Alpine Lakes High Route

 This trip was conceived on a distracted workday with the notion that a 3-4 day backpacking trip to the Cascades could be executed with minimal fuss if one just flew to the airport, rented a car and went straight to the trailhead. But what exactly would one do? Some folks have accomplished the Ptarmigan route without a rope, but online threads convinced me that there was more than one glacier to navigate and some quite broken up so that was out. Alpine Lakes High Route was perfect - it passed through beautiful high country without any of the risks posed by glacial terrain.

And so on a Thursday, after an early morning flight from Minneapolis, I was at the West Fork Foss River trailhead by 2pm. Warm, moist air and a dense evergreen forest describes the ensuing hike to Big Heart Lake - 7.5 miles, 3000+ ft from the trailhead. I should have taken it easy but was too ambitious to do so - I had high hopes to explore the area west of Chetwoot Lake (Wild Goat mtn, Big Snow mtn) and perhaps even east towards Mt. Hinman. In the meantime, gorgeous pristine lakes greeted me within my first couple hours on the trail; Trout Lake and the aptly named Copper Lake with its blue green clear waters. A wave of gratefulness passed over me as I saw Trout Lake framed against the forested saddle - what more could one ask for?

Trout Lake

Copper Lake

The trail hugged Copper Lake

 

West Fork valley from high on the trail, Trout Lake below

I was doing well walking at a steady pace duly restoring my faith in uphill climbing abilities but one has to ponder the foolishness of a chap who flies in from across the country and then refuses to camp at one of the said lakes to contemplate life et al. I aspire to one day become the person without ants in my pants who would gladly camp at his Walden for days running.

You can't miss it!

Sunset at Big Heart Lake

I started leisurely the next morning at 930 thinking that I could reach Chetwoot Lake in an hour or so. Boy, was I wrong! The trail got significantly more rugged, plenty of scrambling around rocks and trees as the trail wound its way up and down over the ridgeline separating Big Heart from Angeline Lake. The ridge was breathtaking in more than one way though - it continuously offered magnificent high views of these two lakes. The price of beauty was duly paid in the currency of pain - even so, it was a bargain!

Big Heart Lake

West Fork valley - Delta Lake and Trout Lake (lower), Glacier Peak in the distance

Angeline Lake

 

This and next - Big Heart Lake

 

My arduous hike to Chetwoot clocking in at nearly 3 hrs helped ground my plans. The route consisted of 10 miles on trail hiking up the West Fork of the Foss river followed by a 5 mile off trail boulder-y traverse on the ridgeline forming the headwall of the drainage and finishing with another 10 miles on trail down Necklace Valley into the East Fork. Chetwoot marks the end of the first section - and it dawned on me that the hike was turning out to be harder than I had anticipated. Until now, I had been on trail but once the difficulties of off trail travel were factored in, the going would only get slower and tougher. I was beginning to question not just the possibility of forays onto neighboring peaks but also completing the route itself.

My line of thought in the morning had been to reach Chetwoot quickly and then go towards Wild Goat or if possible, Big Snow mtn on a day trip. Tired and diminished at present, I set my sights lower and decided that a push towards Iron Cap Gap would be preferable. If I crossed over into the other valley, at least I'd be able to complete the trip and perhaps even explore Mt Hinman. Just as I was patting myself on the back for this wise decision, fog started to roll in over the Gold Lake divide. It had been cloudy all day but now it started drizzling and the weather was closing in.

Clouds gliding in over Chetwoot Lake

I claimed a pretty campsite overlooking the lake but I wouldn't set up my tent just yet in the hope of clear weather later on. A family of trees growing in a circle served as my cover and kitchen. The future of the trip was anxiously gone over again and again over a cup of tea as I moodily sat looking at the clouds flowing onto the lake and into the valley. I eventually did realize that the unfolding scene had an ethereal beauty that had to be cherished more fully than a short pitstop. I had a strong, almost compulsive urge to complete my route but what if I couldn't or didn't? Must the outdoor experience foremost be accounted for in distance? Weren't the aesthetics more important? After all, one could run 25 miles anywhere. Didn't maturity dictate that success really meant soaking in and allowing yourself to be touched by your surroundings instead of pursuing bliss on a windswept high rock?

Anyhow, the weather forced my hand and I decided that rest and replenishment be better than bumbling alone in unknown country. Tilman's The Ascent of Nanda Devi kept me engrossed and while his writing is described as dry, I found myself in splits multiple times. It's a riveting classic deserving of its enduring reputation.

Saturday morning dawned foggy but as the sun came out, the sky started to lighten up with hints of blue showing through. This was enough to convince me that I should attempt Iron Cap Pass and try to complete the route. I packed up and left by 830 following a route through the forested knoll that I had surveyed last evening. From Chetwoot, a boulder field marked with cairns ran up the steep hillside but I was partial to the trails running through the forest, partly because of the ease. I found myself on the north side of Azure lake a few minutes later where a couple had chosen an idyllic spot to camp. The easiest out of this lake was to follow the exit stream but seeing as it lead me to Angeline lake, I found myself arguing that perhaps there was a route that cut across these lakes and drainages. However, as the ridgeline containing Iron Cap kept on getting farther away from me, I keenly felt I was on the wrong track. Then, I did something remarkably stupid that inevitably leads to many getting lost - instead of retracing my steps, I decided that climbed directly south above Angeline lake to get to the ridge might afford a shortcut. In this, I was grossly mistaken and over the next two hours as I repeated the same mistake over and over again of pursuing hopeful shortcuts through forest and heather, I found myself cut off by cliffsides, sometimes overlooking Azurite lake and other times Angeline.

