A Hike to Gazzam Lake

One sunny day last week we decided to take advantage of the fine springlike weather for a hike to Gazzam Lake.  You may remember that I saw the signs for Gazzam Lake one day while I was out but was reluctant to hike the dark and woodsy trail alone.

A little about Gazzam Lake:  It's located in the northwest section of the 400+ acre Gazzam Lake Park and Wildlife Preserve.  The preserve is on the south side of Bainbridge Island.  The lake and wetlands surrounding the lake cover 13 acres and it has basically remained untouched by human hands (so to speak).  You can read more about it here.

There are lots of trails in the preserve but we stayed on the main trail and walked about a mile...maybe two.  Took us a couple of hours there and back but we dawdled a bit.  You can barely see the lake unless you detour onto one of the smaller trails that lead down to the lake which we did.

 
If you look at a Google map the lake appears to be huge.  It isn't.   But the water is clear and it was calm that day.   It's a pretty little freshwater lake and quite serene and we were told by a couple whose path we crossed that it used to be much larger.  There are lots of underground springs in the area but the water is being diverted for public use and the lake is slowly disappearing.  How sad is that?

A few pictures of the trail and lakeshore:

A Mossy Tree

 White moss or fungi of some sort.  Prettier in "real life".

Big old mossy boulders left by a glacier

that passed by a gazillion years ago.

 Mossy Logs at the edge of Gazzam Lake

Lots and lots of mossy natural elements abound in this preserve.  That's a good thing...means that the preserve is still holding civilization at bay.  Thanks to a number of land owners in the area who have donated parcels of land to the trust, this will never be developed.

We need to find another spot to explore and since the forecast for the week looks promising,  this would be a good week to do so.   Wednesday my sisters and brother-in-law are coming for the day.  We're celebrating both of my sisters' birthdays.  Am looking forward to a pleasant day.