Snow is melting out quick. We spent one night at Rachel Lake and then did a day trip to Rampart Lake and Alta Mountain before descending down to the TH.

TH>Rachel Lake
Virtually snow free until the very last 300 yards. The trail is mild until the last 1.5 mile and then it climbs quickly. The last portion of the trail you play the game "Trail or Stream?" Most of the time the answer is both. However, we never felt like we needed to bust out the sandals. But we are tall and could rock hop with our poles. Additionally, that last portion is a steep climb up and down. 

At Rachel the campsites are snow free and the mosquitos are mild, but I would anticipate that they are going to get worse as the snow melts. 

Rachel>Rampart
Majority of this trail is in snow. However, it is melting very quick. The climb out of Rachel to the ridge is steep but offers some nice views. Up at the ridge and around Rampart lakes it was mostly snow and not a lot of tracks. Most of the lakes were partially frozen and only several campsites were snow free.

Rachel>Alta
Awesome! Would recommend. Although, you defiantly earn this few with the elevation gain. Alpine wildflowers are poppin and we saw a pika and marmot. Trail was 40% snow and 60% snow free. Great views of Rainier and Adams.

Beautiful early morning hike. Got in and out before the bugs. Trail is great except for one kinda tough river crossing (but there is a rope tied up to hold while you cross it), and towards the top the trail kinda becomes a creek, which makes it a little hard to follow but not impossible.

Water, water everywhere. That describes the Rachel Lake trail this Fourth of July weekend as it melts out, especially above the big waterfall. This is a beautiful hike that we've done as a short one-or-two night backpack trip on the Fourth of July weekend multiple times, including this year as a two night trip, but this is the most water (and snow) we've seen.

In the first several miles through Box Canyon, there are some downed trees and other minor obstacles, as well as small patches of snow by the side of the trail. The final river crossing before the real ascent begins has a lot of water flowing, and no clear path across to keep boots dry. So most people (including our party) took off their boots to cross. There is a blue rope for guidance, but don't rely on it for balance (see photo below).

After the big waterfall, the trail turns into a stream with a lot of water flowing, with lots of crossings and rock hopping, and navigation required (see photos below). The trail was a little hard to follow at points, with all of that water. GPS is helpful from this point on and recommended. A little before the lake, the snow becomes more persistent, and there are snow fields to cross, including on the final ascent to the lake. Navigation through this area was also a little tricky, as there are many boot paths through the snow. The views of the valley on Saturday were spectacular, as was the lake, still partially covered in snow. The conditions also meant there were not very many people at the lake, which was a bonus. 

Unfortunately for us, the weather turned on Saturday night and Sunday, with the lake socked in, so we decided it was not worth going up the ridge to Alta Mountain and Rampart Lakes, as originally intended, and we hiked out instead. Still a beautiful and fun one night backpack! 

Apple Maps refused to give me directions to Rachel Lake Trailhead because of 'road conditions'. The Chainsaw Fairy had just been, and what a busy entity they had been. The road is nice and open, and my little Toyota Corolla had no trouble. I've never seen that trailhead empty before, but we were the first there, even though late starters (9am). We had Rachel Lake and Rampart Ridge and Lakes to ourselves all day. We met two guys coming up to Rachel at about 5pm but that was all.

First snow patches are early on the trail. These get big and deep by the time the steep part starts. We put traction aids on before reaching Rachel Lake - me with snow crampons and my 11yo daughter with microspikes. Lots of snow bridges collapsing. On the way down I broke a lot of them because they were unsafe. All snow above the lake except for the south-facing rocks which were a quicker alternative to the snow-covered trail. Used the Alltrails map - pretty good although the trail is hard to find under the snow. 

Forget about keeping your feet dry. You end up crossing so many strands of the snowmelt-supercharged Box Canyon Creek that you're going to get soaked no matter how hard you try and preserve the sanctity of your socks.

Rachel Lake is about half thawed. Rampart Lakes are a mixed bag - some of the potholes on the eastern side are almost ice-free, the south-western cluster are still pretty icy. The trail is all snow. 

I arrived at the Rachel Lake trailhead on Wednesday around 11am and was the only car in the parking lot. The trail was way snowier that I expected and took much longer to complete than I had anticipated. The first mile or two of the trail is flat but given it’s shaded the majority of it was in the snow. The snow is definitely melting away quickly, especially in the hot weather recently, but currently that makes it a bit treacherous given that you often stray off trail and punch through between fallen logs that are still hidden. 

There are a couple stream crossing to do on this flat part where the water is calf deep - on the way up I removed my boots for these but on the way down I was lazy and sloshed through. The steeper uphill part is relatively snow free but still difficult to navigate. I found myself off trail countless times, as there are no signs and the “trail” at various points suddenly becomes a rocky stream bed and you are just walking straight up a running stream. 

The last 500 ft or so of elevation (everything past the big waterfall) were totally snowed over, and this time extra treacherous because there are various streams running underneath that you can’t see and can easily punch through and fall into. At the top I found a dry campsite and was able to stay protected from the wind. The lake is still totally frozen over but will definitely start melting out quickly. Pro tip for solo camp nights: no need for a stove if you pack a Bahn Mi