Heather - Maple Pass Loop — Tuesday, Sep. 4, 2012

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20

We went to Rainy Lake first so Scout could swim, then backtracked to the Maple Pass trail and head clockwise, doing the steeper section first. And we climbed! The views made stopping frequently worth it. After 20 minutes, I stripped off one shirt, after 40 minutes I drank a lot of water, and after an hour I need to eat! Bill got to the highest point, the spine saddle before Frisco Peak, and I met him and Scout for a short break, after about 3 hours of hiking, we’d done 4 miles total. Then the down began. Again, more spectacular views – Glacier Peak to the southwest was clear to the eye, not the camera. This hike was more challenging than I expected, based on the descriptions by Manning and Romano. Foot placement was key, and the trail is very narrow. I’m glad we did it on a weekday after the holiday weekend. It would have been annoying to hike it with a crowd. One couple had a bear encounter near the Heather Pass junction – off trail, eating lunch in the shade. We stayed close together til we got past that area. Wildflowers are past peak, but still lots of color as they fade. A marmot called out to us as we passed the last rock/boulder field after Lake Ann. Interesting note: the NPS was doing a butterfly study on the trail above Rainy Lake. Markers on the edge of the trail indicated sections and there were some folks out with butterfly nets… We started from the car at 10:18 and returned at 3:15, tired and happy. All in all we had a great hike after many years of passing this one by on the way to and from Winthrop on holiday weekends.