12 miles of hiking • 2750' elevation gain •
Hit the trifecta today with a third consecutive day of outstanding weather (am getting concerned about the payback, however). Planned to hike the Pratt Lake Trail to the lake itself but, after seeing the sun shining from the southwest decided to head to Island Lake instead. After escaping the coolness of the forest and attaining a saddle we were presented with impressive views of the iconic Rainier, strikingly cloaked in white against a sky of blue and hillside of green. After a bit of a climb, we descended to a couple of invitingly charming tarns and then to the lake itself: breathtaking in the stillness of an early autumn day (broken only by the shouting of two unseen women, a barking dog, and the roar of commuter jets overhead. Ah, Wilderness! has been rewritten as Bah, Progress!). Still, a quick nap in the sun's warming rays replenished my Vitamin D and provided the necessary tonic to rejuvenate this body for the return home.
