Williams Lake

Lisa and I hiked up to Williams Lake on July 21. Friday night we spent at a campsite next to the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie, about 1 mile along the trail. I caught a few trout on my fly rod; Lisa got a chance to give her new fishing rod a try. Despite their best efforts, she was successful in preventing the fish from getting ahold of her lure. We spent the night next to the fire; the next morning I cooked oats and we went on our way in what eventually was a 100 degree day.

The biting flies and mosquitos were noticable. They did not notice our lemon-eucalyptis bug repellent. Next time I'm bringing DEET. We ate lunch at the fork for Dutch Miller and Williams Lake. I hadn't been to Williams, so we chose to head that way. Boardwalks on the trail were nice; the forest service is investing a lot of time this summer as the access road will be gated permanently in November (permanently unless you have claims at Hardscrabble Lakes). Williams has an eerie blue tint to it. No doubt it is caused by the abandoned copper mines on the ridge above the lake. That blue killed the lake - it doesn't support fish. There were plenty of frogs and sandpipers, but I wouldn't have minded taking a few casts.