Exploring Bloom Lake and Fishhawk Falls
BY LINDA K. HOARD
A short trail off U.S. Highway 26 offers a
peaceful spot to walk among nature.
Bloom Lake Trailhead is directly off of
U.S. Highway 26, near milepost 24.5, on
the south side just before the east end of the
Quartz Creek Bridge in the Coast Range.
There is parking and a trailhead sign.
As the trail starts, there is a bit of high-
way noise, which quickly fades while
climbing the dirt and pine needle path up
through shadows and sunlight in the tall
hemlock, fir and alder forest. Flute-like
calls of Swainson’s thrush, hooting of great
horned owls and tapping of woodpeckers
soon replace the sounds of traffic.
The trail is labeled as moderate, as there
is a good uphill climb at the beginning
toward the lake — but it levels off and dips
down again slightly to the lake itself.
Along the forested trail are elderberry
bushes heavy with clusters of red berries,
salmonberry with its orange berries, tall
hemlocks draped in moss, trillium, oxalis,
and occasional foxglove and buttercups
See Page 7
Photos by Linda Hoard
TOP: Entrance to Bloom Lake Trailhead. ABOVE LEFT: Foxgloves brighten up the trail. ABOVE RIGHT: Patrick O’Connelly enjoys the peacefulness of the Bloom Lake Trail.
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