Followed a not-so-unique backpack trip up to Marmot lake with a day hike to Jade Lake. Hike was done in early August with the entire trail in excellent condition - albeit done so in the rain. SeaFair was going on that weekend which typically pushes more urbanites into the backcountry. We were admittedly part of the city exodus which makes for one of the busiest WA backpacking weekends of the year.
Started late Friday to Hyas lake. A short and flat 1.5 miles or so will get you to some lake campsite options. However, few options remained given overflow parking lot and the equivalent of a small village already settled. We managed to partially share a campsite with some kind campers. In hindsight, I sense if we went another mile, we might have found an open spot. But at 10pm, the gusto for open options wasn't there.
From a rainy night, we awoke charged to make it to Marmot lake. The crowd seemed to be heading in three directions: 1) Robin/Tuck lake 2)Jade/Marmot lake or 3) Day hike from Hyas. We fell in bucket 2.
The climb begins about 1.5 miles from Hyas lake. It's a steady climb but in the trees for most of it. A lot of traffic both heading up and heading down. It brought a sense of a 'race' among all the backpackers. In fact, when we reached Deception Pass, about 1,500 feet up from Hyas Lake, one group resting there noticed we where heading up the Lake Clarice trail and they scurried ahead of us. We opted to pause and enjoy the scenery.
And the scenery is incredible. A national park in any other state if it weren't for the embarrassment of riches here in WA state. From Deception pass up Lake Clarice, we enjoyed a 1,000 foot drop down into meadows and mountain basins - plenty of water sources throughout. At one rocky meadow stretch there is a wasps nest by the trail which stung me good. Be cautious for swarms of wasps circling an underground nest.
The rain was coming down hard as we climbed 1,500 feet up to Marmot lake. Some groups turned back seemingly unprepared for the elements. I did notice that my map was incorrect in the turnoff for Marmot Lake. It said to climb before the small waterfall...but in fact, continue past the waterfall for a quarter of a mile to see the clearly marked trail split. That confusion cost us some unnecessary backpedalling.
Anticipating Marmot Lake - and the crowds that passed us heading up - we arrived at the lake, in the rain, around 3:30pm. There were likely 50-70 people camping up at the lake. We couldn't find an open spot but managed to squeeze in an small pre-impacted slice of land to camp. I believe there were at least 8 groups within 75 yards of each other. Wild. There was definitely a 'real estate' attitude with fellow campers - with those having the prime spot blocking large swaths of the spot. Even the Seattle passive aggressive side comments about people camping incorrectly (from hanging food poorly, the preposterous choice to camp at Marmot lake instead of continuing up to Jade Lake or camping in unofficial spots). In otherwords lots of "pros" up there. That and the mountain echoes of numerous conversations definitely sank the solitude vibe.
Well, little did the pros know that we camped at Marmot Lake to dry out and relax, saving a morning day hike to the even more impacted Jade Lake. Overnight the rain turned to overcast skies and we set up the rough path up to Jade Lake. Scrambling up boulders, using tree branches to brace for falls, we were glad to avoided the 600 foot climb with backpacks. On the way up we saw a stream of humanity setting downhill. The trail between Marmot and Jade lake was the toughest stretch on the whole trip.
Upon Jade lake I was taken aback by it's sheer beauty. 'No wonder everyone slogs all the way up here', I thought to myself. I chatted with one of the last campers there finding out he travelled all the way from Washington D.C. just to camp at Jade Lake. I asked him how did her hear about this spot...he replied 'Instagram'. Another group mentioned they bring their little dog to idyllic backcountry spots to film for their YouTube series. It appears the viral effect is playing out at Jade lake with a stunning place with impacted patches everywhere from the 'Grammers'.
One of the highlights at Jade Lake: I believe I saw what looked every bit to be a Mink rumble by with a mouse in its mouth. Never seen one before in the wild. Beautiful little creature.
Back at the trailhead, the rangers had a bunch of tickets on windshield wipers - likely for cars lacking a forest pass. Don't forget!
All in all, the trip has everything you could possibly want in a backpacking trip - meadows, mountains, lakes, plenty of water sources...but lots and lots of people. I'd do it on a weekday if I could - or opt for late season. This was one of the busiest backpacking trips I've done in WA state. Enjoy.
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