Heather - Maple Pass Loop — Saturday, May. 25, 2024

Greetings fellow trail lovers,

Embarking on this hike this late in May proved to be quite challenging and my hiking partner and I found ourselves grossly underprepared for an adventure such as this. Despite the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains stretching as far as the eye can see, the constant post holing, lack of visible trail during most parts of the hike, and the need to trek through knee-deep snow to stay on track all proved to be much more difficult than we expected.

Upon our arrival at this behemoth of a hike at 8:30 am, we were encountered with an inaccessible and fully snowed in parking lot which forced us to park in a small space near the side of the road, and hoof it to the trailhead on foot. Being the only car there at this time, improvising our parking proved to be no issue at all. For the first three eighths of the hike, spirits were high, bellies were full, and the trail was fairly easy to keep track of (although there were numerous spots in which we had to navigate across and through snow patches). However, as our journey continued to progress, the trail became less visible and by the time we had reached the three eighths mark, we found ourselves unable to keep track of the established trail, and only able to stay on track using the footprint path of the braver travelers before us that had been etched into the snow. Armed with non water proof footwear, no gloves, and no snow shoes, we began to regret our lack of prior research. Nonetheless, we pushed on, determined to conquer this renowned hike. Trekking on for another eighth of the hike or so, we continued to follow the generous footsteps provided to us by previous voyagers until suddenly, as we approached what seemed like the half way point, the footsteps we had so graciously relied on disappeared into thin air. Slightly panicked, we put our heads together in a moment of uncertainty and decided we would brave the unknown together filled with optimism, hope, and an infectious excitement for what lay ahead. 

Enjoying seemingly endless views of the rolling hills along the horizon, the towering mountains surrounding us, and the great Ann Lake below us giving us reassurance along the way, we powered through knee deep snow using Apple maps as our only reference to the general direction we needed to stay on to make it back home safe. Trekking through this terrain proved to be no light feat and often times we found ourselves on very steep inclines needing to use our poles to support ourselves. After much post holing, boots full of snow, countless breaks, and what must have been the better part of three hours, we finally reached the end of our struggles and were able to rejoice upon the sight of the rediscovered trail that had revealed itself to our weary eyes. 

After the endeavor we had just put ourselves through, returning down the mountain following the partially covered trail proved to be a simple task. Grateful for our improvisation skills, we zipped down the remaining eighth and a half of the hike and reached our car after a long 6 hours. On our three hour return drive home to Bellevue, Washington, we enjoyed snacks and reflected on what we could have done differently to prepare. When approaching a hike like this one during the late months of spring, there are a few things we would recommend and a few takeaways we would like to highlight:

- Bring appropriate gear including poles, snowshoes, spikes, and footwear that will keep your feet dry

- Download the map of the trail beforehand so that you can navigate the trail if there are no footprints to follow

- We didn't find the temperature to be a super big problem and often found ourselves taking off our jackets during small portions of the hike - same goes for gloves, while our hands were cold at times (more so when we were using them to navigate steep snow slopes), our hands generally stayed warm for the majority of the hike

- BRING SUNCREEN - we ended the hike with tomato faces

- If you choose to embark on this hike during the snowier months of the year, bring a friend along and ENJOY the journey - we had a ton of fun on this hike and our experience has only fueled our determination to explore the rest of the North Cascades!