Enchantments Backpacking Trip

Dates: September 2nd- 5th 2016 Location: Leavenworth, Washington

Mileage: 20ish, 4600 Elevation gain/ 6000 elevation loss

Pre- Enchantments: A lot went into this 4 day/3 night backpacking trip. In February I put in the permit application for the enchantments as I heard everyone talking about it. We had just started getting into hiking at this point and I figured that we would have to try for many years to get a permit. A month later on a Sunday evening the lottery was drawn and we hit the jackpot somehow. We scored CORE zone permits (the best) starting on a Saturday during Labor day weekend. How we got that I still don't know.  I later read that they only give 6 core permits out a day. You are allowed to have a group of 8 for each permit so I worked on getting a group together. My husband Ryan would go (impending work approved, and it did), invited my friend Doris and talked to a few out of town friends that were interested in going. Months later the final group would be a college friend of mine (Chrissy + fiance Scott), Doris and her boyfriend Cody and a newer friend, Hillary.

At the time we won the permits we had no backpacking gear. We ended up using our tax refund to basically get most of it and started on our first trip a month later (Ancient Lakes). Over the summer we would go on more trips to get in shape for the enchantments and learn the ways of backpacking and all that it entailed. So happy I had Doris to help me along the way with this as a total newb.

Gear list for the enchantments along with new gear bought:

• pack- Osprey 65L, still loving this pack! 
• pack rain cover (ended up using this a couple times)
• hiking poles 
• tent (love, love, love our Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 3)
• sleeping bag ( I have a mummy Marmot down sleeping bag and hate the mummy style so much. Maybe before next season will get a quilt style one instead)
• sleeping pad (really happy with our insulated Klymit sleeping pads keeping us warm)
• stove/fuel (the MSR Windburner has been one of my favorite things. Super reliable and so fast to boil water)
• sunscreen
• bug spray (didn't end up having bad bugs on this trip)
• sunglasses
• 2 athletic pants
• 2 sports bras
• 1 Patagonia mid layer
• 1 set long underwear ( just bought my first pair before the trip- REI's new midlayer long underwear. Overall very happy with it!)
• down puffer 
• rain coat
• 3 underwear
• 2 pairs socks 
• camp sandals
• baseball hat
• warm hat 
• gloves 
• headlamp/ extra batteries 
• water filter (We are using the sawyer mini now. Chrissy and Scott had the Steripen UV water filter which is just a pen thing you swirl in the water for a little bit and it is purified. So crazy. Definitely getting this before next season.)
• camelback 
• platypus 2 liter bag
• toilet paper
• hand sanitizer
• toothbrush
• deodorant 
• contacts 
• contacts solution
• glasses/case 
• wet wipes
• day pack
• mini towels
• multi purpose soap
• first aid kit 
• multi tool
• ursack bag (We just bought the critter proof one after much debate if we should get critter or bear proof. In most cases if we have to worry about bears we will be hanging the bag so that a bear can't get it and then it will still be critter proof then. We are happy with it! We ended up bringing my friend's ursack bag as well so we had 2 bags of food.. so. much. food.)
• opsak bag (blocks food odor in ursack bag)
• rope 
• 2 flasks 
• compression bag ( I just bought my first compression bag as they were on sale at REI. I got it for my clothes and that worked really well for the trip. I don't use one on my sleeping bag right now as it is pretty compact.)
• camera + case + 3 batteries + mini tripod  
• go pro
• External battery charger for phone
• ziplocks for trash 
• ear plugs 

Food (for 2 people):

• 6 dinners (freeze dried meals- had mountain house chicken teriyaki- very good, parmesan noodle one- very good, mac & cheese- not good). 
• 8 breakfast (2 oats + almond butter/ 2 eggs + tortillas + hot sauce, first time we had made eggs backpacking. Got the egg crystals instead of freeze dried eggs. These turned out super good. We need to get a pan for our stove.)
• Lunch: 5 ramen, 7 tuna packets, turkey jurkey, crackers, dried fruit, trail mix, peanut butter + tortillas 
• 8 instant coffee 
• candy (always a top priority)
• electrolyte tabs (nuun)
• eating utensil 
• mug
• whiskey (always bring more than you think you will need)
• collapsable bowl 
• apple cider packets 

