I got up at 4:30am and after a failed desperate search for an open expresso shop in Sultan and Goldbar, I was on the TH by 5:30am. First car to arive, which was a first. All of the spider webs I was walking through confirmed that I was indeed the first person on the mountain that day.. I had originally planned on bagging Philadelphia Peak after reaching the lake, so I borrowed an ice axe just incase (Thanks Ron!). I tried sticking it through the loop at the bottom of my pack. However it kept jabbing my left calf so I ending up putting it through the loop at the top (much better). Almost all of the snow is gone now, with the only remnants at the lake. There is a huge log that is blocking the trail at the final push to the lake. Not so bad to get over on the way up, but very hard to get around on the decent. Since I didn't get much of a chance to hang out up here the last time I came up, I decided to not climb Philadelphia Peak (Too brushy) and spend an hour or so up at the lake. Since I got an early start I had the whole lake to myself. What a way to spend a beautiful morning. This has to be one of my favorite places to visit.

1 hr 45 minutes up and took 1 hr 15 minutes down.

Stay right on the Mount Index Road to get to the trailhead. There is a parking area and facilities (honey bucket style) included. Northwest Forest Pass is need to park there. Be prepared for a long wait to get back onto U.S. 2 when departing the trailhead. This is especially true for Sunday afternoons.