Louis Lake — Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013

North Cascades > Methow/Sawtooth

Louis Lake became the backup plan in an attempt to salvage a weekend backpack trip on the Golden Lakes Loop that was an attempt to salvage a cancelled trip to St. Joe National Forest. In other words, things don't always go according to plan, but they generally turn out okay in the end. The 100 Hikes in the North Cascades book make this lake sound not particularly scenic or nice to visit, so we were pleasantly surprised to discover that it's actually quite nice. We picked it due to its proximity to a campground, South Creek, which we had all to ourselves on Saturday night for only $8. Nice. It was a little too chilly to jump in the lake, but I so wanted to swim out to the island to check it out! Instead, I took full advantage of ripe berries along the trail: huckleberries, thimble berries, wild raspberries, and black currants. [Side note on the reason for the salvage operation: it was because my hiking buddy wasn't feeling well. I'm sure the Golden Lakes Loop is quite nice, too (the book that makes this trip sound so-so absolutely raves about the Golden Lakes Loop). However, a warning: we only hiked 4.5 (RT) miles of the Loop, but we probably saw 20+ dirt bikes and 20+ mountain bikes, and not a single other hiker. If I return for the Loop, I'm coming mid-week.]