Scenic and enjoyable, if dusty, 3 day walk as done by a 60 year old father & 21 year old...
Scenic and enjoyable, if dusty, 3 day walk as done by a 60 year old father & 21 year old son in decent shape but not frequent hikers. Starting about noon Wednesday, we walked from the Crater Creek trail parking area up to Eagle Lake, steady ascent for 6 or 7 miles. Trail is dusty, and there is no water for most of the way, so if you do this be sure to hydrate early and bring plenty of containers. (We were a little short the first day until we got to a stream after about 5 miles.) A sign says trails are maintained by local motorcycle club so they're wide and flat but we saw no bikers today. Trail signs are not optimal and can cause occasional hikers (like us) to become confused -- we wound up backtracking a mile or more to check our bearings at one point, making the hike a little more demanding. Upper Eagle Lake (about 7100 ft) is stunning, ringed by rocky slopes. It was a little buggy but far less than what I had expected. The slopes and lake caught the changing light as the sun disappeared behind the ridge.
Next morning we went over Horsehead Pass catching the great view of Boiling Lake, then back down to the lake. Again unmarked trails and our unfamiliarity with the country led us to take a mile or two diversion from our planned route. (A few more signs would be so helpful to us amateurs on these trails.) We did encounter one motorcyclist. Early afternoon on the Summit trail lovely fields of Lupin nearly everywhere perfuming the dusty path. There were several streams to replenish water supplies -- I'm a big fan of keeping well hydrated especially where much of the hike is around 7000'. Mid afternoon we came to Angel's Staircase, aptly named, fabulous views all along the steep ascent to about 8000', the trail demanding but well maintained over the rocks. From the top we could see Mt. Rainier just peeking over the North Cascades. A short walk to the pass over lovely Cooney Lake, another fabulous viewpoint, and then we did the very abrupt descent down to the lake where we spent the night. A few bugs about sundown but again fewer than I expected. Cooney Lake seems to have something of a reputation as a horse camp but we shared the area with only one other backpacking group, no horses at all. Our second wrong turn added several miles to this hike which wound up being over 10 miles, over several passes. I was quite done in by the end of the day and pretty much just dropped at the campsite. Luckily my son is a hardy guy and took care of dinner.
Final day, hike out, passing near Martin Lake and back down. Fairly long, gently descent, less lovely than the previous day's hike through flowered meadows. Trail is again very dusty. We met a tour guide leading several horses to Martin Lake to bring a group of pack-in campers out. (There were also quite a few pack-in campers at Boiling Lake as we passed by on Tuesday). If I had it to do over again I'd plan to come out via the Foggy Dew trail (reputedly prettier), but we would have had to solve the car logistics in advance because it wouldn't be quite a loop, but the Foggy Dew trailhead doesn't seem very far from the Crater Creek trailhead where we started. Or, if we had a little more time it would have been more pleasant to retrace our trip back over the ridge past Boiling Lake and Eagle Lake. I usually don't like retracing my steps, but the amazing views and beautiful flowery meadows would have been worth it here.
The trip wound up being about 27 miles with our wrong turns, a little over 5000' elevation gain, occasionally steep but mostly steady ascents and descents. No problems except dust and plenty of horse dooky on the trails. Highly recommended for the views and flowers!
July 31st, 2007: Golden Lakes Loop
This was a long day! I left the house at my normal 2:30am start, but...
July 31st, 2007: Golden Lakes Loop
This was a long day! I left the house at my normal 2:30am start, but only managed to reach the trailhead by 8:30am (a nap and poor directions put a spanner in the works).
The trail lead off through cool forest with partial views of the high country, in which most of the day would be spent. Around 6,000ft I started to move in and out of forest and the views improved. Soon after, I also got my first peek-a-boo views of Lower Eagle Lake.
A little less than 2hrs after setting off I was at shallow, peaceful Middle Eagle Lake. Flowers ringed the lake and colorful butterflies flitted hither and thither. Next up was Upper Eagle Lake a little less than a mile off from the main trail. Unlike Middle Eagle Lake, this one was much more substantial. The lake was ringed by the rugged cliffs of Mt Bigelow. Larch trees clung to the cliffs, and would probably be glorious in October.
Back at Middle Eagle Lake (11:00am), I set off for Horsehead Pass. As the rocky trail switch-backed up to the pass, Lower Eagle Lake was finally revealed in its entirety. The pass is a great viewpoint with Lower Eagle Lake on one side and Boiling Lake (my next objective) on the other.
