Heather - Maple Pass Loop — Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20

Weather forecast said Saturday supposes to be a sunny day but probably not so much in North Cascade. The sky was only clear when we reached the ridge but at least it was not rainy. We hiked counter-clockwise and stop by Lake Ann. The trail to Lake Ann had running water and covered sometimes by ice. At this season, I probably wouldn't recommend to detour to Lake Ann because you will be able to see her all the way to the top anyway...:) Around 1000 ft elevation point, trail was completely covered by snow. After passing the first 'no hunting' sign and heading to the second one, the trail became hard to follow. Luckily the sun came out around 2 pm and gave us good visibility. Almost all the people turned back at the second 'no hunting' sign, but we were fortunate to meet one nice guy to show us how to get downhill in the knee-high snow. We had water-proof boots, gaiters and traction attachment so we managed to go through it, but it was quite challenging and kind of bad for weak knees and angles. The whole 7.2 miles (and 1.2 mile to Lake Ann) took us almost 6 hours. By the time we got back to the car it was completely dark. I think we spent too much time struggling with the deep snow on the top. The conclusion is even the total elevation of this trail is only 2000 ft but planning for more time is always a good idea when hiking in the winter.