It was a rainy morning everywhere West of Snoqualmie Pass, but Hibox was just dry and sunny enough to attempt a summit. I started from Rachel Lake trailhead around 9:15 and greeted plenty of backpackers and day hikers making their way to Rachel Lake and beyond. The fork off the main trail was not obvious, but once you make it past all the logs you'll spot the trail. From there on it seemed I had the whole mountain to myself. There were very few bugs out thanks to the chilly weather. There's a bit of bushwhacking to do and I lost trail quite a few times. The trail gets easier to follow as you clear the tree line and are greeted by gorgeous patches of wildflowers. There are some loose talus slopes that as far as I could tell can't be avoided.

The final scramble to the summit appeared daunting because of the exposure, however most of the rock was secure, dry, and grippy. No snow. I hit the top around 12:45 and took my time to enjoy the solitude and intermittent sunshine. The summit log capsule was open, its contents spilled out into the cracks below and replaced with some rodent droppings. I washed it out but didn't have a notepad to chip in, and the cap is missing anyway, so the whole thing needs to be replaced. As mentioned in past reports, there's a history of hornets nesting on the summit block, but they've yet to make their way up this year.

I returned to the Rachel Lake trail and continued up to the lake and then to the saddle en route to Rampart Ridge for some scenic afternoon views. I contemplated quickly making my way up Alta Mountain and back, but it was getting late and evening showers were likely, so I called it there and made my way back.

Got to the trailhead at 5:30pm Friday night and got to Rachel Lake by 8pm for an early season 1-nighter. Trail was completely clear of snow. A few patches at Rachel Lake but all the campsites were very clear. We did not make the trek up to Lila Lake but had heard from other hikers that it was pretty snow covered. The forecast originally said Saturday was going to have rain but ended up spritzing on Friday so we were a bit chilly at our campsite. A few people were camping along the forest road into the trailhead. 

Roots, Rocks, Rivers, Rain. These four words aptly describe our hike up to Rachel Lake. As others have said, the first three quarters of the trail to Rachel Lake is relatively easy, but the last quarter is very difficult. This is not only because of many big step ups over roots and rocks, but many parts of the trail are actually in stream beds and waterfalls which have flowing water in them at this time of the year, especially closer to the top. Between the large steps and innumerable stream crossings, I don’t know if we would have made it or at least made it without falling without two trekking poles. These are helpful for balance on the big steps going up and down, but critical when crossing streams.

We spent the night at Rachel Lake and there are several decent camping spots, although some still have snow or puddles from freshly melted snow, whereas others are dry. A backcountry “throne in the woods” is helpfully provided.

As the weather has been erratically alternating between sunny and 70s to 50s and rain the last couple of weeks, we ended up hiking mostly in rain. The next day we woke up with temperatures in the 30s to 40s and a fog bank, but it eventually began to clear and we had decent views of the peaks around the lake.

We then did a day hike up to Rampart Ridge (additional 600 vertical and a half mile) and then a flat mile to Rampart Lakes. That part was often covered in snow - I’m not sure we would have found our way without GPS navigation to help us make sure we were staying relatively close to the actual trail which was still covered in snow in many places. It was definitely worth getting to the lakes - absolutely beautiful, even if a bitterly cold wind was whipping around us. Some of the lakes were thawed and the bigger ones still had partial ice coverage. I would love to come back to Rampart Lakes in warmer weather and spend a night or two enjoying the surreal beauty.

All in all, Rachel Lake and Rampart Ridge and Lakes were a beautiful destination, but it’s a lot of work to get up there and just as much to get back down. Enjoy!

Fabulous hike, but we weren’t the only ones out there stumbling around looking for the trail, sometimes covered with downed trees, snow, and water. But we did eventually get to the lake and it was so beautiful we forgot all about our difficulties.
There is a fork in the road after you make a left at the campground and you stay right to get to the trailhead.
Lots of wildflowers, including trillium and glacier lilies, plus butterflies. More stream crossings than I could count.

The first 2 or 2.5 miles features multiple trees across the trail in several spots, and we needed to refer to our GPS to get around them and back on the trail. The last 1 mile or so included numerous sections where the trail is covered by flowing water a few inches deep. We needed the GPS again on this section. All creek crossings were perfectly safe, using stones and/or logs. 

Overall, this is an amazing trail and totally worth the extra effort. However, it would probably be good to clear some of these larger obstacles to prevent the creation of too many unofficial trails.