Rattler Viewpoint
At the start of November we hiked on the Stake Lake Trails. Our route was around the east side of the lake, past some iced-over bays.
We hiked a series of double track cross country ski trails, working our way south to Rattler Viewpoint.
The ski trails were all in good shape, providing good shoulder-season hiking.
The old track from the south to the top of the hill now appears to have been abandoned since it is covered in windfall. It appears that the way to the top of the viewpoint/lookout is by an off-piste ski trail or a snowshoe trail, both from the east side. We hiked back out by on the snowshoe trail.
Our 6.4 km loop route took us two hours. The final section was around the west side of the lake on a mild day with no wind.
Various routes on the Stake Lake Trail system provide excellent hiking in the shoulder season before the trails are covered in snow.