This was a last-minute situation. I’d wanted to go camping over the weekend before my house became torn apart while we have the kitchen remodeled and my outdoor adventures are postponed. However, the schedule didn’t seem to allow that. But on Saturday afternoon my schedule opened up and the opportunity to do an overnighter became a reality.
I chose Annette Lake as it’s just over a half hour drive from my home, only about 3.5 miles to the lake from the trailhead and the elevation gain is a paltry 1,800 feet. The highest point is 3,600 feet so I could have a campfire. Assuming I could find any dry wood.
Arriving at the trailhead at 4:30pm I quickly started the ascent. We’ve had quite a bit of rain lately and the trail has a lot of mud where small streams and brooks flow over the trail. The hike up to the intersection with the Palouse to Cascades Trail, (formerly known as the John Wayne Trail) has some elevation gain to it but nothing too challenging. As you make your way up to the Palouse to Cascades Trail, keep an eye out for an unusual concrete artifact on your left. I’m assuming this is a remnant of the railroad system that once went along the P to C Trail, but I could be wrong.
Once past that intersection you’ll find the trail steepens. Volunteers have built stairs and bridges up some of the steeper parts and across the riskier stream crossings. A note about the stairs, each step is a puddle when it’s been raining and it’s nearly impossible to avoid stepping in them. So, make sure your boots are waterproof if it’s been raining.
Not too long after crossing the P to C Trail, you’re going to be doing a section of about eight switchbacks where the elevation gain is greatest, which may be why All Trails rates this as moderately challenging. But I’m a 60-year-old amputee and consider this to be a moderate trail, so there’s a lot of subjectivity to their rating.
After that, it’s a steady climb to another switchback after which the last half mile or so is a slow descent to the lake basin. With the mud the downhill portions can be a little treacherous, so I recommend having hiking poles to help prevent slips and slides. In the last mile or so, there are also a handful of lingering snow patches next to or on the trail, but they aren’t enough to bother putting on crampons or even micro-spikes for.
I arrived at Annette Lake at about 7:45pm. Normally a hiker is expected to take about 2 hours to get to the lake, but with shooting video for my Amputee Outdoors YouTube channel, it usually adds 30-45 minutes to the expected hike time.
On the way up several day hikers coming down had informed me that at the T-intersection when you arrived at the lake, there were a couple of campers that had set up camp to the left. I veered right at the T-intersection to see if I could find a quiet spot by the lake. Sure enough, there was a perfect spot for a hammock camper. This being the Pacific NorthWET, and rain was predicted, the first thing I did was set up my rainfly. I have the OneWind 12x10 foot rainfly and set it up in its asymmetrical diamond form to give me lots of room for my hammock and a fire.
As if on cue the rain started as soon as the rainfly was up. The smattering of rain falling from the trees on the rainfly as I set up my hammock, chair, and firebox was, honestly, relaxing.
I wandered around the forest for a while gathering dry wood for my firebox, it’s one of those little metal boxes you assemble and feed twigs into. I have a review of it on Amputee Outdoors if you’re interested in getting one. Once I had a good bunch of wood, I got the fire started, cooked up a meal and relaxed with a beer or two. Sitting by the lake, listening to the rainfall and the crackle of the wood in the firebox was very relaxing. I sat there as the light faded and the night grew colder. Letting the fire burn down after the second beer, I cleaned up my camp for the night and cocooned in my hammock.
This being June in Washington, first light is at 5am. Much too early. I pulled the hood of my sleeping bag over my head and slept until 8am when nature forced the issue. As it had rained all night, trying to start a fire with the twigs laying around was going to be a challenge. Anticipating this I had brought along my Esbit alcohol stove and fired it up. Using that I enjoyed a breakfast of blueberry porridge and hot cocoa. I took some time to admire the view of the lake, the wispy clouds moving back and forth across the mountains and the cool dampness my Californian wife can’t seem to acclimate to.
The rain stopped for a while, so I took the chance to break camp. Once done, I checked around for any left-over items, garbage, etc., (Leave no Trace) and headed back down the trail.
The overnight rain had increased the size of all the puddles and made the mud patches larger. So, again, waterproof boots are a must. I extended the length of my poles once I had hiked up the trail that leads to the lake basin. It was going to be all down hill from that point and having the poles taller gives you the ability to connect with the ground in front of you easier and with more control.
Even with the rain, there were quite a few people heading up to the lake, I counted perhaps two dozen folks going up as I was going down. This included a group of about six trail runners, one of which had a couple of bells attached to their backpack. This was probably to alert any mountain lions or bears to their presence, but they also work to let slow, one-legged hikers know they’re coming so they can get out of the way too.
If you live in the Seattle-Bellevue area this is a great little hike with a few good campsites. It’s right off exit 47 on I-90 and has a large parking lot at the trailhead with a toilet.
Recommended Gear Used on This Overnighter
· Camping Stove – G4Free Portable Wood Stove
· Shock Absorbing Hiking Poles – Ahoye Anti Shock Poles
· Rainfly – OneWind 12ft Ultralight Silnylon Rainfly
· Camp Chair – G4Free Folding Chair
· Waterproof Boots – Free Soldier Waterproof Boots
· 3 Season Sleeping Bag – Geertop Lightweight Sleeping Bag
· Alcohol Stove – Esbit 5 Piece Cook Set
· Overnight Backpack – G4Free 50L Backpack
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