Once again I’m being reminded that trail difficulty shall not be assessed as a simple length-to-gain ratio for the elevation gain can be compressed…
Road & Trailhead
Forest road is soothingly smooth. A bit of washboard and a couple minor potholes, but any car can pass, and maintaining 25-30 mph is no issue except in curves.
Trailhead has two large parking lots; many people park way too wide - there’s no shame in getting closer to each other folks, who’s gonna judge you, chipmunks? Anyway, I was able to find a spot in the lower lot, but there were cars parked along the road for maybe quarter mile.
Toilet is running out of essentials, but is clean. No passes are sold at the TH besides a QR code for online purchase.
Hike
- Trail: flat and overgrown in places for the first 1.5 mi; relentless rocky and rooty climb to Rachel lake after that; a bit easier to Lila lake.
- Water crossings: numerous, including log walking, rock hopping, and wadding; waterproof boots are helpful.
- Navigation: less than obvious throughout the climb toward Rachel lake, with many optional routes. Nothing dangerous as all branches seem to always rejoin, so one won’t get lost, but choosing the wrong option will usually end with bushwhacking or steep slope or a mudpool. Having a good offline map is essential.
- Berries: start occurring at Rachel lake and up, abundant in quantity, hit and miss in quality. Some patches are the biggest and sweetest blueberries I’ve seen in the wild. Some are absolutely disgusting. (I feel berries at Mt. Baker deliver more consistently). If you want to pick berries for the future consumption, make sure to sample beforehand, and if it’s meh, the entire slope / area will usually be like that.
- Fall colors: a bit around Lila lake, otherwise not much. Many blueberry bushes seem to dry brown rather than turn red.
Stats & Crowds
In 11 am, out 4.30 pm.
- 1 hr 30 min up to Rachel lake
- 1 hr 15 min from Rachel to Lila (including ~30 min berry picking)
- 15 min at Lila lake
- 2 hr 30 min down (including another ~20 min berry picking)
Despite this being a combined trail for many destinations, it was not crowded at all. Lila lake seems to be the least visited with majority people going to Rachel or Rampart, so I had that stretch of the trail almost entirely to myself.
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