Rampart Lakes September 2, 2011

After finishing up a few early morning work activities, I took Friday off to head for the hills.   It was a lovely early September day at the beginning of the Labor Day weekend so I was expecting crowds.  I chose Rampart Lakes because of their high alpine beauty.  The trail begins at the end of Forest Service Rd, which begins at the north end of Lake Kachess, north of I-90.  As various guidebooks note, this is a difficult hike, and sometimes I wonder why I keep coming back. The first couple of miles are scenic and fairly easy, following Box Creek up Box Canyon.  Several times the trail winds close to the creek and the water flows gracefully over smooth outcrops.  

There were a number of blown down trees crossing the trail and several were a challenge to scramble across.  The real challenge begins about 2 miles out when the grade shifts from about 5 percent to 20 percent.  The footpath changes from forest duff to a combination of boulders and gnarly roots tenuously holding pines and firs to the steep slope.   The “switchbacks” are more like a gentle “S” running almost straight up the fall line. 

"Trail" to Rachel Lake

Cascade on trail to Rachel Lake.

After about ½ mile the trail crosses a creek at a pool dropping 80 feet or more down a near vertical rock face.  The sheer slope is a sign of more work to come. 

The trail continues up at a brutal slope for another ¾ of a mile or so until it finally levels at Rachel Lake, a small deep blue beauty.  If you know what’s good for you stop here; I didn’t.

Rachel Lake with ridge to Rampart Lakes behind.

HiBox Peak from Rampart Ridge.

Rachel Lake from above.

 The trail to Rampart Lakes skirts the right flank of Rachel Lake giving the weary hiker a hundred yards or so of respite before veering past a boulder field and up a rocky ridge.  Along the way up there are a couple of great overlooks to Rachel Lake and the Box Creek canyon below.  The wise hiker will use these as an opportunity to gather strength and perhaps to snap a shot or two before continuing on.  Within a ½ mile the ridge is gained and the trail tees: the right leg heads further up Rampart Ridge and the left heads toward the lakes.  I took a right turn and went a few hundred yards along the ridge, where a route to Hibox Peak comes into view. 

Stream draining Rampart Lakes.

 It would take a lot more energy than I had for that scramble.  Instead, I doubled back, scrambling over more downed trees and across a few remnant patches of snow, a pile or two were four to five feet tall.  Within minutes the first of a half dozen Rampart Lakes comes into view.  Most are quite small with a distinct north northeast alignment tracing the path of glacial movement from thousands of years ago.  The lakes are carved into a rocky basin whose rock is scoured smooth by the ancient ice.  It was interesting to note that each lake is at a slightly different elevation, even those that are offset laterally by only a few feet.

Multi-levels in Rampart Lakes

Largest of Rampart Lakes with snow patches on Rampart Ridge.

Your weary narrator.

Twinned trees.

 Only a couple of other hikers were visible and after soaking up a little mid-afternoon sun I reversed my path and made my way down.  Here is where I realized how much I dislike the middle section of the trail because of the multitude of large steps.  Boy was I glad to have trekking poles to break my fall and save my knees. 

I passed several groups of campers heading up the trail to enjoy the Labor Day weekend.  As I passed the last few, I wondered if they would find a campsite by the time they made it to the lakes. 

Reflection in the calm water of Box Creek.

I reached my car 20 minutes after I was supposed to meet family in Seattle for an early dinner. It was another 20 minutes before I had cell coverage and I ended my day hungry and "in the dog house."  I vowed not to return to Rampart Lakes unless I got younger or lose some weight to take a load off of my knees.  Stay tuned to see whether that promise holds.

Crystal Lake and PCT

Today I went someplace I rarely go unless there is lots and lots of snow on the ground. I headed south on 410 and drove about 5 miles further into Mount Rainier National Park. Although it was offbeat for me, everyone in the Pacific Northwest seemed to have the same idea. Highway 410 is in NPS no-mans land, neither a park entrance fee nor a NW Forest Pass are required to park legally- who said nothing's free!

The Crystal Lake Train is a fairly steep but well maintained.  The first mile and a half climb through surprisingly young and uniform trees.  Although the shade was nice, it seemed a bit like hiking through a tree farm.  Slowly the character of the vegetation surrounding the trail changed and purple flowered lupine filled the air with a delightful scent.  In a couple of spots along the way the tree cover opened up and Mt. Rainier was spectacular.

Mount Rainier looking glorious!

Crystal Lake Trail

Shortly, I came across the first and only junction: the trail to Crystal Peak turned to the right but I decided to leave it for another day.  Soon I was upon Lower Crystal Lake and after another 1/2 mile I reached Upper Crystal Lake.  I turned right toward the few camping spots and followed a trail right on the lakes edge.  I noticed a frog and a salamander holding still in the shallow water.  Across the lake, a young family were enjoying the sun and water.

At this point the trail petered out and I decided to go off trail for a bit. I worked my way up through trees and grass until I reached a hillock that offered a panoramic view of the lake, the lake basin, and the surrounding peaks.

I spotted a faint trail to the northeast but gaining the trail would have required scrambling across a boulder field, which seemed unappealing.  I took a lower, grassier route which lead to a steep but manageable gully.  As I approached the top I heard voices from above, which after scanning the ridges, appeared to be a family, very near the South Back area of the Crystal Mountain ski area.

Family enjoying the warm side of Lake Crystal

Salamander and a frog chilling in the lake.

