Started off with taking a right into the campgrounds instead of turning left to get to trail 1313. Wondered around the campgrounds for a bit to check it out then headed in the right direction. With about 3 miles to go to drive to the trail head we ran into snow. A lot of snow. Decided to park the car on the side of the road and snowshoe it in. There was still anywhere between 2-4' of snow on the road. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day so we enjoyed the hike to the trail head. We decided not to go any further since we got a later start than we wanted but the trail itself was also deep in snow. Going to try this one again after the snow has time to melt off.

Snow level at 4400 ft. The first 2.5 miles of this trail is very easy with small elevation gain. Lots of bright autumn colors contrast with the dusting of snow at the higher elevations. Little stream crossings are easy. The side of one of the puncheons has collapsed and the whole thing will go if it gets heavy water or snow. The rock slabs a mile from the trailhead are great for photo ops and they rival in size and beauty even the Denny Creek slabs.

Two miles from the trailhead are a series of large blowdowns. Some are 26-28" diameter. It is a climb and slide over situation for 2 of them. At 2.5 miles the trail comes to Box Creek. The water is flowing heavily. The boulders and log jam that might be used to cross it are at odd angles, far apart, and slippery wet. Smartest crossing here is to ford the stream which is not deep. I decided, however, that it was not a safe crossing for me and turned back.

Too bad because it was a nice sunny day and seeing the snow dusting at Rachel and Lila lakes contrasting with the autumn colors would have been lovely. I compensated by harvesting a Bear's Tooth mushroom custer for dinner.

The road in from Kachees campground is very washboardy and potholed.

 Headed up with Bruce to due a nice fall summit of Alta. The colors were a tad passed prime but still something to behold. The weather was ideal and we both enjoyed our jaunt. The trails are all in good shape and I would guess that the time is running short to enjoy the area before Winter asserts itself.

pictures and a more detailed report here:

http://alpinelakesaficionado.blogspot.com/[…]/alta-mountain-6240.html

Despite getting rained on twice and being surrounded by clouds nearly the entire trip, this was one of my favorite hikes. The dogs and I visited dozens of alpine lakes, saw tons of marmots and hawks, and experienced a unique climate created by converging cloud fronts of precipitation and smoke. We were even lucky enough to spend an hour or two above the clouds on the summit.

We started off under thick clouds from the unofficial trailhead at Rocky Run Creek off NF road 136. I glimpsed a tent through the fog on the way past Lake Lillian and encountered a lone hunter clad in blaze orange on the trail above the lakes. On the way up Rampart Ridge the cloud front from the west poured over the ridge and into the valley below and I could smell occasional pockets of warm smoky air rising up from the east. From the summit we scrambled down the boot path to the east and back into the clouds, continuing along the steep trail to the Rampart Lakes.

A web of paths weave among the Rampart Lakes on the way to the Rachel Lake, becoming Rachel Lake Trail 1313. From here we headed toward Lake Lila and Alta Mountain. At about 5400' the distinct north-to-south ridge of Alta Mountain became visible and shortly after that a trail appeared leading towards it.

I was well prepared for the many false summits from the trip reports I had read. Even so, I was fooled at least once. At about 5800' we emerged above the clouds and it quickly became t-shirt and shorts weather. There is one spot just after the true summit comes into view where I had to assist the dogs down a 6 foot drop with some serious exposure on all sides, but other than that the trail was easy to travel.

An impressive cairn adorns the summit. Box Ridge, Chikamin Ridge, Huckleberry Mountain, Alaska Mountain, and Mount Thomson were all visible allthough heavily shrouded in smoke from the wildfires to the east. We enjoyed the summit for well over an hour, basking in the sunshine, and were joined for a while by two gentlemen who had camped a Lake Lila the night before. We watched the sea of clouds from Gold Creek Valley slowly rise up and over Alta Pass, spilling into Box Canyon like a waterfall.

This was an unforgettable trip, made all the better by relatively small crowds along the trail. Rainy day hiking in Washington occasionally has its perks!

A WORD OF WARNING:
There is a maze of trails in this area making it very easy to get lost. I highly recommend that anyone attempting this hike or anything near it bring with them a reliable contour map and compass, and the knowledge and experience required to use them.