Quick weekday jaunt to Marmot/Jade and Tuck/Robin! Separate trip reports for the latter.
These lakes got a lot of attention in recent years, and even on a Tuesday, all lakes were filled to capacity with backpackers. Trailhead parking is generally fine on weekdays, sharing with the Cathedral Rock / PCT trailhead. The road is rough, but we made it fine in a sedan.
A late start meant we pushed through the humid heat, with Hyas Lake providing little wind. A couple very large shaded sites line the sun-drenched shoreline. The mosquitoes and deer flies begin to swarm around 4000', and only get worse the higher you climb. If you have a headnet -- as ridiculous as they look -- absolutely bring it. Picaridin helped repel about half of the bites, but they're persistent.
Past the junction for Tuck/Robin, and after a few steps on the PCT, we turned into the Marmot Lake trail. You'll pass through meadows on relatively flat ground, crossing a large stream, making for a good water refill. You'll climb a ridge as you enter the forest, only to deceptively descend again less than half a mile after. Gradually climb as you follow the ridge up, until you reach the junction of Clarice and Marmot Lakes.
We decided to check out Clarice, and the trail was severely overgrown. I did a little bushwacking to clear some of the young alders growing into the trail. The trail gets difficult to follow as you reach the top, marked by a few cairns on top of fallen logs. The lake is decently sized, but we didn't push in to see if there were any campsites.
Turning back, and moving onto the Marmot Lake trail, its also overgrown. A short climb reaches the lake. There is a toilet with a green nylon privacy shelter, but toilet paper was EVERYWHERE. Not just around the toilet seat, but on the trails in any direction for a good 20 paces. C'mon people.
There are very few sites at Marmot relative to the size of the lake, with a steep shoreline making flat camp surfaces scarce. We saw maybe 8-10 sites dispersed along the entire shoreline.
Follow the narrow trail on the south shore for Jade Lake, where a talus covers a creek flowing into Marmot. The trail gets hard to follow here, so pay attention to the cairns. The slope is very steep and unstable, so give folks behind you a couple feet to avoid rocks tumbling below. Keep climbing until you reach the top of the pass, where a meadow breaks out.
We saw two marmots here, scurrying under rocks hiding from the late afternoon sun. Obviously, I had to pose for one with my Marmot jacket on, and Marmot Lake in the distance. We passed by a small pond, and the larger No Name Lake for some Mt Rainier-esque meadows. There are 2-3 sites at the southern end of No Name Lake, which also overlook Jade Lake.
Jade is incredibly popular -- even given the road, trail length, and rugged boothpath -- because its a glacial lake with that milky blue water. About half the folks I saw had large DSLR cameras hanging from their neck. It also was a jarring surprise when I arrived, to see:
- a discarded peach on the side of the trail
- a drone hovering above a camp
- a speaker playing music at another camp
- toilet paper, again
- a bear hang so low I could kick the bag
- folks disregarding signs indicating footpaths were closed for restoration
This is a fragile alpine meadow, and normalizing this behavior means other folks will normalize it at other lakes. Wouldn't be surprised if this becomes another Blanca situation by the end of summer.
We saw at least 12-14 groups camped, with more probably perched away from the water, and more than the number of sites available. Weekends would probably be packed. Get cozy with your neighbors, you'll likely have traffic through your camp. There are a number of paths that people go down, only to find a dead end -- these are probably poop trails, and each footstep prevents the meadows from regrowing.
Mosquitoes were terrible, and a number of folks had headnets on. They're particularly pervasive after 6pm. We watched sunset at a creek draining into Jade, and was kept company by three frogs that didn't feel the need to defend us from bugs :(
There is a faint trail on the snow climbing up to Pea Soup Lake. It will melt out later in the year, but it is a notably dangerous hike when the snowpack is fragile.
tl;dr -- lake is pretty, and is like other glacial lakes in the Cascades. Be prepared for a rugged, loose trail; lots of people; and an absurd amount of mosquitoes.
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