Golden Horn - Snowy Lakes, Cutthroat Pass via the Pacific Crest Trail — Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018

For the third consecutive year, I made my way up to Snowy Lakes to take in the fall colors. I generally have a hard time repeating backcountry trips, but this one is an exception.  The North Cascades in fall are simply unbeatable.  And when it comes to larch madness, the stretch between Cutthroat Pass and Snowy Lakes is solid gold.  I headed up Thursday (10/4) after the weather forecast changed from mostly cloudy to partly sunny…good enough.  As it turned out, the day was absolutely perfect with only occasional clouds and mostly cool and sunny.  Great slow-hiking weather.  The trail was generally empty aside from the occasional PCT thru-hiker cruising past on the way to the 2600-mile mark of their journey.  I feel that the included pictures capture the spirit of the trip, so I won’t go into too much detail. My words won’t do it justice anyway.  So, I’ll just point out a few things to consider.

First, fall in the North Cascades is no joke. I don’t think the daytime temperature ever got much above 40 and it was cold enough overnight to freeze the ground and start forming ice on Snowy Lakes.  I was fine in a 15-degree bag, but I don’t know if a higher temperature rating would have worked out. With the cold comes snow. I woke up to a gorgeous sunrise that quickly gave way to snow, fog, and wind. It’s easy to be caught out if you’re not ready to adapt to the changing conditions.

This is a great trip for solitude if that’s your thing. There was one other person in the lake basin for the night I stayed up there, and I was anticipating being the only one given the mid-week start. I think this was the quietest night I have ever spent in the backcountry: no wind, no wildlife, no rushing water, and no other people within ear-shot. All I could hear was the sound of my own breathing and heartbeat. On the way out, I certainly passed others who were heading to the lakes and I imagine there were even more folks on Saturday night.  In fact, I am reticent to post this trip report; I don’t want this area to become Enchantments 2.0.  But I think it’s still far enough out of the way and lacks the celebrity of the Core Enchantments. Trail wise, aside from the half mile rut of a “trail” up to the lakes, this trip is all on the finely tracked PCT and easily tackled in trail runners or light hikers. 

As in years past, this may be my last backpacking trip of the season.  There was already snow up there and it’s only a matter of time before SR20 shuts down for the season.  As such, this trip always has a tinge of finality to it.  The fall colors, the through hikers edging closer to Canada, the cold air, the feeling that all the wildlife has moved to lower elevations, and the general solitude all combine to give this trip a certain solemnity. I am thankful for places and experiences like this and it’s best to slow down a bit and let the cold air sting your cheeks for a bit before returning to the concrete jungle.