Group:

• bear spray (thanks Hillary!)
• paper map (wasn't going to bring one with our hiking app we have but Chrissy and Scott wanted to and it ended up being super useful)
• compass
• milk jug bucket (Friend Caitlin gave us this idea, cut off the top of a gallon milk jug and use it to carry water. We used this so much!)

It was definitely a process getting down this list and I used more experienced friends to cross check it and tell me what I need/ didn't need. I cut out things like a swim suit, extra clothes, hammock and things that just weren't necessary. I weighed my pack before we left and I had all the food (which was something like 20 pounds I swear..) + 2L of water and it came out to be about 43 pounds. The heaviest yet. After the 2nd day Ryan and I split up the food but my pack was still probably 38 pounds or so for the rest of the trip.

It was the day before the trip and we were crazy excited. Chrissy and Scott flew in that Friday mid-day and I picked them up from the airport, did a last minute gear check, dropped the dog off at boarding and prepared all finishing touches for our adventure. Doris and Cody took half days and made their way out to Leavenworth a bit earlier in hopes of snagging a walk up camp site (which is mostly all they have near the enchantments). It was around 6 and I still hadn't heard from them and was getting a bit nervous that they didn't find anything. I get a call around then with Doris saying "do you want to good news or the bad news first?" They ended up getting a spot...but it was the very last campground with the very last spot...and it was at a horse campground. Basically if someone with a horse were to show up we could get kicked out but that was unlikely. We had a spot to stay for the night and that was all that mattered. The 4 of us left Seattle around 6:30 and made the 3 hour drive to our camp spot. We had to go up some rough roads to get there but finally arrived. Ryan and I decided to sleep in the back of the outback for the first time to avoid having to set up and take down the tent. Got awful sleep that night (as I usually do outside).

Day 1: 

We woke up early to pack up camp and head out. Our goal was to be at the Stuart Lake trailhead at 7:30, but ended up being there at about 7:50. Once the 6 of us got there we dropped off Chrissy and Scott to hold down a parking spot (there was about 2 left in the parking lot at this time) and then brought 2 cars over to the Snow Lakes trailhead to leave one there for when we would exit on that side. We then drove back to the other trailhead and got everything ready to go. It is about a 20 minute drive between each trailhead. We made coffee and oatmeal at the trailhead now and then secured the cars, took pre hiking photos and made our way out. 

We started on the trail about 9:40 or so and it took us about 3 hours, if I can recall. The climb to Colchuck is not an easy 4 miles up with 2,280 elevation gain + 40 pound packs. We took it slow up that climb. Towards the end it started raining a bit and we had to don our rain coats and rain covers for our packs.

Also, Oberto asked me to be a brand ambassador for them and I basically said "hell yes, I love jerky." Promoting a local company with good ingredients is A+ in my book.

After seemingly endless climbing we made it to the lake! It was very foggy when we arrived but our number one goal was to find camp for the night. Looking at the map we could tell where different camp spots were as we walked around the lake. We went half way down the lake and found an area off of the trail that would've fit all 4 tents but wanted to check out the next one as well and I'm so glad we did. This one was very close to the lake, had an awesome granite table already set up and had enough space for all of us. Sold. We set up our tents right away, made some lunch (ramen) and the family table and then napped in the tents while it was raining.

After our nap we slowly woke up and got the crew together to adventure around the lake as it was nice out now and the clouds had cleared up. I got my daypack out and we hiked back up to the other end of the lake and explored around the beach areas.

After that we made our dinners and went to bed early to gear up for the big climb the next day: Aasgards pass- climbing 2000 feet in just under 3/4 of a mile.

