Weekend Wandering: WA hikes

Maybe due to indolence, maybe to spending most of my weekends selling books, or to my protracted struggle to get my new WIP (Work In Progress) to cooperate, I haven't gotten up to the local mountains as much as I intended this summer. To be precise, I've done one dayhike and two quick overnighters. In this post, and maybe one for next weekend, I'm sharing some of the photos from those trips.

Today I'm featuring an overnight hike to Island and Rainbow Lakes, just off of I90. The I90 corridor is hugely popular with Seattlites for the obvious reason that it's a super-short drive. I worked all morning, left my house about 1 p.m., and was on the trail by 2:15. It's hard to beat that.

There are several ways to get to Island Lake; I chose the one with the least elevation gain and maybe the least crowded TH. Starting that late in the day meant I had no trouble getting parking, as the early hikers were already leaving. It helped that it was a Wednesday, not a weekend.

About 30 minutes into the hike, I'm crossing the outlet to Talapus Lake. It's overcast and relatively cool under the trees, so I'm not wearing hat and sunglasses.

From Talapus I climbed to Ollalie Lake (both of these have camping, but are also popular dayhike destinations).

Because it was getting on into the afternoon, I mostly met dayhikers going out, though there was a party camped at Ollalie.

Bear Grass

Davidson's penstemon, growing on a mossy rock wall.

Lupine flower. Note the droplets--this was July 1, and we'd actually had some precipitation!

I arrived at Island Lake about 5:15, after a hike of some 5 3/4 miles with a 2000' elevation gain. I poked around all over looking for the best camp, and settled for one a little back in the woods, but spacious and flat with easy access to the lake and the outlet stream (for water).

Home, sweet home. My basic camp set-up, with the luxury chair I take only on short trips.

I was hoping for a break in the clouds at sunset, but the sky remained grey and damp, with mist trailing about among the trees. It's honestly more how a PNW forest ought to be :)

Reflections in the lake near the outlet.

Some of the "islands" that give the lake its name.

On a hot day I might have been tempted to swim to one of the islands, but it was chilly enough I wasn't interested in more than a quick wash. By the time camp was set, it was past 6:30 and dinner was my #1 priority.

Another "island."

In the morning I got up early and prepared to reverse the route. I started with a little (3/4 miles RT) detour to check out Rainbow Lake, which I thought was prettier than Island, though right on the main trail. That wouldn't have mattered during my visit--there was no one else up there.

One piece of Rainbow Lake. I'm not where where or if there are camp sites, and there is another lake in the area I didn't take time to investigate. I'll be back--this area is perfect as an early-season shake-down hike.

A very fluffy pika in a talus field.

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A Canada Jay ("camp robber") at a rest stop.

Better view of the Canada Jay

As a treat, the clouds and mists cleared away as I was hiking out, and from the one good viewpoint on the trail I was able to see Mt. Rainier above the intervening ridges. 

The north fast of Mt. Rainier.

At the trailhead a pair of barred owls were calling to each other from trees about 50' apart--and about 20' from my car and the trail, respectively. I know they are a problematic invasive species in our forests, and I'd far rather see the native spotted owl, but it was still cool to witness.

Not bad for a 24-hour escape! I was back home at 1 p.m., even with a stop to get some coffee and zucchini bread. It was a good way to quiet my brain for a while--one of the reasons I like to backpack solo sometimes.

More bear grass.

 

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 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2026 

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