At Boiling Lake, I decided to take the more scenic route over the 7,500ft pass south of the lake. From here, all the way to Angels Staircase, the entire route is in meadows full of flowers. I have not been on any other hike with this many flowers; bees buzzing, butterflies floating, color everywhere...it was just gorgeous!
I rejoined the Chelan Summit trail and wandered the meadows to Angels Staircase. Angels Staircase was literally and figuratively the high point of the trip. Incredible views of gorgeous meadows and jagged peaks near and far. The Sawtooth Ridge, Mount Rainier, Mount Daniel, Glacier Peak, the Entiat Mountains, were the backdrop for lush green meadows. This was also the steepest part of the hike, but not too bad, and I was at the 8,000ft high point of Switchback Pass before 2:00pm.
From Switchback Pass, I skirted Merchants Basin (Sunrise Lake was visible across the basin) and finally stood on the pass overlooking Cooney Lake. Cooney Lake was the best of the lakes. Ringed with larches, lovely meadows and tarns, it was a sight to gladden the heart. A perfect way to put an exclamation point to the magnificence of Angels Staircase.
I had lunch at the lake and decompressed for a bit, before embarking on the long slog back to the trailhead. Martin Lakes were skipped for another trip, and I was back at the car exactly 9hrs after starting.
Westside weather concerns forced us east of Lake Chelan. 45 miles and 2 hours N of Chelan on road 82...
Westside weather concerns forced us east of Lake Chelan. 45 miles and 2 hours N of Chelan on road 82 we reached Summer Blossom trailhead. This little used trail begins in forest but soon its all views. We camped night 1 at east fork Prince Creek, very green with great sunsets. Day 2 we hiked up Angel Staircase to over 8000'. From there the trail contours the shoulder overlooking Cooney Lake. We then dropped to Merchants Basin and on to Sunrise Lake where we spent night 2. Day 3 we took a shortcut over the pass S of the lake to rejoin the Summer Blossom trail saving 5 miles back to the car. Total trip about 20 miles and 4000'.
Despite calling the ranger station and getting the report of ""lots of snow in the passes"", we set out on...
Despite calling the ranger station and getting the report of ""lots of snow in the passes"", we set out on the Golden Lakes Loop, equipped with gaiters and ice axes. As it turned out, we used the gaiters a lot, but the only time we needed the axes, they were back in camp...
Leaving town early on Friday, we were able to drive to the Crater Creek TH and start hiking at noon. Saw no one that day, except a family at the TH going to Crater Lake for a day of fishing. While our initial goal was to camp at Upper Eagle Lake, at the last minute we elected to head over Horsehead Pass and set up camp at Boiling Lake. We encountered some snow patches, but all quite easy to negotiate, from about 6800' to the pass. From the pass down to the lake, it was clear, except for some areas where the trail has slipped out; clear for feet, but probably less for horse or bike. We had Boiling Lake to ourselves the first night; the next night, two other parties of two each were there, but still quiet. That is except for the large buck that wandered through camp and tried to make off with my shoes. On our layover day at Boiling Lake, we ambled over towards Hoodoo Pass and Mt Bigelow, maxing out at the 8135 hoodoo. We especially liked this area: rocks, basin, larch trees, lovely meadows!! We also found an old trail, not on map but still with signs of maintenance, heading back to Boiling Lake from where the camp is marked on the GT #115 map.
Sunday, we reluctantly pulled up stakes at Boiling Lake. We had thought of following the old sheepherder's trail over the 7500' saddle, but due to snow on the north side, elected to follow the regular trail. Heading south on the Summit Trail, it seems we may have been the first to pass this year, as the only prints were deer and coyote. Snow patches were rather consistent up to the small saddle, but again, nothing to worry a hiker about. From the saddle, we contoured around to the well-marked and extremely well constructed Angel's Staircase trail, passing for re-fueling before the ascent. The easy tred and the ever-increasing views made for a pleasurable climb to the 8000' mark on Switchback Peak (aka Cooney Peak). We dropped packs here and scrambled to the summit. From there, we contoured around to the SE ridge, and looked down at lots of snow on the way down to Cooney Lake. Slowly, we found a spot to work over the cornice, finding many of the switchbacks still in snow, or super-saturated soil. It was a slow way down. One other party later went straight down the larger snowfield, but it was steep! We found a spot to camp on the ledges south of Cooney.
