Alpine Washington

The kids are back in school since our last hike on Labor Day, though they're learning remotely from home. With the excellent September weather, I'd like to continue checking off a few alpine lakes, and Jeannie agrees to join me on a hike near Mount Margaret. We haven't been up this trail since late August 1997, on our way to Lake Lillian, before we were married! That hike was also before digital cameras and smart phones, as I have the prints and negatives in my photo album to prove it. The targeted lakes for today are Yvonne, Margaret, and Stonesthrow, with the latter requiring a bit of off-trail work. Let the adventure begin! We drive it up the short but rocky logging road to the Lake Lillian trail head just past Snoqualmie Pass and Gold Creek Pond. Somehow, I seem to recall the parking being in a different spot back in '97, but it's hard to say for sure. I definitely remember the trail being in a clear cut for the first mile or two, but the area we're headi...

Our family tries to do one backpacking trip every summer, and it's usually quite difficult to fit in among busy schedules for gymnastics, work, triathlons, and all the other events that seem to fill up summer calendars. This year, we didn't start hiking until late July due to COVID concerns, but I'd still love to get in our overnight before the kids go back to remote school in September. As it turns out, the Labor Day weekend is free, so I make a plan to do a PCT hike near Stevens Pass, in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. It's unclear how many people we'll see, but we should be able to check off five lakes on my ALW list in a relatively easy 11 mile through hike from Stevens Pass to Tunnel Creek. Since this is a through hike, two cars are needed. We drop off Lucas' car at the Tunnel Creek trailhead, a few miles west of Stevens Pass. After a short drive, we reach the pass and have a quick bite to eat at the PCT trailhead on the south side of Highway 2. The forecas...