a leisurely sunday stroll on the pass

Hiking

Aug 12

Another day of recouping the loss of adventure time in WA state with TAJ. This time I took myself on a date to Twin Lakes on top of Beartooth Pass. Lunch + reading with subalpine views = the reset I needed.

View of Twin Lakes from the grassy knoll walking down into them.

Twin Lakes sits down from the road in lake basin, which led me to believe it might be an area to escape the wildfire smoke. I was mostly right. The sky trended more blue than in town so it made for a lovely space to go on a short hike. I also needed a leisurely day since my days have been brimming with too much: work, workouts, cleaning, and life admin tasks. So, Twin Lakes hit the sweet spot between getting a hike in and taking it easy.

The drive was beautiful as usual and easy despite the tourist traffic. I was surprised to only find two cars at the pull off trailhead when I parked. The start of the trail drops about 700 feet of elevation in half a mile. It’s a tough climb out but the view on the way down is worth the return on investment. You then walk to the first lake, sweep around it, duck through trees where campsites are, then continue around the second lake. A 45-minute hike for me. Maybe two miles? I didn’t wear my watch but it didn’t feel like it was even that far.

dry grass leads to a chasm with granite peaks on the opposite side — My secret lunch spot

There were fishermen at the end of the trail and I decided to keep hiking up above them and find solitude to read while nibbling on my trail lunch. The ledge wasn’t too far and maybe the equivalent elevation gain that I lost to get down into the basin so I continued on. The reward of a clear shot of the Beartooths for a picnic location made my day.

After an hour I headed back down to the lake basin to scoot around both lakes, up and out to head home to get some life admin completed. I busted up some illegal fire rings along the way and took pictures of the remaining wild flowers. Of course, I made sure to include them all for you below. During the drive home with the windows down and radio blaring, my shoulders didn’t feel as heavy and I felt ready to face all the chores ahead of me. I hope you are able to find time to check out like this each week too.