Day 2:

We woke up early, made egg burritos (top notch) and drank coffee while staring at the calm lake. We packed up camp and made our way to the other end of the lake. To get over you you have to climb over many large, boulder rocks that are quite difficult with big packs. At the bottom of Aasgards is a really nice beach that would've been the best to camp at. Next time.

We then started the climb up Aasgards. Right from the beginning we took it really slow and steady taking many breaks along the way. Many day hikers passed us as we made it up with our big packs. Half way up we really stopped and took off the packs and fueled up.

Just within 20 minutes after this last photo was taken the weather turned dramatically and dark clouds rolled in and with it came hail and snow...We were about 3/4 up when this happened. We had no other choice but to keep going.

We got to the top and were in white out conditions. It took us about 3.5 hours to climb that 3/4 of a mile. The climb was hard but not as brutal as I thought it would be. It became a lot worse with the slippery snow at the end. When we got to the top our priority was finding and setting up camp to have safe shelter incase the weather got worse. The last the forecast said was 0% chance of any precipitation. The mountains do what they want though. We looked at the map and tried to find camp about .5 a mile in. We found an area that had enough space for us and was on a small lake. We would've loved to camp further in the core but this was the safest route of action with the weather.

We all napped or rested in the tents for awhile after getting them up and to hide from the cold. We walked out later to catch the sunset over many little lakes. This was one of my favorite moments with how the lighting hit the water and the drama of the landscape around.

After that we walked back to camp, ate dinner quick and then we were all so cold we went in our tents by 8:30. By the way, hot toddies were a saving grace on this trip for staying warm at night with not being able to have fires. This night I donned 4 tops, 3 pants, and 2 socks. We also tried the water bottle trick that is boiling water and putting it in a Nalgene and sleeping with that. It did help warm us up a lot! The temperature had to be in the 20's that night. I woke up a few times shivering painfully.

Day 3:

We awoke to beautiful sunshine this morning that warmed us up quickly. We made more egg burritos, coffee and slowly packed up and made our way down through the core.

The good thing about going up Aasgards is that the whole rest of the trip is a decline. We came across our first big lake of the day, Crystal Lake.

Next was Inspiration Lake, just around the corner from this lake is where we saw our first goat sighting!

Next lake up was Perfection lake probably one of my favorites. I would love to come back and camp here, given the chance.

Next up, Sprite Lake. Refreshing? Maybe.

Our game plan was to check out the camping options around Leprechaun Lake and see if we wanted to stay there for the night. We really really wanted to stay in the core for another night, but Snow Lake, a lake out of the core but with campsites, would still be 9 miles out for the last day. So we looked around a bit and the group decided it was best to camp at Snow Lakes for the night to not have a crazy long last day. We did stop at Leprechaun Lake for lunch and to relax a bit. While eating lunch we spotted a mama goat and 2 kids across the island thing we were on. Cody and I went a little closer to get some pictures but were still a good distance away. We were shooting away and the mom eventually noticed us and must've gotten annoyed and ran towards us very fast. We ran back to the rest of the group quickly but the goat was now on our side of the island and creeping closer with the kids. We were terrified for a brief moment being cornered in by this mama goat, that could get aggressive. We yelled at it to stay away with bear spray in hand (just in case). It stayed on our side of the island for a long time just eating and watching us. When we were ready to go another mama goat and a kid came to our island so now we had 5 goats blocking us in on this island. We yelled for them to move and they eventually did and we booked it out of there. Goats can be really cute but they are still a wild animal that needs space. Any animal with babies I am way more precocious of as well.

The last lake in the core would be Lake Viviane. So sad to leave the core. I want to be up there playing forever. We got an overlook shot of Snow Lakes down below before we made the decent to it. Getting down from the core is almost as getting up to it. So many times we were scaling boulders larger than cars with sketchy footing, using our hands and buts to safely get down. It was a brutal pounding on our knees until we hit the lake. 

We finally made it to Snow Lakes and hit the first camp site we found. There was part of it in the woods and then we went out to a beach area beyond it and decided we definitely needed to camp on the beach.

