Alpine Washington

I’ve got a backcountry work party coming up that will involve four nights in the wilderness near Hester Lake. As part of my preparation for this trip, I’m going on my first overnight hike of the season, and my first solo backpacking trip ever. For this adventure, I’ve chosen to visit the Scottish Lakes in the northeastern corner of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, in an area called the Chiwaukum Mountains. My plan is to camp at Loch Eileen, which is the third lake I will reach on this four-lake hike, but whether I can make it that far with a heavy pack on remains to be seen. I’ve actually borrowed my son’s 45 liter pack for this trip, since it’s about two pounds lighter than the 70 liter pack I normally bring, and I don’t need the space just for a single night. I pack everything up and hit the road, reaching the Ethel Lake Trailhead east of Stevens Pass at around 12:30 PM. It’s a rather late state, but one advantage of an overnight hike is you don’t need to p...

For today’s hike, I want to visit a new lake, but I also need a short hike since I’m preparing for a few days out of town tomorrow. A quick jaunt up the Snow Lake Trail from Alpental should fit the bill, and I can swing by Source Lake on the way down. I’m not expecting to actually visit Snow Lake, since I know it’s still frozen over and surrounded by deep snow, and I’ll be going by Snow Lake at least once or twice later to visit higher lakes anyway. The weather today is perfect with a mix of clouds and sun, and temperatures in the 70s. Note: depending on which map you use, Source Lake may appear to be outside of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. However, with the additions to the ALW made in late 2014, it lies just inside the wilderness boundary. Source Lake is supposedly so named because it is the source of the South Fork Snoqualmie River. I can't help but think of this as a very lazy designation, since almost all lakes are the source of some creek or river. I haven’t been ...

I’ve been itching to get up to Green Ridge since I first saw it on the topo maps last fall. This little-known area north of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River is not easy to get to, but it’s the gateway to over 10 alpine lakes, not to mention the high summits of Mount Garfield, Treen Peak, and Galleon Mountain. The trail is a rough mining and fishing path that is infamous for its steepness, in one stretch climbing 2000’ in about 0.8 miles. This rivals such well-known steep ascents like Aasgard Pass, which rises 2100’ over the same distance, or Putrid Pete’s Peak, which has a stretch of 1000’ in just 0.3 miles! Fortunately, I successfully hiked PPP a week ago with no ill effects, so I think I’m ready for this one. I navigate the 4.6 miles of bone-rattling potholes on Forest Service road 5620, also known as the Dingford Creek Road, and park in a pullout just past the trailhead. Not that there is a trailhead, per se - just a path that leads straight into ...

The middle of October has brought a few inches of snow to the Cascades earlier this week. Having just acquired a pair of Microspikes to extend my hiking season, I decide to attempt Mount Defiance via the old Mason Lake trail. The forecast calls for sunny but freezing weather. Per usual, the parking lot is full at the Ira Spring trailhead when I arrive at 9:00 AM. Considering that the last time we hiked to Mason Lake, we parked 1/2 mile down the road, the brief 150' walk from my car is a luxury. The mercury (do cars have that?) reads 28 degrees, so I bundle up with gloves, hat, and a couple long-sleeve layers. The trail begins on an old logging road that allows two or three abreast. It climbs, but not steeply, and crosses Mason Creek on a sturdy bridge in about 20 minutes. Most hikers continue up the Ira Spring Trail, which switchbacks through talus up the side of Bandera Mountain before hopping over the ridge to ...