Lake Angeles Winter Hike

 Wonderful hike to Lake Angeles today in Olympic National Park on a cloudy, misty & snowy day. This hike is just south of Port Angels. 7 mile rt with 2,400 ft of elevation gain.

 This hike is in a lovely forest.

We crossed over creeks,







 hiked past huge boulders,

















interesting crannies,

holes through trees,

all along a well defined trail.

We saw huge trees, some covered in lichen, most with moss.

 Walked over wooden paths,

 and log bridges.

 Watched the sun break through the trees,

 and then it began to snow, transforming the trail and trees around us.

 We did not need our micro spikes or snow shoes today, as we enjoyed the fresh snow, continuing upwards.

 As we got closer towards the lake, we were walking in a small stream along the trail.

 Just before 3 miles, and at 4,288 ft of elevation, we reached a small pond. Here the trail levels off, before descending towards the lake.

 Other hikers coming down, had told us it was a "blizzard" up above and they were unable to see the lake. We decided to continue on the hike and, as we got closer, the sun came out,

 as we arrived at the campground near the lake.

 We were blessed to have a momentary clear view of the snow covered Lake Angeles nestled in Klahhane Ridge.

wide angle view of Lake Angels near the lakeshore:

 I walked towards the outlet of the lake, wondering if there would be a better view. I did not want to cross the creek in the winter, and the clouds came back down. I was able to see part of the lake near the inlet without snow.

Beautiful trees with fresh snow.

 The snow returned as we began our hike back to the trailhead.

 The snow level continued down to about 2,400 ft, much lower than when we started.

Ennis Creek seemed fuller on the way down,  beautiful!













Back at the trailhead, very happy hiker!