By DON GRAYDON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

"We're living in a dream world," says Mayor Acker, "if we don't think one day we're going to be discovered."

Here's some news for the mayor: Index has been discovered, drawing a steady stream of dazzled recreationists to the town and its enfolding wilderness.

Change is in the air. By this winter, Index will have a new mayor, the beginnings of a new bridge, and a spectacular new trail that will attract hikers by the hundreds.

The town lost the Battle of the Bridge. The county is foisting off on Index a new two-lane structure to replace the decaying but beloved wood-planked, one-lane bridge that has spanned the north fork and marked the entrance to town for nearly eight decades.

There are more debates to come. Should Index continue to rely on septic tanks for sewage, or build a treatment plant to accommodate growth? Should the area continue to operate its minuscule local school, or bow to efficiency by closing it and joining a bigger district?

The end of fall will bring completion of a Forest Service trail to Lake Serene, a subalpine lake at the foot of the great eastern ramparts of Mount Index.

The trail passes not far from where three campers died last winter when an avalanche swept over their tents, then travels within the spray of lower Bridal Veil Falls before switchbacking up through cliffy forest to the lake.

The 3-mile trail is destined to be among the most heavily used in the state. The Forest Service, knowing this, has built a parking lot that will accommodate enough vehicles to transport the entire population of Index and then some.

On a quiet summer weekday or on a soggy afternoon in December, Index may appear to be settling into a comfortable decline. But show up on a hot September weekend and you'll think you stepped into a rural Mardi Gras.

On days like that, everyone wants a piece of Index: the swimmers, the rafters, the climbers, the drinkers, the drifters, the RV crowd -- even the people who live here.

But escape is still easy. When the scene in town turns hectic or claustrophobic, there are always the mountains.

The view from the summit of Mount Persis puts things into perspective. You then see Index in its tiny corner of a vast wilderness, looking not unlike the Index of a hundred years ago.

And on a day of mists and low clouds, you can even imagine peering down on a Native encampment that pre-dates the Pharaohs.

Continued:

• Small town 'on brink of change'
• Tiny village boasts lots of diversity
• Small populace has no shortage of activists
• Mother Nature is the real power here