Lila Lake, Alta Mountain, Lake Lillian, Rampart Ridge - Rampart Lakes & Rampart Ridge Backdoor — Thursday, Jul. 4, 2024

Excellent morning outing to Alta Mountain via the Rampart Ridge Backdoor! Specs according to my GPS watch: 9.6 miles, 4240' gain, total time 5 hours 32 mins. Started hiking at 6:00 am on the nose and was very happy to have done so.

\\

The spur road to the Lake Lillian/Rampart Ridge Backdoor TH is gnarlier than I remember, though it's been 7 years since I've been there. There are several unavoidable potholes that slightly bottomed out my Impreza. Nothing bad, but enough that I softly apologized to the car when I got to the road's end. Brush has been kept back so no new pinstripes. Enough room at the trailhead for several cars (there were 5 by the time I left).

\\

The trail up to Lake Lillian is shorter and less brutal than I remember, but by no means kind. No notable obstacles, and totally snow-free up to the very edge of the lake. It looks like the one campsite by the outlet (to the west when approaching the lake from downhill) is totally melted out. But also I saw a couple backpackers heading in as I was on my way out, so it might well be occupied by now.

\\

The trail from Lake Lillian over to Rampart is pretty gross still. The first stretch, while almost entirely clear of snow, has lots of loose rock on steep trail, which kept it spicy. At the top of the bowl the snow resumes in earnest. There are long swaths of bare earth where you can pick out the trail, but there are a great many snowfields in there as well. By the end of the morning my feet were soaked, even with leather/Gore-Tex boots. I spoke with a guy up there who had lugged his skis up on a backpack, and we each bemoaned the amount of snow (for different reasons). 

\\

Rampart Lakes looks very pretty - most of the lakes are largely melted out, but the last big one is still predominantly covered. Almost all the trails around there seem clear of snow, minus those by the big lake. I counted three groups who had camped there last night, all in snow-free sites. I saw more heading in throughout the day.

\\

The trail from Rampart Lakes to Lila Lake/Alta Mountain is largely snow-covered, but as flat as it is, it's fast going, and there's a clear bootpath (less so towards Lila). I totally missed the turnoff for Alta Mountain as it is still snow-covered, so I got to explore down towards Lila and then made a sketchy ascent across a snowfield and through some steep heather to get back on track. I had a close encounter with a marmot while doing that. 

\\

Lila Lakes are just starting to melt out - I don't think I'd want to camp there just yet. I saw a prepared-looking solo backpacker heading in there though, so all the power to him. Lots of little snowmelt ponds the color of Glacier Freeze Gatorade throughout the area.

\\

I was pleasantly surprised by the Alta Mountain Trail - it's almost entirely melted out! Smooth sailing and solid trail. Some high-exposure stretches, and some steep bits, but for the most part it was the nicest trail I hiked all day. And the views are to die for-- absolutely euphoric with clear skies! There are a couple small snowfields right towards the summit that gave me some pause, but everything could either be kick-stepped across or avoided entirely. I suspect they'll be gone within a week anyway.

\\

Meant to touch the top of Alta Mountain and hurry home, but the view was so nice I hung out for half an hour. No regrets there. Some small flies kept me company, but nothing loud or bitey. I had service up there today (T-Mobile) so I shared some pics with friends.

\\

Had a smooth journey back. Found a couple puffball mushrooms, filtered water by Rampart Lakes, chatted with some nice people, and sent it on down to the TH. The snow got goopy by noon, which made for slower going. Also the hill up from Rampart Lakes to Lake Lillian felt much bigger than it did going downhill. It felt blisteringly hot on the snow - I was very thankful for my sun hoodie, face sunscreen, and glacier glasses. Got back to the car, took off my wet boots, drank a quart of chocolate milk, and thought about quitting my job to go hike full-time. I won't, but days like today make it really tempting. :)