It looked like the weather was going to be nice in the mountains, so I decided to take a 3-day backpack trip on Sept 17-19, 2025 to Gem Lake, a pretty lake that I haven’t been to since the Snow Lake Trail was renovated a few years ago. I also included a hike up nearby Wright Mtn.
Trip Particulars:
- Road and Trailhead Lot: No issues on the road to the Alpental Ski area lot which is used for the Snow Lake trailhead. The lot was already mostly full when I arrived on the 17th at about 10:15am. It was also pretty full when I arrived back at 2:30pm on the 19th.
- Trailhead Privy: The two privies at the TH only had a couple partial rolls when I arrived on the 17th, but were full when departed on the 19th.
- Trail Condition: The trail was in good condition. Note that this trail is pretty rocky basically the whole way to Gem Lake, so be mentally prepared for that. The renovations made to the trail are fantastic, very nice work. See the main trip report below for specifics for the trail beta up Wright Mtn if you are planning to add on a little more elevation and more views.
- Berry Condition: The Blue/Huckleberries are nearing the end. They were still plentiful, however they are starting to lose their sweetness and are starting to fall off of the bushes. So, hurry up and get up here before they all drop.
- Fall Foliage Condition: The autumn colors are starting to emerge including mountain ash shrubbery and the aforementioned Blue/Huckleberries bushes.
- Bug Condition: Absolutely no bugs, at least the ones that bite, sting or typically annoy hikers.
- Animals: Many pikas, one even crossing right in front of me on the trail but I was too slow with my camera. Even though I love seeing and hearing pikas, the highlight was seeing an owl circle around me twice while I was standing at my campsite at dusk. It was eerily stealthy quite as it flew around me. I believe this was the first time that I’ve seen an owl in the Cascades.
Main Trip Report:
Arrived at the trailhead about 10:15 and headed up about 10:30am on Wednesday the 17th. The forest fire smoke was very noticeable when I started including a rather evident smokey smell and slightly foggy look. The trail starts climbing immediately to get your heart pumping, but levels off fairly quickly. There was a fairly good size blowdown about a quarter mile from the trailhead, but it was gone by the time I came back down on the 19th. Thanks to those whoever cleared that out. The trail gradually rises for the next 1 1⁄4 miles in and out of tree cover until you reach the junction of the Source Lake Trail. Then the trail starts climbing in earnest and this is where the majority of the trail renovations were made. Again, very impressive work. After reaching the saddle above Snow Lake, there’s a nice view of Snow Lake with Wright Mtn in the background. After you drop down and arrive at the rocky creek crossing, stay right to remain on the main trail, or veer left if you want to check out the (rocky) beach on Snow Lake where the majority of the day hikers are lounging. There is also an interesting “ruin” (as stated on the GreenTrail Map) on the south side of the creek between the main trail and the lake (see pic), which I visited on my return.
The trail to Gem Lake is pretty straight forward, but just to add a little information for the more novice hikers, there are several side trails from the main trail between Snow Lake and Gem Lake that may cause some confusion, especially after the Rock Creek Trail junction. But most of these have rocks or sticks laying at these junctions which indicate that these are not the correct way to go. Just look around for the main trail if you see a pile of sticks/rocks blocking what looks to be a trail. There are several areas that are undergoing restoration, so please stay on the main trail.
As mentioned, this is a rather rocky trail including crossing a few scree fields on the way to Gem Lake. But after crossing a final scree field you reach Gem Lake. There are several campsites on the south shore and more all around the lake. You can’t go wrong staying at any of the sites, they all have nice views, but some are closer to the water than others. There is also a privy to the right as you arrive at Gem Lake, which by the way, also has an awesome view.
After arriving and setting up camp, I took a quick dip in the lake. I measured the water temperature to be a chilly 60 degrees, so I didn’t stay in the water too long. The forest fire smoke already seemed to be lifting or blowing away. There looked to be 3 other groups camped out at Gem Lake the night of the 17th.
On my 2nd day, I hiked up Wright Mtn. for some extra credit views. The following is an explanation of one way to hike up Wright. Start by climbing a fairly steep trail from the east side of Gem Lake to a saddle. Again there are several side trails, but most of these are going to overlooks of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River Valley. Basically to stay on the main trail, look for the trail that keeps going up. On the way to the summit, you will approach three boulder fields; first a small one, then a medium one and finally a large one. When you reach the small boulder field, look sharp left for the main trail which skirts the bottom and up the left side of this boulder field. You switchback and forth through a small grove of trees and then you reach the medium boulder field. Again turn left, but this time do a rising traverse of the boulder field which makes a couple of switchbacks. There are a few cairns marking the way, but the rut through the scree/boulders is pretty obvious. Again, go through some trees and hit the large boulder field, which basically goes to the summit. One option is to just go bonzo and hike straight up the field to the summit, but an easier option is to stay right along the right side of the boulder field. When this trail fades out, traverse directly left across the boulder field until you reach the other side which turns into another trail through some trees. You will see another climbers trail which seems to come up the west side of Wright Mtn. Stay right and climb the last pile of boulders to the summit. I hung out on the summit for an hour having lunch and taking more pictures. I was thinking about taking that other climbers trail down, but it looked to be covered in pebbles and grit so it looked to be a bit iffy on traction. I decided that I’d rather walk on a few wobbly boulders than go down a slippery slope (I’ve been down enough of those in my life), so I returned to camp via the same way.
After reaching my camp, I dropped off my pack and explored the other campsites at the lake. I went counterclockwise and discovered that there is a climbers trail that circumnavigates the lake, albeit some steep sections up and down a hill on the west side of the lake. I took my time and looked at all of the other campsites for my future reference. The 3 groups that were camped out on my first night had all departed. After my campsite visits, I hung out at the lake, soaked my feet and watched the dragonflies patrol the shoreline.
As it got darker, a little breeze picked up which blew in some clouds from the northwest making for some interesting cloud patterns around Chair Peak and Kaleetan Peak (main pic). It looked like 2 or 3 other groups were camped out at Gem Lake on the night of the 18th.
On Friday the 19th, I departed at about 11:00am and stopped at Snow Lake. The majority of the smoke was gone. I’ve been up to Gem or the Wildcat lakes several times over the years, but this was the first time I actually made a stop at Snow Lake. I stopped to see the ruins and hung out at the beach for about 40 minutes. As I continued back to the trailhead, I ran into quite a few dayhikers and backpackers coming in.
As I mentioned in my last trip report a couple of weeks ago, I’m hoping to get out again this season, but if I don’t make it out again, this was another nice closing trip of 2025.
Have fun out there,
OMG
Comments