A tarn before Azure Lake

I saw Angeline Lake (also next pic) from all possible angles haha :)

The path less taken - Azurite Lake

 

Seeing as I might have to beat a shameful retreat on a beautiful day like this if I didn't get back on track soon, I retraced my steps to Azure lake and asked the couple camped there for directions. They had walked from Necklace Valley over Iron Cap Pass yesterday and having done it in fog themselves, could only say that they consistently walked on boulder fields below the ridge for a long time before entering the lake bowl late in the evening. The best thing to do seemed to me to climb the steep heather slopes out of the lake bowl going directly south towards the ridge. Even if there wasn't a direct way from there, at least it would offer me a high vantage point. As I topped out, I came out on an extensive boulder strewn highland from which Chetwoot lake extended down the same cairned boulder slopes that I had rejected early in the morning, a mere 15 or so minutes away. A fortunate rendezvous just at this moment with a large party informed me that all I had to do was stick to these slopes and traverse while maintaining elevation. In hindsight, I had enough training to have adjudged this route from my topo map especially given all the free time I had the evening before and a study of google earth imagery would have made this obvious. My navigational errors were elementary and slackness stemming from overconfidence was to blame. Beckey's route description would later afford me a little consolation in that there is indeed a variation of the route going from Azure to Azurite lake that later climbs east and onwards to Iron Cap Pass.

 

Climbing above Azure Lake with Angeline Lake in background

Lost in lake wonderland, this boulder field is what I'd been after ;)

Chetwoot Lake, Wild Goat mtn (left) and Tourmaline Peak (right)

Angeline Lake

Nevertheless, I was finally on the right track and this gave me a huge boost of energy. I have a fondness for boulder fields and can catch quite a rhythm hopping from boulder to boulder. I caught up with a group of 3 lady hikers near the tarn below Iron Cap. They were following the GPS trail on AllTrails and had gotten ahead of me despite having started much lower at Big Heart the same day. I must admit to a pathological averseness to GPS trail following - not only does it free one from the need of understanding terrain but I cannot think of a worse symbol of the stresses of modern life than our time on screens. I think that guarantees and assurances of safety are fine but risk and uncertainty are a fundamental component of time spent outdoors and negotiating that leads to a deeper sense of joy and fulfilment.

Iron Cap's tarn

The route kept on traversing over boulder fields as another big lake of the area - Otter, slowly came into view. I soon came upon the crux of the route - a short traverse through a steep grassy gully leading in to the forest on the adjoining cliff band. A slip could have been ugly but the footing was good and a little bit of holding onto a rock at one point was necessary. I was able to pause at a point and take a picture, so while it seemed a tad hairy, it couldn't have been too bad. Close to 6 hours after setting out, I finally took a long break lounging on a big rock above Iron Cap Pass. Otter Lake looked splendid in the valley below while Summit Chief and the Lemah group stood high on the south side. All sorely dry except perhaps Overlook and Summit Chief which still had substantial and very broken up glaciers. I can only hope that this was due to the unusually hot summer Washington has had and in otherwise normal years, there is plenty of snow.

Otter Lake

Crux gully

Looking down ..

I made a move to Tanks lake plateau which would have made a splendid camping spot if not for the tens of hikers already there and the fact that it was wise for me to camp lower down to get out in time tomorrow for my flight. An achingly steep and painful hike down a spur that was all scree had me at Emerald lake where several hikers had seen a black bear the same day. I chatted with an old guy who'd been camping there for a few days and it seemed like a camp spot here arounds would be best since space around Jade lake was rather tight. He assured me that the bear wouldn't give me much trouble since the berry season was in full swing. To his chagrin, I took his advice to heart and decided to camp a mere 50 paces behind him.

Otter Lake from Iron Cap Pass

Overlook Mtn and Lemah group on right (could be wrong)

Beautiful trail for footsore hikers

Tank lakes plateau

First views of Necklace Valley .. probably Jade Lake below

Emerald Lake

My first two days as I had huffed and puffed up the trail, I had often wondered if I was trying too hard to hold on to a former identity of mine. What exactly was the nature of my motives? However, it had been a remarkably full and beautiful day high in the area that put all those doubts to rest. I felt thoroughly vindicated at my initiative. Each and every pore of my body had thrummed with energy and joy throughout the day as I wound into dead ends or hopped on boulders waiting to see what new sights the next turn held. This was it, this was the essence of what I'd been chasing.

I should have stayed in the forest hut nearby since my stay would last barely 12 hours but I was too afraid of the bear for it to be the case. A 3 mile hike down Necklace Valley where the trail is more roots and rocks than dirt to the floor of the East Fork valley and 5 flat pretty miles later, I was at the trailhead. 10 hours later, I was home! My first solo trip was a resounding success - incredible scenery, challenges and hiking. It went without any incident and will pave the way for future trips.

My $40 Coleman tent that has withstood surprisingly violent thunderstorms - highly recommend if you don't have to carry it on your back ;)

Jade Lake

Trail .. ugh

Descending into the East Fork of the Foss river valley

Fall colors lower down

A good trip needs appropriate closure - Skykomish burger and Italian soda. Had to drive so no beer. Uff, so responsible