Holden to Hart Lake — Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025

Started off early from Holden after filling up on a good breakfast. We began the hike slowly at first and my four year old started off feeling a bit cold in the dense forest. We found a Northern Rubber Boa right off the trail and plenty of thimbleberries to keep young hikers happy at the beginning. After the long slow ascent up valley we started running into some hotter temps and my son began feeling like he was melting a bit. Two extra frozen water bottles came in handy in addition to some favorite trail snacks for both the kids. Once we started seeing waterfalls the kids perked up and were excited to get to the lake. Most of the elevation gain comes right before the lake but this was still a fairly difficult hike for young kids. To their credit they made it to the lake swam in the cold water and hiked out in good spirits. There were abundant huckleberries and thimbleberries along trail and a few lingering wildflowers. Hart Lake was slightly colder than Lake Chelan which felt quite balmy for the time of year. The forest towards the beginning of trail felt cold even on a 95 degree day.