Snow Lake is a cakewalk by Alpine Lakes hiking standards. If you’ve done one hike in the Snoqualmie Pass area, chances are it’s this one. Easy to get to, easy to climb, and it packs a lot of scenery into eight miles of trail making it ideal for both first timers and returning locals looking for some easy beauty.

The lingering winter snow pack this year has transformed the usually docile trek into a precarious and at times nerve-racking series of snow fields intermingled with muddy trail. In the past, associating Snow Lake—the Bunny Slope of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness—with danger would take some serious exaggeration, but this year the trail has reinvented itself with a vengeance.

As the trail climbs out of the Alpental parking lot, the first batches of snow introduce themselves. Nothing crazy but experienced climbers may be shocked to find snow at such a low elevation in July—a sign of things to come. Heading north through the valley, the rugged Cascade peaks gleam and torrents of melting snow rush over the rocks to the right of the trail. Soon the beauty of the cascading water is manifested in creeks, more swollen than usual. Crossing these isn’t difficult but isn’t to be taken lightly. one slip could be a tragedy.

We were passed on the tail by a sprinting, shirtless, bandana-clad dork who was flying down the trail. For some reason, dorky hard-core types seem to flock to Snow Lake for the attention one receives on the typically busy trails. We weren’t impressed with the bad trail etiquiette and pressed on. (If you must sprint on a narrow trail, slow down when passing people. We’re here to enjoy nature, it’s not like we’re late for work. Chill.)

Eventually the trail veers right and heads into a series of switchbacks, accounting for the lion’s share of the elevation gain. Soon the first of three large snow patches comes into play. We couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of shirtless, hard-core guy trying to sprint all macho through the snow. There is no rapid way to caravan through foot holds, especially when slipping could result in sliding some 30 feet into boulders.

Climbing up the ridge, the small village of Alpental dots the landscape below like something out of a Swiss postcard. Near the summit, snow patches turn into constant snow and we soon realize that much more elevation gain could result in certain misery.

Fortunately we crest the ridge just in time to view Snow Lake. Sure to form, it's covered with a layer of snow, a thin line of milky blue water peering out from around the shoreline. The view is stunning, especially if you are used to seeing the blue lake in it’s normal summer shape. The volume of snow makes the descent to the lake extremely difficult and Seattlest wasn’t interested in becoming another Snow Lake fatality. Normally hikers drop several hundred feet down to the shores, but this summer that won’t be reasonably safe for at least another month. That being said, the view from the ridge is worth the wet socks, even if you have to stomach another sprinting bandana man on the way back.