A high lookout

The road to the Hidden Lake Lookout is an adventure all of its own; 4.5 miles of bone-jarring, suspension-ruining this-barely-qualifies-as-a-road bumpiness. Once past the first mile of mud, rock, root and trees, however, the trail is a wonder. We climbed steeply through meadows of past-their-prime wildflowers, clambered through rocks, and finally up to the pass with a stunning view of Hidden Lake. The lookout is perched above on a pinnacle that barely seems climbable by mountain goats, much less people, and there I see a few tiny figures making their way across boulders and rocks on their way down. So up we go. And it is worth the climb; the view from the top is divine.