Spires above the Crystal Lake basin

Mount Adams in the distance

  I spotted a well-used trail that may have lead me in their direction, if only it had switched back to the left.  Instead it led me to another pass to the south, that connected to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), just over the pass.  From here it was all downhill, past a lake with dozens of people enjoying various activities including swimming, horseback riding, and fly fishing.  Overall, it was a spectacular day in the mountains.  I had another two miles to travel until I made it to Chinook Pass where I noticed a slide zone on the left side of highway 410 and the famous wooden bridge capping Chinook Pass under construction.  

I

Horses enjoying a break

I stuck out my thumb and after a ten minute wait I got a ride back to my car from pleasant fellow who had been scouting for the upcoming bow-hunting season for elk. I was tired from the heat so I stopped for a mocha shake in Greenwater as a prize.  It was an amazing end to the day!

Arch over Chinook Pass is being replaced.

Slide debris next to Chinook Pass

Snow Lake- Last Day in July

As cool as it has been this summer, it should have come as no surprise that Snow Lake was living up to it's name on the last day in July, 2011.  After last weeks extravaganza to Paddy-go-lucky Pass, I was grateful for a short hike to a reasonably short hike.

The lower section of the trail was clear of snow except a thin remnant where an avalanche had piled up earlier in the year. One and 1/2 miles in, the sign demarcating the junction with of the Source Lake and Snow Lake trails was clearly visible.  Only six weeks earlier, the sign was buried under six to eight feet of snow and there was no sign of the turnoff.  At that time, the only safe passage was to Source Lake- now the trail was clear but rocky as it climbed back toward the east.

Just above the Source Lake cutoff

Although the temperature was mild, a fine mist was falling. The cooling effect was pleasant and reminded me of how hot this exposed section of the trail can be on a summer day.  In fact, the switchbacks to the top seemed much gentler than I remembered from previous visits.
The stairs near the top were steep and water from melting snow created a constant drip along the path. 

Stairs near the summit

Flowers on the heather

The moisture and melting snow gave room for "spring" flowers, even on the heather.  A glance down provided a perspective on how steep this section of the trail is.  In places, the trail is cut from sheer stone. It must have been back-breaking work.

 

At the crest of the trail, the trail was covered with two to three feet of snow.  The lake basin was draped in fog and the lake was all but invisible 400 feet below.  I scampered about half way down to the lake and a few details appeared out of the gloom.  The lake remains covered with ice and snow except for a thin blue ribbon along the near shore.

Rather than hike all the way to the lake, I chose to climb about half way up one of the open snow fields.  I post-holed in next to a boulder and realized the snow was getting treacherous.  So, I pointed my boots down slope and skied back to the trail I used to wend my may down.

Cascading snow-melt from a face abov

e the trail.

It was a short hike back and the temperature warmed to 70 degrees as the sky cleared.I stopped to admire a cascading torrent just across from Alpental.   It was nice to make it back to Seattle by mid-day instead of dinner time. 

West Tiger Mountain on a gray day

Steve Hannan joined me on an after-work hike yesterday and after fighting our way through pre-Mariner's traffic on our way out of Seattle we made it easily to Issaquah.  We pulled off of I-90 at the High Point exit and drove to the upper lot where we encountered new signs requiring parking permits. Having neither a permit nor the desire for a $200 ticket, we returned to the frontage road and walked back to the lot.  We continued on the flat section of the trail network heading toward the West Tiger 3.  A few short steps later we turned left onto Tiger Mountain Trail (TMT), the namesake trail for the mountain.

 One of the great things about the TMT is that so few people use it compared to the West Tiger 3 trail.

TMT starts out fairly flat with a few short steep grades until it crosses the Cable Trail about 1/2 mile from the start. A couple of hundred yards later, a series of 14 short, relatively steep switchbacks begins to climb.  At this point we discovered that stinging nettles were in their full glory: some were low attacking our ankles, others were high, threatening to leave a burning track across our faces.

Did I mention the weather?  cool, and drizzley! gotta love Seattle summer weather.  It left the understory drenched. Soon, the leader, that would be me, was as wet as the forbs I was trampling through.

At the top of the switchbacks the trail levels as it crosses the side of a steep forested slope. In this area, called Anschelles Allee, the understorey is absent as are the deciduous trees.  Second growth conifers rise vertically from a floor of stumps, blowdown, and needles- a welcome and unexpected change from the claustrophobic vegetation on the lower flanks of the mountain.



Soon we came across a group of woman hikers with their Golden Retriever, the first folks we had seen since we left the main drag over  a mile ago, Shortly after we crossed the a bridge that spanned a small deep-cut creek.
 
After a second bridge we reached a decision point: right up K-3 or left to continue on TMT?  We went left in spite of the sign warning that the trail was closed ahead.  I let Steve know that the trail closure was due to a bridge,which had been knocked off its abutment during a storm a year ago or so.  I had previously braved the crossing and was prepared to do it again.When we reached the bridge there was another hiker on the far side of the bridge who warned us off crossing it, so instead we hopped a few rocks under the bridge and went merrily on our way. 

We continued to climb the TMT past the High Point access trail down to the road and past the Lingering Loop trail.  About 3/4 of a mile later we crossed a small bridge over what is one of the prettiest spots on the mountain.  In spite of our proximity to civilization, it seems to be miles, or a lifetime away from the City.


We continued on for another 1/2 mile or so where we stopped to consult our watch and map.  The watch showed 8pm and the map showed that either loop I had been contemplating would require another 2 1/2 miles of trail work.  Instead, we chose to backtrack our steps to Lingering Loop, which we followed down to the access road.  I told Steve about one of my first visit here,when Andy Nichols and I came across a strange structure built from logs.  Here is Andy, showing off his new summer home.

One half mile to the west we reached my car, tired after six miles in the bush, but grateful for the exercise and a much-needed respite from the big city grind.