Alta Mountain, Rachel Lake — Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022

Bottom Line:

A difficult but beautiful hike to the end of a fin jutting deep into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness where views abound; the climb out to the end of the fin with its many false summits and occasional exposure and scrambling is not for the faint-of-heart, but one is typically rewarded with copious fields of flowers the whole way (although a little less so this year); I made some mistakes on this hike that have me thinking more about safety this evening (more on that below)

Stats:

• Distance: 12-1/2 miles
• Duration: 7 hours
• Vertical: 3800 feet
• Weather: sunshine, hot, light breeze
• Road/Parking: Road past Kachess Campground is probably the best dirt road I have been on this season, well graded with nary a pothole; formal parking lot off the road with plenty of room and available spaces; this is a very easy access hike :)
• Trail: This trail is a study in contrasts, with an easy ~3-1/4 miles from the trailhead up the valley for a gain of ~700 ft, followed by a brutal (especially on descent) rocky, rooty and steep ascent of ~1000 ft in the next ~3/4 mile up to Rachel Lake; the lake is beautiful with clear water and granite outcropping typical of the Alpine Lakes and I think this is the first time I have been there and not swarmed by mosquitos; there are switchbacks and a relatively normal trail up to the junction with Lila and Rampart Lakes, and then in another 1/4 mile an (easy-to-miss) left turn to head up Alta Mountain; that ascent is very open with grassy, flower-filled meadows, and I think I encountered 4 false summits heading out along a fin that extends deep into the Alpine Lakes, with some scrambling and exposure along the way; the views from the end of the fin are spectacular, and I captured a 360 in my video; the mosquitos from the bench above Rachel to the peak were more of an annoyance, especially in the shade (you can see me being photobombed by bugs in the video); the open meadows up Alta are full of ripe blueberries but a little past when it comes to flowers (although that improves with altitude - see video); a cross-valley view of this fin in included in my Kendall Katwalk hike video
• Takeaway: This hike never disappoints and is my favorite in the vicinity of Snoqualmie Pass; but I was not prepared the way I should have been, and this served as a (relatively harmless?) reminder about safety, the dangers than come with solo hiking and summer heat

The attached 4K video shows the nature of the trail and the 360-degree views from the Alta summit at the end of a long ridge ("the fin"). Views abound, from Rainier, to Daniel, Stuart, Glacier Peak, Kendall (including the Katwalk), Hibox, Alaska Lake, Chikamin Peak, etc. The faint outline of the Pacific Crest Trail against these dramatic peaks makes quite the impression. 

I have done this hike many times, but this one kicked my butt today. I did not account for the heat. There is lots of water up to Rachel Lake (see video), but little beyond that. I filtered at the lake on the way back. But water was not enough - I needed to replenish my electrolytes (my clothes were soaked through the entire day) and started to cramp badly on the brutal ~1 mile descent from Rachel Lake back down to the valley, late in the day. That pain and my relative dehydration had me feeling faint and nauseous. I had snacks, but they were not doing the trick. I sat on the ground for a while, feeling like I was going to pass out, but also feeling kind of good about just falling asleep right there (never a good sign). I snapped myself out of it and asked myself whether I was in trouble. Add to this, one of my shoelaces had broken, and I had neglected to move my spares into the lighter backpack I had today, so I was swimming in one of my boots. A cramp from my groin down to my knee kept triggering and sending me reeling and yelping. Deep breaths... I slowly ate some unpalatable KIND bars, drank more water, and got my act together. But I will admit I scared myself a bit today. "BE PREPARED"... I like to think I always am. I was not. Weather can make a huge difference to the difficulty of a hike, and once you cross the Snoqualmie summit, it is markedly hotter on the other side. I was so determined to summit, that I was forgetting what a bear this hike is on the descent. Today was a good lesson and reminder for me.