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!
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