We made dinner, actually got to hang out this night since it wasn't so cold, played Uno, drank more hot toddies and just enjoyed our last night of camping.

Day 4:

We wanted to get a very early start since we had 9 miles to hike out this day with 4000 feet of elevation loss.. Before I got into hiking I would think this means you can just basically run down the mountain. What this actually looks like is a very rocky terrain that slows you down a lot since you don't want to trip and take a tumble down the mountain. The whole terrain of the enchantments was very rocky and brutal to hike on. So we woke at 5:30 to the pitter patter of rain on the tent. Lovely. Ryan and I packed all of our stuff in the tent up first and then the rain actually stopped. We made oats and coffee and tried to quickly get everything together. We were out before 8 AM and hit the trail. We picked up a quick pace right away as it was relatively easy terrain through the woods around Snow Lakes. We got to the bottom of upper snow lakes and then saw lower snow lakes and crossed a dam. A little while later we got to Nadda lake. This was the greenest lake we had seen the whole trip and was very pretty. We were back to the very rocky terrain that was hard to hike on again as well.

Nadda lake had many camp sites that were gorgeous. I think I've decided as long as I live in Washington I should apply for permits. No what what zone I get it will all be gorgeous. The hike out after Nadda lake was about 5 miles and this was probably the longest, most boring section of the entire trip. Just all mostly in woods and it felt like it was taking forever. In one part we stopped to have snacks and rest a bit and another group stopped there after us. This group caught up with us again a little bit later and they said that right after we left a mama bear and 2 cubs crossed the trail! The bear must've been watching us the whole time until we left to cross. Gives ya the heeby-jeebies knowing you were that close to a bear. It took us about 5 hours to hike those 9 miles out. Not too bad. When we got to the trailhead we cheered in victory that we made it. What an accomplishment it was. It was super hot and sunny and we were ready to go into town and get our victory beers. We first had to go pick up the other 2 cars at the other trail head. We then made our way to Leavenworth and went to Munchen Haus for brats and beers and pretzels. It was the best thing ever. We walked around town some, got ice cream and then said our goodbyes and made our way back to Seattle.

This trip is one that I will remember forever. The people were outstanding. Everyone came from such different paths of life but we made it through the mountains together in one piece. I would choose this group over and over again. We all uplifted each other in times we wanted to give up or throw in the towel. We laughed until we cried. We became better together.

The enchantments are such a special place for the variety of things you get to see in 20 miles, but you sure have to work for it. This trip will be very hard to top but has left me with the feeling of needing more. Needing more time in the mountains. Needing more miles under my boots. One of my profound thoughts from the trip was that I am happiest when I am outdoors in nature and I will continue to choose what makes me happiest.

"Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire."

Goat Lake Backpacking

Where: Goat Lake, North Cascades (2 hours from Seattle)

Distance: 12miles/1400 elevation gain - 10.4 total roundtrip to lake (we added on 1.5 with hiking up the lake too)

My husband, myself and two other couples (from Ryan's residency program) + 3 dogs headed out to Goat Lake for a one nighter. This weekend was also a celebration of Ryan turning 27! We left Seattle a little after 6 AM to arrive to the trailhead by 8:30. The small parking lot was already full with cars starting to park on the sides of the road. This is why we always leave very early for hikes. We donned our packs and headed up the Upper Elliot trail. There are 2 trails that you can take for this and both will reconnect before the lake. The 5 miles in was a very gradual incline until the last 15-20 minutes where it got more steep. The trail was also very gentle and wide most of the time. Right before the lake you will see a waterfall to the right that cascades down into a waterfall that follows the lower trail down.

We reached the top in about 2.5 hours. The first view of the water was breathtaking. I had never seen a lake so green before! First things first was to find a campsite. I read that there are designated spots a bit away from the lake and this is true. When we got there, there where many people already set up but there were also many spots still available. We found one that would be big enough for our 3 tents and set up camp and then ate lunch.

