosia in the near future to take another shot at ascending Mount Pilchuck.
Not much to see between here and the lake! Sonny starts up the trail to Heather Lake.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
What a waste of a gorgeous day! Zosia and Sonny arrive at Heather Lake.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak