This was supposed to be a two night trip, but the mosquitoes chased us out of there a day early. These are some DEET resistant hybrid alien mosquitoes or something. They only started biting this morning after the wind died down and I am covered in bites. Poor Daisy was miserable so I just decided to pack up after we summited Alta Mountain early this morning while there was still a good breeze.

When we arrived Monday morning there were only a few cars in the lot. There were no pens in the register and I didn't have one so I couldn't sign a permit. Off we went. It took us just under 2 hours to get up to Rachel Lake. There are a couple of trees across the trail in the meadow areas that didn't really bother me on the way in, but coming out when I was so completely exhausted and had fallen down once already, was bleeding, and was still carrying our pack for two nights, I wasn't sure I would make it over the two logs. It would be awesome if they were removed at some point. 

When we got to Rachel Lake we paused a moment and Daisy got some water and took a brief swim, then we headed on up Rampart Ridge to our destination for camping somewhere around Lila Lakes. It was extremely windy and there were low clouds and fog with some rain now and then, and also some sun breaks. I picked a campsite high in the middle up above Lila Lakes and began the super fun challenge of setting up the tent in a windstorm by myself. It was quite a comedy show, let me tell you. Finally I got us all situated and held our tent down extra well with nearby rocks at each corner on top of the stakes. I couldn't do anything about it nearly buckling though. 

Daisy was a little freaked out but we were hungry so I fed her and we watched the fog blowing all over HiBox Mountain and Lila Lakes. It was gorgeous. I was really glad I threw my puffy in at the last minute but I really actually enjoyed the wind keeping us free of bugs. It was a little hard to sleep with all the noise, I kept reassuring Daisy it would get better overnight.

When we woke this morning it was still blowing. So I had coffee and Daisy breakfast and then we went and summited Alta Mountain, while it was nice and cool and all of those clouds were blowing around beautifully. My mind was blown. And Daisy has become quite the little Mountain goat. I never had to help her at all. There are usually two places on the way to the summit that she needs my help, but not anymore I guess. 

When we were heading down from the summit the wind was becoming less and the sun was becoming more. We arrived back at camp and I was roasting. It was only like 9am. We tried to relax and get comfy but Daisy doesn't like to lay inside the tent and she was absolutely miserable with the bugs, and so was I because I wasn't going to close the tent door and leave her outside. So I swear there were 30 mosquitoes flying around in my tent within 10 minutes. 

We tried to tolerate it for a couple hours. I did NOT want to come home today. But it was just obnoxious. I have more bites than I can count. I finally just looked at Daisy and said, "Do you want to just go home right now?" And she got all excited. 

So I packed up all of our stuff, not in tornado wind, but while being eaten alive by mosquitoes. 😂 Hard to believe it was still an amazing trip. Any time away from the city is time well spent. 

Wildflowers are beautiful right now, everything was snow free, we saw maybe 20 people the whole time and everyone + dogs were super nice. The road is great, just a little washboard on the uphill parts. 

Happy hiking! Be safe!

There are so many mosquitoes at the top—bring bug spray!!! The lake is beautiful but the campsites nearby were swarming with mosquitos in the late afternoon and early morning when we were there.

Beautiful solo day hike up to Lila and Rampart Lakes via the Rachel Lake trail. I started out on the trailhead at 5 AM. At that time, the parking already had many cars in it -- presumably all folks who had come in the night before, as judging by the amount of spiderwebs I walked through I was the first person on the trail that morning. It was a lovely, jaunty walk for the first 2.5 miles with several little water crossings and so many gorgeous wildflowers. You'll want to take a lot of deep breaths during this leg of the journey, one, because it smells really good, and two, to prepare yourself for the upcoming elevation gain. The climb to Rachel Lake is definitely spicy. I paused often on my way up to turn around and enjoy the view of the sun rising over the mountains behind me. 

I spotted one tent at Rachel Lake as I stopped to take some pictures and planned to eat my breakfast there. However, the mosquitoes were terrible the moment I stopped moving so I forwent eating and continued on. There were only two tents at Lila Lake and I was hoping for a peaceful rest, but despite the added elevation and nice breeze the mosquitoes continued to be a nuisance. 

On my way back at the intersection for Lila and Rampart Lakes I made a last minute decision to check out Rampart Lakes as well, which only added an additional 1.5 miles to the trip and was definitely worth it. By 10 AM I was back at the descent to Rachel Lake and was to my car by noon. I passed very large crowds of both day hikers and backpackers on their way up and the parking lot was overflowing by the time I was leaving. 

Overall, a really nice hike with plenty of spots to fill up water (which was needed on this warm day), many options to shorten or lengthen your trip, and lots of delightful views. Just remember to bring your bug nets and repellent! 

Road to the trailhead was in good condition. Trail in good condition as well, beautiful wildflowers and views.

Lake was refreshing to swim in!

Bugs were quite bad, all 3 in my party ended with 50+ bites even through clothes. To be fair, I was not very prepared with bug spray and tried a natural spray…would not recommend.

For overnight trip, do not plan on using the privy. Bring a trowel and pack out your TP.

Got to the trailhead at 10:45 and there was still space in the upper lot. The road in was quite nice, not many potholes at all and doable for almost any car. The bathroom even had a roll of TP!

For the trail, the description on the WTA website is surprisingly accurate, with rocks and roots the whole way up. There are four notably brushy sections that could benefit from some TLC, as well as six logs across the trail of varying sizes. Most are easy to step over, but there is one impressively large one and one you have to duck under as well. Less than a half mile from the lake, the trail did indeed get a little confusing, but following the streambed upwards worked well. On hot days such as this, the streams across the trail are lovely to dip my hat and shirt in to cool off.

Rachel Lake is beautiful, but I think all mountain lakes are beautiful so I might be biased. The water was chilly, but not too cold for a dunk. There were fish splashing in the water, but a good amount of bugs and bees when the wind died down intermittantly. We ate lunch, dried off, and headed back out the way we came.

8 miles and 2000 feet of total elevation gained. Saw roughly 20 others on the trail today, did not feel overcrowded or deserted.