Heather Lake - Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

[4Feet]: Heather lake trail in a warm winter was considered one of the wettest trails we have ever hiked beside the Narrows. As the snow and ice on the higher ground were melting, a rocky hike easily became an in-creek walk. Plus the rainy weather, even the Gore-Tex implanted shoes had a hard time keeping all of the slushes out. The trail to the distinct lake of Heather was short but mixed. Starting with flat and wide zig-zags for the first ¾ mile, the trail turned into rugged terrain with falling trees and rocks in the way. The whole trail of 2.1 miles alongside Heather Creek was hidden in the trees and brush, and there was no open space until the very end. The ¾ of the lake was surrounded by the ranges of Mount Pilchuck and open toward the South Fork Stillaguamish River. The lake surface was completely frozen with a layer of new snow on top of the ice sheet. It is dangerous to walk on a frozen lake, but we did it anyway as we had faith in our lightness in weight. Suddenly, a loud crack broke the silence across the lake when we were standing in the center of the lake. It was a frightening moment because we did not plan to swim in the icy water today. Fortunately, it was a false alarm. The sound came from the glide avalanche in far proximity. The wet mixture of snow and ice broke away from the snowpack and started flowing and falling along the mountain shoulder to a lower level. The total elevation gain was only 1,200 feet. For this short trail, it would be deemed easy if there was no icy water on the trail. It took about 2 hours of driving from Tacoma; for this level of the hike, it was a bit underwhelming. Recommend advanced hikers to do Mount Pilchuck afterwards or drive to Leavenworth, which is just 15 miles in the east of Heather Lake. 1/30/21