People... this hike was super steep. No wonder... my Garmin read this was a 9.9mile RT, 2455ft gain hike! 8-mile, 1600ft gain on WTA is a lie!! Go prepared!!

I usually avoid I-90 corridor hikes on the weekend due to the crowds but decided I would put up with it today.  At the trailhead at 6:30 a.m. and was able to secure a primo spot.  Got a chuckle looking at the car next to mine that had a parking ticket on it.  There was a note on the dash that said they had ordered a pass and it had not arrived yet, they even provided the order number - nice try.  Judging by the spider webs I was constantly brushing off of me I was most likely the first on the trail this morning.  First part of the hike is pretty much flat as you follow the creek through the canyon.  Forest was nice and cool this morning and I made quick time through the easy stuff.  Been a while since I have done this hike and the last mile to the lake is steeper than I remember and I was glad I did not have the sun beating down on me as I climbed up.  Quick stop for a drink at Rachel Lake and I pressed on to my objective for the day which was Alta mountain.  Great views down to the lake as you traverse the hillside above.  The last half or 3/4 of a mile up to Alta is as good a stretch of hike as you will find anywhere in the state, meadows in full bloom and views all around improving with altitude.  Made the summit and soaked in the 360 views of too many mountains to name.  The views here rival any others in the Alpine Lakes in my opinion, really unbelievable day.  I enjoyed my walk back down to the trail junction as much as I did on the way up.  The perspective with the knife edge in front of you and the views ahead and on either side were really great.

I found this hike in my book of Washington scrambles but this is a hike where the line between hiking and scrambling is blurry.  At times you may take advantage of an occasional handhold but you could also make it to the summit using nothing but your legs if you were so inclined.  There are some spots with a little bit of exposure but no real risk, hand and footholds are solid and plentiful.  Any adventurous hiker could make this summit and I highly encourage it.  In fact I think the most dangerous part of this trip is descending the steep mile after Rachel Lake.  It is rocky, muddy and has slippery roots everywhere.  Care needs to be taken here, a misstep could really ruin your day.  I did fine in my trail runners but if I did it again right now I would have taken something a little bit more robust that is waterproof for the numerous small creek crossings and mud.  

GPS showed 11.0 miles with 3490 of elevation.  Not an incredible amount of gain but keep in mind you are doing almost all of it in the last 3 miles of the hike so it felt like a bit more, at least to me.

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Despite being completely fogged in the entire time, we enjoyed the hike up to Alta and I could tell that the views would have been spectacular. In total, we clocked in 14.4mi with 4773' gain, taking 7.5 hrs total.

We started at the Rachel Lake TH, and the parking lot was almost full. We didn't see that many people on the trail though, and it looked like most people were backpacking. We took a wrong turn right after the TH and ending up on a forest road—if you're trying to go to Rachel Lake and end up on a forest road with a big cairn, you're in the wrong place! The trail through the canyon is easy to follow, but the section around a mile below Rachel Lake was a bit confusing in parts. Sometimes there are different paths to take, but it looked like they all intersected with the main trail later on. This section was also very muddy and had some creek crossings.

Once at Rachel Lake, we continued on the trail to the right of the lake and up to Alta. This section was much less crowded and was also very beautiful with its talus slopes and subalpine meadows. It had just rained so many roots and rocks were slippery, so be cautious since you do not want to fall on this section!

The road to the trail has a bunch of potholes, but a regular car can make it. The first 2/3 of the trail is relatively easy grade. The last 1/3 has almost all of the elevation gain in it. This part of the trail has many large rocks and roots. It is difficult on the way down, especially with heavy backpack, so speed is slow here. There are several spots where the trail is easy to lose in this section with a false trail going straight and the real trail splitting to the side of the path in a few spots.

The bugs were everywhere along the trail and at the lake. Moving fast was the only way i could get them not to land on me. At the lake was mostly windy so it wasnt too bad, but as soon as the wind died down for a few seconds i had the little black mosquitoes landing on me. Even when i stopped to take a picture for 3 seconds on the trail i had them all over me quickly, even with the bug spray applied. The trail still has many spots with standing water and a couple waterfalls, so the environment is just right for all the bugs to be an almost constant presence.

The trail has lots of scenery along the way which made it pleasant. The last mile is the most difficult part, poles would’ve been helpful especially coming back down. Didn’t get mosquito bites but lots of flies landing on me constantly. Felt like the hike was closer to 9 miles than the stated 8.