We arrived at the Rachel Lake trailhead shortly before noon. The road to the trailhead is gravel for the last few miles and is a little bumpy at the beginning. There were very few potholes though, so it was a mostly smooth drive. The parking lot was full but there was still plenty of room to park nearby on the side of the road.
We started off on the trail and immediately started to gain elevation. As we headed up we could hear the occasional car from the forest road below before getting further along and hearing the rushing of Box Canyon Creek. This short first section of the trail has a few steep parts but before long the trail flattens out. For most of the rest of the way to the lake the trail does not gain a ton of elevation. Along the way there were quite a few places where we could stop and gaze at the creek below. There were several beautiful waterfalls and rapids, as well as many large rocks that would make great places to rest on near the creek. As we made our way along there were many creek crossings, most of which were very low or completely dry. Some of them had beautiful waterfalls of their own as well.
At some points along the trail, the forest would open up a little and we could see the mountains that towered over the valley. Though for the most part, the only views along the trail were the forest and creek. At times there were bushes that were showing bright red fall colors, but it was still too early for the trees to look like they will later in fall.
The last stretch of the trail is the only prolonged steep part, but it felt longer than it probably was due to the majority of the hike being so flat up until then. This climb up to the lake had several more beautiful places to rest by the creek with some magnificent waterfalls as well. As we climbed we also began to have better views of the valley below. Eventually, we got to a rock outcropping that had wonderful views of the valley and mountains on either side. Hibox Mountain stood tall above us and stretched out to the East. It had interesting rock formations part way down the valley and a few fall colors scattered across its mountainside. We stopped here to take pictures for a while and then continued on, as we still had a little way to go to reach the lake.
When we reached Rachel Lake we walked down by the shore to rest, have a snack, and take pictures. Even though the weather forecast said it would become partly cloudy in the afternoon, it was almost a perfect blue sky day the whole time. It wasn’t smoky at all compared to a few days prior. The lake itself was peaceful and beautiful and the water was calm and clear. The sun had gotten lower and blocked some of our view of the rocks surrounding the lake, but it was still magnificent. If it had been a little bit hotter I might have jumped in, but I will definitely make sure to do that next time.
On the way down we were careful going down the steep part, but once the trail flattened out again it was a pretty easy walk back to the car. Rachel Lake was such a beautiful hike that I would definitely do again! Next time I come here I want to make it to Rampart Lakes and Lila Lake as I hear those are spectacular as well.
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