My friend Dorris helped me devise a plan to set up a big celebration at camp for Ryan's birthday.  We had the guys go ahead and go down to the lake (2 minute walk from camp) and the girls blew up the balloons and set up "happy birthday" banners and streamers! We met up with the guys and the dogs were having a blast swimming in the alpine lake. We came back to camp and surprised Ryan with the decorations. We then took a siesta as it was only 1 in the afternoon and the lack of sleep was starting to hit us.

After awaking we explored the trail as far as it would go up the lake (1.5 round trip). We all could just not get over how gorgeous the lake was and the perfect backdrop of the mountain behind it. We then made dinner (freeze dried chicken teriyaki for me- very good!) and chili mac for Ryan. I had one more surprise up my sleeve for Ryan- I brought the most processed cake type things I could find and built him a little cake out of it which was surprisingly good (anything is good on the trail). We then drank boxed wine, made a hot toddy type of drink (apple cider packet + whiskey + boiled water new favorite trail drink!) Thanks Caitlin! And enjoyed each others company as we rolled into the evening.

I did not sleep well that night as well, I think it had to do with the previous weekends events (bear run). I sat awake seemingly all night listening to every noise that came by becoming more and more paranoid by the hour. Even our pup Cooper slept good not moving the whole night. My brain would just not shut off. Sleeping in the wilderness exposed to any creature is something I have to get over and accept. Bear run in's are quite rare, or so they say. We did all the right things by hanging all of our food as well. Next time will bring ear plugs and drink a little more whisky perhaps..

We woke up by 8ish in the morning and slowly ate breakfast, breathed in the foggy PNW air, and drank hot coffee. We packed up camp and headed back down on the lower elliot trail. This one eventually follows the river down, which is a nice change of pace.

Overall this hike is not very strenuous (good for the pups) with a high pay off of a gorgeous alpine lake. Definitely won't be our last time here!

Camp Muir- Base Camp of Mt. Rainier

Hike: Camp Muir

Location: Paradise, Mt. Rainier

Mileage/ Elevation: 8 miles/ 4,640

Last summer Ryan and I did the skyline loop trail on Mt. Rainier as the most amateur of amateur hikers. This hike is 5.5 miles and at the top you see the section where it splits off to go up to Camp Muir. At the time, this seemed like a mythical far off land where professional climbers went. As we have gotten into hiking this year Camp Muir had been on our list to accomplish, at some point. Ryan had 2 weekends left of the summer basically before having to work 4 weekends straight so I asked him what his priority was to do on those weekends and Camp Muir was one of them. Skeptically we prepared to go within a couple weeks time. I say skeptically because the weather needed to be absolutely perfect to go and we weren't even sure if we were (physically) ready. Well the weekend approached and the weather was looking good so we decided to do it. Camp Muir should never be attempted in non-favorable conditions as there is no clear trail and white outs can be deadly as people drift onto nearby glaciers. This hike is actually listed as one of the top 10 most deadly hikes.

First things to figure out where the accommodations regarding staying at Mt. Rainier at least the night before. This is no easy task in the summer and the options are quite limited. The park has 3 campgrounds and all the reservable sites go far in advanced and we would never make it to the walk up sites. I booked at Alder Lake Campground like I did the previous year for Friday night. It is an hour and a half from Seattle and an hour from Paradise. We didn't arrive at our campsite until 10:30 or so Friday (thank you surgery residency) and set up camp in the dark and went straight to bed. Well not me.. I was kept awake by the noisy campers partying. I would not recommend this campground unless it was last resort like it was for us. I wanted our wake up call to be 5 to be at the trailhead at 7 but Ryan assured me we did not need an hour to pack up camp in the morning so 5:30 it was. I was right and we would've been better off with that extra 30 minutes as we started on the trail at 8. At this time the parking lot was already quite full. Get here early to snag a spot.

