This is going to be short and sweet today because I am beat.  We left my house at about 5:30 AM with the intention of climbing up to Marten Lake from the Taylor River Trail which I hiked last summer.  The Middle Fork road has hundreds if not thousands of potholes.  Low clearance vehicles are not recommended.  The weather was rain, rain, and more rain. 

I headed up the Mountain Loop Highway this morning to hike up to Heather Lake.  My hiking buddy had done this hike ~10 days prior while I was out of town so I decided to match him.  This is a fairly tame 4 mile round trip hike which climbs 1000 ft (1300 feet with ups and downs).  Heather Lake lies in the shadow of Mt. Pilchuck which I just climbed last summer.  The trailhead can be accessed on Forest Road 42 - the very same road that takes you to the Mt. Pilchuck trailhead.