Heather - Maple Pass Loop — Sunday, Sep. 29, 2024

Although it’s not yet peak larch season, it was still a perfect day for this hike. Some of the smaller larches are yellow/turning yellow & the other fall colors are amazing. Arrived at 10:30 and “only” had to walk .3m along Hwy 20. Hiked counterclockwise (would not want to do clockwise- seems like it would be more steep/less scenic & while it’s a steep descent going counterclockwise with poles my knees were fine). Blue skies, clouds and light snow! VERY windy as the pass so we didn’t stop long. Took a wrong turn at the end towards Rainy Lake, so ended up hiking 8.79m/2,251 ft in 4 hours.

The benefit of it not being peak larch season is that the trail was significantly less crowded- still lots of people but it felt well spaced out, we were never hiking with other/overhearing conversations.

Bring your layers and warm gloves!