This hike has been on my radar for a long time and finally decided to tackle it before the really hot temps for the weekend settled in. The road to the trailhead is bumpy with a few ruts but in good condition. Passed the lines of cars parked at the Smithbrook trailhead for Lake Valhalla. Arrived at Minotaur Lake TH at around 11 am on a Friday morning with about 10 cars in the lot. The early crowd (and the overnighters) were coming down as I headed up.
This trail is steep but not horrible (I would put it at Welcome Pass or old trail Mailbox steep) with good tread. It starts out in the forest which keeps things cool while you’re huffing and puffing and sweating until you reach that blessed meadow where the trail levels out for a while. This is a great place to catch your breath and reap the abundance of ripe huckleberries, but don’t worry, there’s plenty more huckleberries as you head up.
Lake Minotaur is gorgeous and I saw people filtering water and swimming in it as I head up to Labyrinth. The view of Theseus Lake from the small cliff to the right of the outlet stream is fantastic. The boot path up to Labyrinth skirts Minotaur lake then heads up to the summit with a much rockier grade. There are several social paths but it appears that most of them end up in the same place and there are cairns to follow in the talus area. I had the summit of Labyrinth to myself during the entire time I was there. There were no bugs but it was quite breezy at the top. Mount Rainier, Mt Stuart, Glacier Peak were clearly visible as well as Lake Wenatchee, Theseus Lake and Minotaur Lake.
Headed down and enjoyed a foot soak in the lake before returning to the trailhead where I ran into several groups of backpackers coming up for the weekend. The solitude on this trail was much better than at Lake Valhalla (judging by the cars parked along the road) with superior views….but you have to work for it.
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