The weather forecast called for partly sunny with ""widely scattered showers"". They were about right. We left Seattle at 5:00am and arrived at the Rachel Lake trail head at 6:30. Two cars were in the lot, likely belonging to the campers we saw later, plus one hiker arrived just a minute before us. The first few miles are relatively flat and follow along the side of Box Canyon creek, with several nice cascades and deep, clear pools to check out. These are two sections that are starting to become overgrown with plants up to my armpits closing in on both sides. The first big treat is not far away, because when you get to the head wall, there is a very nice waterfall (1st picture). Then the hard climb begins, on a trail that is alternately a staircase of tree roots or a creek bed. Many more waterfalls along the way make for constant rewards. After reaching Rachel lake (2nd picture), we followed the trails along the right side of the lake and up to Rampart Ridge, where the true alpine experience begins. After following the Lila Lake trail a short way, a cairn marks the trail branching off to the left. We followed this trail to the summit of Alta Mtn, passing several false summits and arriving at the true summit in 3 hours from the car. These false summits were a bit tricky since by this time we were well into the cloud deck and could never see the true summit until we were actually on it. But once there, it is pretty obvious that the trail goes no further. Here, the warm cloths went on and we had a snack while hoping the clouds might blow away, but they did not and we were denied any views beyond 50 ft. The return trip went quickly, but for some reason those last 3 miles seemed longer going back than they had coming out. We passed many day hikers and several backpackers on the way down. I got back to the car and a full parking lot at 5hr 25min, having completed 13 miles and about 3,600 ft vertical.

It was another beautiful day in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Joining me were Hitomi, Hiro, Andrew and Margo. This trail is four miles from a 200-site campground. Expect to see other hikers, fishermen, dogs, and an occasional scrambler. It was cool with promises of sun to come. The first 2.5 miles on the valley floor went quickly, with many a scenic river view. Flowers are really starting to pop, including columbine, bluebells, and paintbrush. The trail starts heading up, zigzagging it’s way up and through cliffs, streambeds, waterfalls, roots, rocks and mud. This may not be a first-timer type of trail. There are many magnificent views out to Hibox Mt. Rachel Lake is reached, and the effort pays off. There are plenty of places to camp, including a private spot on the south end of the lake. I crossed the rockslide on an obvious path, disappearing into a cove, complete with a tree sheltered campsite, and a fresh snowmelt stream. However, the fire ring is illegal. It became mostly sunny and warm, with enough room for everybody to spread out. Perhaps I will return to see Rampart and Lila Lakes, along with the summit of Alta. R/T 8 miles, 1900’ gain, six casual hours car to car

We got a late start to this hike (9:00 am), and stopped to smell all the wildflowers (literally!), so it took my friend and I a long time to reach Rachel Lake. It was about 1:30 or 2:00 by the time we got there, after a grueling trek up the roots & rocks. I read the trip report by fellow hiker Janice Van Cleve that this was a ""wicked cruel"" last mile... while at the lake I thought to myself ""nah, it was cruel but not that bad"", then came the trip down... and there is where it got wicked cruel! Also, the trail was very muddy, with lots of stream crossings. I even took my shoes off on one crossing and waded barefoot across... my feet thanked me. I also went barefoot in the lake, and was surprised at how warm it was (or maybe my feet were just overheated, but it felt wonderful). All in all, a great hiking day. Not too hot, no bugs, views of Hibox Mountain, and a beautiful lake. We were hoping to hike up to Rampart Lakes but decided after looking at the time after lunch to just head home. We'll be back. Picture 1: looking over the top of a waterfall. I was standing on a rock filtering water, and thought this would be a cool picture. Picture 2: Rachel Lake.

Very beautiful scenery, but you pay for it. First, the 100 Hikes guide is misleading about the entrance. Take 4930 from Kachess Campground entrance and go a short mile to a junction. Take the right hand fork, not the left hand, and go 4 miles to the spacious parking lot. Trail is not maintained but in good shape for the first 3 miles. Lots of Soloman's Seal, Ocean Spray, and Meadow Parsley crowd the path in the avalanche meadows. Box Canyon creek makes wonderful music tumbling over the rocks the whole length of the trail. Then comes the abrupt ascent to Rachel Lake. The book calls it a cruel mile. It is wicked cruel. Overgrown, muddy, sloppy, rocky, and in some places flowing water. Two beautiful waterfalls on the way up and some nice views of the canyon looking back. Rachel Lake is clear, clean, and bright blue. Trail goes around the north end and up a half mile of steep, but well engineered, switchbacks to the saddle. Views down to Rachel Lake and all around from this trail are breathtaking. At the saddle, the right trail takes off to Rampart Lakes. I took the left trail to Lila Lakes. Nice trail, grand views, but crowded by spruce trees in some spots. Gorgeous carpets of spreading Phlox on the open slopes. Snow begins at Lila Lakes (actually ponds). Lots of snow and cold above Lila Lakes on the way to Mt. Alta. Did not make the peak, but enjoyed a wonderful day alone in the wilderness.

Susie and I wanted some sunny hiking so we pushed on past Snoqualmie Pass to the Rachel Lake trail. True to the guide book, the trailhead parking lot had lots of cars in it. On the way to the trailhead we had two adventures. The first was a rather large brown bear on the road ahead. It took one look at us and bounded off into the trees, but not before we got a good look at it. We also took a wrong turn on the way in to the trailhead. When you reach the Lake Kachess campground, turn left up the dirt road. At the large sign, stay to your right. If you go left you will see some nice country, but you won’t find the trailhead. Once on the trail we found it in very good shape up to the waterfall – and we found roots and several pretty massive mud pits. With waders you should have no problem. The lake was fairly busy, with a large group camping on the south shore, already in their sleeping bags due to the clouds that had drifted in during our hike. We pressed on to the ridge above the lake for some absolutely fantastic views of the lake from above. Well worth the extra elevation gain on this trail that is also in very good shape. At the top of the ridge we found the first patches of snow. They will probably be gone after three or four days of sunny weather. The trip back to the car was uneventful. We did rebuild some brush berms to keep people from getting off on the many false trails that branch off the main trail. Some of those branches look pretty authentic – and one of them snared us for several minutes until we backtracked and found that we completely missed a switchback.