Rampart Ridge - Rampart Lakes — Sunday, Sep. 18, 2022

BEE ALLERGIES BEWARE

We hiked up to rachel lake and spent the night there and then did a day trip to Rampart today. As another person mentioned, there is a wasp nest near the top (approximatley at mile 3.5, its on the right side on the ground in an old tree stump/root, so bear left to avoid it) which had quite a lot of wasps flying around as we passed it yesterday, and we head several people had been stung, some multiple times. Today, on our hike back down, we did not actually see the nest but did notice some areas that were pretty buzzy with wasps. I also noticed a huge number of yellow jackets, hornets, and bald faced hornets throughout our hike up to rachel lake and some up to rampart lakes. Bald faced hornets were all over the toilet by Rachel lake, that is their toilet now. godspeed to anyone who tries to use it. But seriously, if you have bee allergies, please stay away from this hike (rachel lake, Lila lake, and Alta mountain too) because I personally have never seen so many wasps during a hike as I did on this trip.

Aside from bees, fantastic hike! The end bit is quite steep and was a pretty challenging push for me, but definitely worth it. The low bush blueberries are ripe but pretty picked over in lots of spots, but if you're lucky enough to find some, definitely snag a couple for a snack. Fall foliage is really starting up at rampart lakes, lots of yellow, orange, red, and even purple! Highly recommend if you're up for a moderately challenging backpack or a long day hike!