My wife, dog and I hiked up to Rampart Lakes via the Rachel lake trail. Road was gravel and washboard-y, but altogether in great condition. Almost no large potholes. We arrived at the trailhead around 9:30 am, and grabbed one of the last couple available spots. We took our time - close to 9h total - taking a looong break for doggie swimming and lunch at Rachel lake. I’ve done the trail to Rachel a few times now, and each time I’m thrown off by the amount of elevation in the last couple miles before the lake. It’s not that there are a ton of feet gained, but rather that the trail conditions are so poor that it’s very tiring to navigate. Many large boulders and scree zones, requiring large step ups… over and over again. This was challenging.
The trail from Rachel to Rampart lakes was gorgeous - with fewer large step ups than before, but still with some slippery scree areas. Poles are recommended but not necessary. As you ascend, the view of Rachel and the surrounding Cascades gets more and more spectacular. This was a part of the hike I had never done before, and really enjoyed. We got to Rampart Lakes area at about the 5 hour mark and did some exploring, plus some eating of ripe huckleberries. For this trip in early September, the alpine wildflowers were in bloom in the mostly dry/muddy creek beds. We refilled our water from the largest lake with our gravity filter, and headed back down.
This entire hike was characterized by intense periods of elevation and long, mostly flat terrain. On the way back down, we had lots of trouble navigating the boulders with the dog on lead, so we had some periods when we let him off lead to work his way down. We usually never do this on hikes, but felt it was best for everyone’s safety given the rough terrain. The flat part on the way back seemed to go on forever, but we were treated to some beautiful views of the valley and flora in golden hour. Given the length (we logged around 12 miles) and our hiking abilities, next time we do this trail, we will make an overnight trip out of it, as we saw many people doing.
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