Thornton Lakes and Trappers Peak — Sunday, May. 17, 2015

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20

What a beautiful weekend to spend in the North Cascades! The drive to the trailhead was a quick 5 miles with a few rough bumps. Most cars should be able to make it with caution. We hit the trail just after 10. The first 2 miles along the old overgrown logging road were quite enjoyable with beautiful wildflowers and some excellent peek-a-boo views of the range to the South of Hwy 20. Turning up into the forest provided many unique changes in forest scenery, as well as the challenge of a moderate uphill grade! There were a few trees down over the trail but it looked like most of the winter obstacles had already been cleared by some recent trail work. We gained the ridge and the junction about 2.5 hours from trailhead. There was patchy snow and the clouds were looking a bit more ominous so we decided to take lunch at the overlook to Thornton Lake and call that our turn-around point. The lake and surrounding cirque are truly gorgeous and I look forward to getting back to this trail later in the season to gain Trapper's Peak! For now, anyone heading up the Peak or down to the lake needs to be prepared for some route-finding and snow travel.