The forecast had called for mostly sunny so we were a bit discouraged by the thick fog that devoured the mountain. We donned our gear and hit the trail. The beginning of the trail is paved and quite steep. Eventually it turns into dirt but we were surprised at about a mile in there was already snow and lots of it. There were stretches of snow on and off for awhile. At a bit before 2 miles you will see that cut off to Camp Muir that continues up while the Skyline Loop trail continues straight. It was now or never and this was really happening. We went up and crossed Pebble Creek (the last source of fresh water beyond melting snow). After this the snow was constant so we put on our micro-spikes (traction) and were happy to have gaiters to not get our pants wet or snow in our boots.

Here is some perspective of where Camp Muir lies on the mountain. It reaches 10,080 feet of the 14,416 feet.

It is here the real climb began as the endless snowfields and elevation gain were ruthless. I began to feel the altitude at about 7,500 feet. It seemed my heart rate was way higher than normal (for a hike) and my head started to hurt and I started to feel a bit queasy. On paper this hike doesn't seem that bad compared to many other in the state with similar stats. What is so different is the snow fields and altitude. That alone made it 100X harder than any other hike we have done. We were slowed down a lot by this but just kept setting landmark goals. "Get to that pile of rocks or beyond that hill and then can take a break." This was really how we made it to the top. I don't think I have ever stopped more or gone more slow on a hike. The altitude sickness subsided and the thought of reaching base camp gave me the extra push I needed to keep going.

Side note- people notoriously get sunburned on this hike because of the snow reflecting back on you. We applied sunscreen religiously 3-4 times throughout the hike including sunscreen chapstick. Don't forget a had and sunglasses with good coverage.

Once we were above the clouds we could see Mt. St. Helens, Adams, and even Mt. Hood in Oregon. That alone made this hike so spectacular and amazing. Every time I turned around I couldn't believe my eyes. We pressed on and set our sights on making it to 9,000 feet because then Camp Muir comes into sight. We came over a hill and I saw some wooden signs on a rock. Finally we could see the end in sight. That last 1,000 feet never seemed to end. At this time of the day the snow had become very sloppy and wet and was not fun to climb on as well. We pushed to the top and finally made it! I couldn't believe it. I was so proud of us. We actually made it to base camp of Rainier! The summit would only be 4,000 more feet. We conquered half of Rainier, it may have been the easier half, but still! We got to the top and collapsed on a rock amongst a huge party of people. It was super busy with day hikers and summiteers alike. Tents were set up everywhere for those going on to the summit the following day. There are different buildings ran by the guided groups to hold equipment and even a bunk house and toilets. The most awe inspiring was seeing the groups coming down who had just summited all roped up and filled with accomplishment. I have set my sights on summiting Rainier for awhile, but in this moment I knew that would be me. There was no question about that. If we could make it to base camp we could surly summit the whole thing (when conditioned to).

After an hour of snacking, relaxing, and soaking in the sun we decided to make the trek back down. The fastest and most optimal way to go down is to glissade. I had never done this before and looking at how steep some of the sections were I was down right scared to even try. When you are looking at these glissade shoots they are just long stretches of hollowed out snow were people have slid on their bumbs. We didn't have rain pants or garbage bags to sit on, but we sat on our rain coats and went for it. Since the snow was so wet we didn't go super fast on most of them, but we probably took 5-6 glissade shoots down and boy was it fun. New favorite way to get down a mountain! I ended up with soaking wet pants but it was worth it. We basically slipped and slidded down the mountain in seemingly no time. It was somewhere in here that I ran out of water. I had brought 2 litters and a big Gatorade. Thank goodness Ryan had a lot leftover or I would've been in big trouble. Being at high altitude dehydrates you like nothing else. We got to the lower skyline loop trail and it was packed with tourists enjoying the mountain. Oh, and we saw 4 marmots total! They are so cute and such a joy to run into. We even saw 2 of them wrestling it out. We made it to the bottom at 4:30. It took us 8 hours total with an hour at the top in there. We made it to the car and peeled all the soaking wet layers off of us.

