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The parking lot was completely full when we arrived at 12:30pm. In fact, there were already
cars parked on the side of the road. We did so as well, finding a spot relatively close
to the Skyline Trail trailhead. At the trailhead we met a couple of backpackers just getting
started. They asked me to take their picture, and I was happy to oblige.
The Skyline Trail is a popular 3-day, 2-night backpacking trip that climbs
up and then eventually ends up further north on Maligne Canyon Road. Our destination today
would be much closer.
The trail
We started off on the wide, straight trail as it climbed gently. The trail is mostly
encompassed by a dense forest. The trees, while packed tightly, are fairly thin and without
much in the way of large branches and leaves. We also saw mushrooms and Indian
paintbrush flowers. A handful of hikers passed us here and there, but it was a generally
quiet uncrowded trail.
Looking back at the forested trail
After about a mile, we crossed a stream. At about 1.1 miles, we saw a spur trail to the left
which goes to Lorraine Lake. I'd read that Mona Lake was bigger and not much further, so we
decided not to visit Lorraine Lake. There's a small pond visible from the trail here, but
that's not actually Lorraine Lake -- it sits a little further in, mostly hidden by the trees.
Instead, we continued on the main trail. At about 1.4 miles we reached the spur trail to
the right for
Mona Lake. We followed this trail down the hill for about a tenth of a mile
until we came to surprisingly beautiful
Mona Lake. Perhaps it was the hike through the forest without much in the way of views, or
it was the disappointing sight of the small pond near Lorraine Lake; in either case, Mona
Lake was a very pleasant surprise.
Looking north across Mona Lake
Beautiful green of Mona Lake
Flower next to Mona Lake
The smaller end of the lake, which is where we landed, is a beautiful green color.
The lake is refreshingly clear, allowing us to see the rocks on the lake floor. Past
that, it looks like the lake drops off steeply after that, becoming deep quickly.
Although the lake is encircled by dense forest, impressive mountains rise up above the
forest on the northern side of the lake. We stopped
here for a late lunch. We had the place mostly to ourselves, with just a couple other
groups stopping briefly. Other than that, the only other voices we heard were backpackers
continuing on the Skyline Trail to the west of the lake.
Looking north from the shore of Mona Lake
Another view of the green of Mona Lake
After lunch we returned the way we came.
Looking through the trees to Lorraine Lake from the main trail
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