Deep Lake, Lake Vicente & Nosh Nosh Wahtum — Friday, Aug. 21, 2015

Snoqualmie Region > Salmon La Sac/Teanaway

We took Friday off for a 2-night trip to Deep Lake. The road in was better than I expected - a little washboarded and potholed, especially at first, but generally not bad for a Forest Service Road. Even with a Friday start, the smallish parking lot for the Cathedral Pass trail was full, but we easily fit into the shadier overflow across the road. Not sure how full the northerly lot was for the Cle Elum river trail. The first 2ish miles, to Squaw Lake, are in good shape with no major issues. The tread is a bit rocky, and it gets moderately steep at times, enough to make us feel the weight of our full packs. Similar story for the next mile and a half or so after Squaw, then it flattens out as you approach Cathedral Pass. There were a few tarns up here but they were pretty muddy looking. So besides the river crossing right off the bat, no appealing water sources other than Squaw until you hit Deep Lake. Some nice dark red coloring on the ground cover, but sadly, no berries to be had anywhere. The path down from the pass to Deep Lake is very easy - good tread and gentle grades throughout. We were eager to get done on the way down, but the slope was kind of nice on the way back up. We did not take the extra 1.5m round trip to see Peggy's Pond, but there were some great views of Mt. Daniel and Deep Lake below from the main trail. We hit Deep Lake at about 4:00 on Friday. Immediately went right to check out the east side of the lake. There is really only one viable campsite on this side, but it's a great one, and there's room for a couple tents if you have a large party. One downside, though: this site is far from the toilet and the hills above are literally littered with the remains of poorly-executed catholes. Yuck. Lots more sites on the west side and in the meadows to the south, too. The lake was pretty quiet on Friday but unsurprisingly filled up more on Saturday. We had clear but cool weather on Friday, which turned into an unexpectedly cold night. Saw frost in the early morning! Saturday and Sunday were warmer but smokey, with shifting winds blowing in smoke from the many wildfires out there. On Saturday I took a very quick swim in the lake, which was pretty cold but nice to clean off. Would make good wading on a hot day. On Saturday we took a day trip to Lake Vicente. Did not know much about this, other than that the hiking book said "2.3 miles, 1000 ft elevation gain." It ended up more like 1300 feet, but more importantly, about half of this is concentrated on some absurdly steep climbs toward the end. One of the steepest trails I can remember! Also overgrown in places, and with quite a few blowdowns and route-finding through dry creek beds. But it was worth the climb - the lake is quite striking. If you're looking for an easier experience, Deer Lake (on the way) is another nice spot, and would make a great horse camp. Bugs: the two of us only ended up with one bite. Never saw much in the way of mosquitoes - a welcome change from most camping trips this summer. There were a fair number of bees around our camp, but they minded their own business. Other wildlife: we saw two groups of mountain goats from the trail to Vicente. Some assertive chipmunks and deer visited our campsite looking for food (sorry guys- no can do). We saw some bear scat on the Vicente trail, and some other hikers apparently spotted a bear maybe a mile up from the Tucquala trailhead. Final note: Glad to see no one was attempting a campfire! Also, please remember not to camp right on the lakeshore.