Eightmile Lake, Windy Pass & Cashmere Mountain — Saturday, Jul. 25, 2020

Early day up to the false summit of Mt. Cashmere! A very early alarm was set (3:30am) for the original plan of a thru-run of the Enchantments. That idea was quickly nixed, however, after driving past the Snow Lakes TH on Icicle Road and observing the most people I've ever seen for that trail head. Not only was it the largest amount of cars/people but also the earliest part of the day. I'm sure this just adds to the list of complaints with this area of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness but it continues to amaze me the explosion in popularity with almost no end in sight. 

My backup option was to explore the Windy Pass, Lake Caroline, and Mt Cashmere area. These places have been on the list for years and the opportunity presented itself! If you've done the Enchantments and looking for a much quieter hike, head north from the Eightmile Lake TH to Windy Pass. As everyone was lining the roads for (presumably) Colchuck, I headed up the trail and the isolation was a much needed relief. 

The trail to Lake Caroline spurs north near Little Eightmile Lake and ascends through many downed and burned trees. Indian Paintbrush is in full bloom and the early morning dawn was a perfect temperature to combat the first of four big climbs of the day. Right before the descent to Lake Caroline, the trail enters a much more vegetative area; tree canopies made it a bit darker to see than the previous exposed section.

Lake Caroline had a population of a few overnight backpackers, myself, a friend, a mountain goat, and several fat marmots! I stopped to take in the view and to chomp down on some breakfast. The mountain goat caught wind and proceeded to inquire about our cache of trail snacks. A quick exit of the lake and we headed up to Windy Pass.

From Lake Caroline to Windy Pass might be one of the prettiest sections of trail I have been on in a while. The open meadows descending from Mt. Cashmere, littered with copious wildflowers, converge with the trickling brooks making their quickest way down the mountain provide a beautiful array of everything one would expect. As we climb, views of the Enchantments become more visible: Mt. Stuart, Dragontail Peak, and the rest start to take shape. 

At the top of Windy Pass, nicknamed for a reason, most of the major volcanoes are visible: Rainier to the south, peeking between Mt. Stuart and Eightmile Mountain; Glacier Peak to the north; and Mt. Baker to the northwest. Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens not visible from my vantage point. 

I attempted a small scramble up Mt. Cashmere. After a mile we decided to stop and take in the views. We made it to the top around 8:30am, just over three hours one-way from the trail head. The trip down was a run; we carefully zig-zagged our way back down to Lake Caroline and Eightmile Lakes. 

Upon the trek back, we encountered more folks headed to Eightmile Lake. We also saw a Forest Service ranger and stopped to discuss concerns with the problems at Colchuck Lake. We shared similar sentiments and went our separate ways. Overall, a good trip to a new location, especially with great views and a near perfect solitude day. 

Trip data:
~17 miles roundtrip with 5500' gain

5:20:00 time