Monday, we awakened at 5:30 to a clap of thunder, looked out of the tent and saw a very black cloud, and took down camp in no time flat. The rain only lasted maybe 30 minutes, but we were packed. So we headed down to Cooney Lake proper, saw one two-person party camped there, and made breakfast. From there, we scrambled up to Martin Peak under now blue skies. Traversing under the first knob to arrive at the true summit was the one time we wanted axes, but these were back with our packs... Back with our gear, we loaded up under another small shower - this was to become the pattern, very small showers then sun. We headed down the Martin Creek trail, encountering snow in the basin SE of Martin Peak, once again all passable to feet. There were a couple of trees across the trail in this section, both above and below the junction with the Martin Lakes trail, one being somewhat difficult for hikers, all being difficult for horses and bikes. At the junction with Martin Lakes, maybe because we had gotten up early due to the storm, we decided to head to the lakes and have a lazy afternoon. The lakes were much less scenic than Cooney or Boiling, with some large, much abused campsites and the first really bothersome mosquitoes of the trip. Nothing that a nap in the tent couldn't repair, however.
Finally on Tuesday, we awoke early and broke camp, with the goal of a real lunch in Twisp. It was a rather uneventful hike out, with a ford of Eagle Creek to cool the feet.
All in all, it was an absolutely stellar hike. Something I would recommend to all, either now for flowers (lots!) or in the fall to enjoy the larches. We saw very few others: the four I mentioned at Boiling Lake, two at Cooney, and then on the last section out, one mountain biker and a party of three backpackers - a total of ten people in five days!
Lastly, I have to say that I side with Harvey and Ira in their books, calling for more protection to this area. It truly was wilderness quality scenery, and should be protected as such. If not this, then there should be limits on motorcycle use - waiting till the trails are snow free, so that wheels won't go around a snow patch and erode the surrounding area. There should also be limits on horse use, in terms of party size and more emphasis placed on ""leave no trace"" horse camping. We saw lots of horse manure right next to many lakes. But don't let this dissuade you from going to this area. It needs more folks coming back star struck like me to gather more support.
I decided to try a loop a little further from Seattle to avoid some crowds. It worked. Even though...
I decided to try a loop a little further from Seattle to avoid some crowds. It worked. Even though this area is open to horses and motorcycles, I only saw three bikes and a string of pack mules all weekend. No hikers.
It was crazy hot on the way over through Wenatchee and Chelan. I wasn't sure what I was in for. By the time I reached the trailhead at 4800 feet, it was a milder 80 degrees. The trail was dusty, but not a problem when solo. The poodle didn't dig on eating my dust and quickly took the lead for the remainder of the trip.
It's a nice, equestrian graded climb to the Eagle Lakes at 7 miles or so. The views begin to open up within a mile of the lakes. From the lakes the trail climbs a bit more seriously up to the nice cool Horsehead Pass at 7600 feet. The views really open up to the west from the pass. Back to the east you can see out into wheat country. It's an odd sensation to see flat wheatland from this elevation. Boiling Lake is now visible 600 feet below the pass to the west. I continued on past Boiling Lake to the approximate midpoint of the loop near an unnamed pass between Boiling Lake and the Angel's Staircase. The west side of the Sawtooths is much more beautiful than the east. Don't stop at the Eagle Lakes and turn around. After a cold Guiness and some mac and cheese, I was in bed by dark. The mosquitoes were out a bit more seriously at dusk. The were thick near water throughout the day.
The next morning we were on Pt 7820 west of the unnamed pass by 7AM. The views here are remarkable with Ranier, Daniels, Hinman, Glacier, and some beautiful peaks west of Lake Chelan all visible. From here I continued on up the Angel's Staircase to a pass at 8000 feet. A quick scramble to Pt 8321 revealed more incredible views to the north. A traverse above Merchant's Basin reaches another pass looking down on Cooney Lake. Sunrise Lake is visible to the south in a beautiful little cirque.
A quick steep drop down to Cooney brings a distinct change to Larch. This must be beautiful in the fall. I did a bit of fishing here at Cooney and the trout were small but willing. On that note: I was surprised to see trout in the other lakes I had passed as well. The middle Eagle Lake and Boiling Lake were both quite shallow and it seems as though they should freeze solid in the winter at this altitude (the lakes are in the 7000 foot range).
The trail out from Cooney is mostly forested. It felt like a long 8 miles. I didn't venture into the Martin Lakes on my way out. The dog and I were both pretty tired when we reached the truck at 2PM, the same time we'd left on Friday. The odometer on the GPS said 25 miles and 5500 feet of gain. Due to the gentle grade of the multi-use trail, it didn't feel as bad as it should have. The wildflowers were at their peak and incredible right now. Don't let the multi-use designation scare you away.
A quick skinny dip in the Methow on the way out to cool off and lose the trail dust and we were home in Everett by 6:30.
Both photos are from the top of the Angel's Staircase. The first is looking back to the northwest where we came from, the second is looking south across Merchant's Basin.
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