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Ever since I moved to Seattle, I’ve wanted to hike to Lake 22. If you’ve seen any local’s instagram feed, it’s hard to miss. I’ve been trying to meet new people and explore the city but during a global pandemic, where people are actively avoiding each other, it’s proven to be a bit more difficult than usual to make friends, especially in Seattle. The freeze is real ya’ll.

Thankfully, through the power of the internet, I managed to meet at least one person willing to hang out in person (but still staying 6 ft apart while wearing our masks) and she suggested we go on this hike together. I joyfully accepted to meet a complete stranger in the woods, an hours drive from my home, alone. It’s no wonder Washington state is serial killer capital.

The hike to Lake 22 gets crazy busy, but again I understand why. Not only is it gorgeous, but it’s relatively easy to access. The parking lot was overflowing when we drove up, so plan to arrive very early or on a weekday to easily snag a spot. Like I mentioned, as I’m sure with any hiking trip, make sure you have plenty of water and food for your journey. We saw lots of dogos on our hike, some not as friendly as others, so keep that in mind. Also, the trail is very well maintained with bridges and boardwalks throughout, however, there are many small creeks that run over the trail so waterproof shoes are a must.

The origin of the name was something I was really curious about, but it seems that the widely believed theory is nineteenth-century railroad maps listed local creeks numerically; one particular creek and its source lake were assigned “22” and the name just stuck. While a little underwhelming, the view of Lake 22 certainly was not.

TLDR; I went on a hike with a stranger and I was really sore after

Thanks for reading & drink more water

-Ri