The most beautiful place on earth!

Okay, well that may be a slight exaggeration-or then again maybe not! Ever since I first landed my hands on Spring and Manning's 100 Hikes in the Glacier Peak Wilderness guidebook back in the fall of 1989-just a few months after moving here from the east-and caught my first look at Image Lake in the Glacier Peak Wilderness-I wanted to see it and experience it firsthand! It took 21 years and an impending deadline on my Backpacking Washington book to finally get me there-And with the Suiattle River Road washed out since 2003, I came to this magical backcountry locale via Spider Gap and the Lyman Lakes. With friends Don and Chris Hanson of Scottish Lakes High Country Camps fame-we entered the lake basin in early afternoon. Set up camp and caught our first glimpse of the famous Glacier Peak rising behind Image Lake scene in early afternoon. Returned with a half platypus of red wine for the evening show. But it was the early morning show that completely WOWed us! In all of my years hiking the Northwest -over 21-and all my miles hiking the Northwest -approaching 14,000 miles now-Image Lake is one of the most beautiful, if not most beautiful place in the state. An absolute must hike-bucket list place for all backpackers. Surreal-ethereal-mystical, magical, spiritual, celestial-pure heaven on earth. Don't miss it. This show is for a limited time only-for once Glacier Peak decides to blow-well Image Lake may very well end up looking like one of the Mount Margaret Backcountry lakes of St Helens.