Heather - Maple Pass Loop — Thursday, Sep. 20, 2012

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20

With forest fires burning all over eastern Washington, I drove up to Rainy Pass on the evening before the hike. The conditions were awful - smoke was dense west of Washington Pass. I was staying in Winthrop so I decided that I would get up early and drive back up on the morning of the 20th. It was beautiful with little or no smoke. I was on the trail by 8:00 and at the pass by 10:50 and the conditions were great. There was no water on the trail and the huckleberries were gone, but the colors were splendid, especially around Heather Pass. The smoke and haze increased as I ate lunch and started back down. The loop down to Rainy Lake was not nearly as scenic but all in all it was a great outing. If, like me, you are old and slow carry plenty of water