A couple friends and I decided to check out Black Lake and Black Lake Point in the North Fork Snoqualmie River Valley. Neither being a very popular destination I hadn't heard much about them and didn't know what to expect. I've gotta say I was pleasantly surprised.

We parked off the North Fork Road Snoqualmie River Road next to Lion's Mane and used the connector road here to cut over to Tolt Reservoir Road. From there it was north along the road about 1.5 miles to Black Lake. The turnoff for the road that runs along the lake is a little overgrown at the junction but it quickly gets better. The lake was larger than I expected, with a makeshift dock constructed from logs, wood palettes, an old sign, and some 2x4s. Somebody likes to fish there, that's for sure. Definitely plenty of solitude to be had since the section of the Tolt Reservoir Road that runs along the lake is impassible by vehicle. The main road detours a little ways around the lake allowing you to enjoy the lake and forget that not far away Hancock Timber trucks are flying down what's practically a forest highway. Black Lake Point provides the backdrop for the view of the lake from the dock, making it pretty picturesque.

After relaxing by the lake for a while we continued on to Black Lake Point. We hopped on an old logging road just north of the lake and followed it up the west side of the peak for a bit before opting to leave the road and bushwack through a steep clear cut toward the summit. This proved to be exhausting with tons of debris to climb over and the slope growing steeper as we neared the top of the northwest ridge. Once on top of the ridge we encountered a bit of a boot path which was a welcome relief. From the summit I was quite blown away by the view. To my surprise I could see Bellevue, Seattle, nearly the entire Issaquah Alps, Rattlesnake Ledge sticking out behind Fuller Mountain, a huge expanse of the Snoqualmie River Valley, Mud Lake, Deep Creek, Lion's Mane, Destitution Hill, and all the other bumps of the North Fork, as well as Cascade Lookout and countless unnamed peaks to the north and east. After taking in the view we started heading back down the northwest ridge. Before long we had yet another pleasant surprise, the road! Had we stayed on the logging road on our way up it would have wrapped around to the north side of the mountain and ended right on top of the ridgeline just a little ways below the summit. Good to know for next time. Oh well, I'm sure I needed the exercise. If you stick to the logging roads this hike is only about 6 miles and 1000' of elevation gain round trip. All in all it was a pretty pleasant hike with more to offer than I'd expected.