Lake Serene, Bridal Veil Falls, & Mount Index
(Still a damn impressive Mountain)
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February 6, 2000
Went here to see Bridal Veil Falls, but went past it to try to go to Lake Serene. Got to see falls anyway. More on that later. The weather started out cloudy and rainy, but it cleared up later. It's a decent trail, but it was getting difficult further up because of the snow on the trail. I should have worn my crampons. Sure, the ONE time I don't bring them, I could have used them. Figures. Anyway, the trail is not difficult, really, so it was a good one to go on. I'm still trying to negate the negative mental effect of my defeat at McClellan months ago.
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| This bridge was cool! You can't really see the depth of the snow, but it was about a foot deep. Sweet! |
Oh yeah.....The Falls! SWEEEET! I like water falls.These are the Bridal Veil Falls, but these are viewable without taking the diversion on the trail.
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So, after awhile you come across a very nasty gully that you need to cross to get to the lake. But it was too scary. It had been raining. They were doing avalance control on the other side of Index, so standing in the middle of the gully debating whether to cross it was not a good idea. But you get wonderful views of Index.
Here's the Gully.
We turned around, because we got our senses back. So needless to say, I will be back here come summer.
Nevermind the goober standing in the gully like a dumbass. He must be looking towards Index, listening to the relaxing sound of dynamite.... totally unware that some evil thing was taking his picture....
I spent the entire time going up slightly mad because the weather prevented me from seeing my mountain. But finally on the way down it cleared up enough to see it.
Ok, and for a comparision of Mt. Index last year and This year, check out these pics, again. We have not had as much snow this year.
This is Mt. Index on February 6, 2000. This is the other side of it that you see from the trail. Notice the amount of rock still showing. |
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| Now, this
is Mt. Index on March 7, 1999. This is the view from the highway. Notice any difference? |
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May 7th, 2000 (click on pictures for a bigger image)
Lake Serene was listed as Snowfree, so it was a no-brainer to come here again. Between my love of Mt. Index & Sunny's fascination with waterfalls, the decision was easy. Unbeknowest to me, on a clear day you can actually see Index on the way up and from the parking lot at the trailhead.
Anyway, after dealing with some dumb people with motorcycles on the HIKING ONLY trail, we proceeded. It was very very green. It's that lovely early spring green where everything is practically florescent.
| After a
mile & a half or so, you get to the turn off for
Bridal Veil Falls. Someone never mentioned to me how
steep this was. It is half a mile, but I swear you gain
400-500 feet of elevation on stairs up to it. I was dying.
Seriously. Then I got a headache. So, we took a break to
let the goober recover. But with views like this, I stopped complaining. |
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So, we headed back down to the regular trail and headed back up to the lake. The last time we were here it was still very snowy at the upper elevations. It was difficult, but not too bad. This time, however, it seemed worse. The stairs just never ended!! The switchbacks wouldn't ease up! I seriously believe that the presence of snow make the trail less steep. Or, maybe I'm just weak.
| Finally we got to the gully that we did not brave back in March. It was mostly snowfree, at least the first part. the further you went, the snowier it got. (snowfree my ass!) We had to keep going. |  |
Now, this is a picture or Index taken on May 7, 2000. For shits & giggles, compare it with those posted above.
Nice views from the gully, though. But you really don't want to just stand there for very long.
Once you cross the gullies, you are at the lake. But before you enjoy your stay, you need to go potty. And this lovely sign points you in the right direction. Sorta.
 No, it is not that it is really small. It is buried. Probably 5 feet of snow still. |
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The Lake!! WOO HOO! New HappySpot! Look at the water! Have you ever seen water this color???
We sat there for 40 minutes or so eating and napping. For entertainment, we watched multiple avalanches falling from the cliffs of Index.
I caught this one on camera.
Now, there are plenty of other pictures from this hike, but they need to be composited to give a full view, and SOMEONE is being lazy. Once it gets pulled together, I'll post it. Make sure you have a high resolution...
Anyway, it was a good hike and a good time to go. As the weather gets better it will be busier, and I medically need to be elsewhere. Did someone say.... Mountain Loop Highway?
It's been since April 8 since our last hike. Between business trips, family birthdays, and assorted other things, time lapsed by and we found ourselves going back to Lake Serene, one of the few snow free hikes right now.
I keep forgetting how hard this trail is. It's mostly stairs, and it really is not that bad, on the whole, but when your boots are killing your feet it makes it much harder. Not to mention, not going hiking since April 8!
So, this time it was entirely snowfree, and we discovered that there was 5' of snow buring that sign you see the picture of above. We also managed to meander down the trail at the lake further to lay on this really cool ice carved rock for lunch, before making our over populated decent down.
