8 miles of hiking • 1500' elevation gain •
With the heat I wanted to end my hike with a lake. So I headed east out I-84 to Lost Lake. On the way I saw a a huge smoke cloud which I later found out was the Cougar creek fire on S.E. Mt. Adams. The way up to the butte goes through some really nice forest. Lots of Rhodies and not a lot of dead tree. Surprisingly I was not seeing a ton of impact offtrail considering this a hugely popular campground.Very hot and hazy at the top of Lost Lake Butte, so I didn't stay long up there. The lake was a total zoo, but also really fun to see so many people having an awesome time. It was much quieter on the south and south western side of the lake. The view of the mountain is fantastic from there. I took photos but really want to go back sometime when the air isn't filled with smoke.