We didn't have a campground booked for that night as they were booked up all around so we hoped to snag a last minute walk up.. I had 5 campgrounds on my list to check out going counter clockwise towards Sunrise. One after another was full and we were feeling hopeless on getting camping and the reality of just driving home was becoming clear. We were passing a sign that had a campground symbol so we pulled over fast to check it out. It said something about Horse campground meant for people with horses to camp there. This was not a campground ran by anything seemingly so we asked one of the 5 groups of campers what this was all about and if they had reservations. They said they just grabbed a sight so we did as well. We set up camp and finally relaxed with a beer after a long day. We were beyond exhausted so we went to sleep by 9PM. At about 2 AM I was abruptly woken by loud footsteps outside of our tent, a large shadow and some heavy breathing.... My heart immediately sunk as my mind went straight to BEAR. We were right outside of Mt. Rainier which has many bears and our food storage that night was not up to par at this make shift campsite. We kept our garbage bag with leftover food in our roof storage.. probably just smelly enough to lure any animal into our space. I could literally feel my pulse beating out of my chest as I panicked with what to do and if this was really happening. I woke Ryan up and whispered that I thought there was a bear outside of our tent.. his quick thinking was to set the car alarm off for about 10 seconds and then make a lot of noise after. We had the bear spray in hand and eventually took a look outside. We didn't see anything but we both had decided that we wouldn't be able to go back to sleep after that and did not want to be around when this possible bear came back to sniff around some more. We rushed and packed up the whole campsite within about 5 minutes and booked it out of there. Looking back this seems a little dramatic and we probably should've just slept in the car, but we were in bed by 4 AM so what ever. I don't play with bears. Proper food storage is very important and we learned a lesson that night.

This hike left me feeling so full and inspired. Mt. Rainier will always be my favorite. I can't wait to make it up that extra 4,000 feet someday.

The mountains are calling and I must go, always.

Tolmie Peak Lookout

Mt. Rainier National Park/ 6.5 Miles

Rachel Lake and Rampart Lakes Backpacking Trip

Where: Near Snoqualmie Pass in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Mileage/ Elevation gain: 4 miles up to Rachel Lake/ 1600EG, then 1.5 mile/600 feet up to Rampart Lakes

Total Mileage: Around 11

My husband had this weekend off so we knew we had to plan some kind of backpacking trip. The weather was not looking good all over Washington (surprise, surprise), so I looked in some of the places with the least likely hood of rain. I saw that Rachel Lake had much less chance of rain than some other places so we went with it.

We had a group of 6 backpackers and 2 day hikers with us and 3 dogs, the biggest group yet! Lots of new friends were made that day as we all trekked up the mountain. The first 2.5 miles of this hike are easy peasy. After that, all the incline comes into play and with a mixture of rough terrain, we were all struggling. It felt like the longest 4 miles of our life to get up to Rachel lake (add in 30 pound packs might I add you). We finally get up and start scurrying to find the perfect site, a hard feat with looking for an area to fit 3 tents. The trail at the top does not go around the whole lake. If you go right it brings you up to Rampart Lakes and if you go left it takes you up the lake a bit with more camp spots. We walked about 5 minutes until we found an area with a descent clearing to fit all 3 tents + 2 hammocks. We all set up camp, ate lunch, and lounged around a bit. I had my sites set on getting up to Rampart Lakes as well, heck we were already up here, lets see it all! Most of the group was slow to get going, but 5 of us eventually dragged our tired bodies up the mountain once again. The 1.5 mile was steeeep but we were shortly rewarded with great overlook views of Rachel Lake. We got to the ridge and continued to what we thought was the trail. With lots of bushwhacking, we knew it wasn't right and backtracked to the sign that pointed left to Rampart Lakes and right to Lila Lake. We made the short, easy trek over to Rampart Lakes and was that a sight to see. This area was vastly different from the foliage below with many Alpine Lakes and different terrain. It was one of the prettiest areas I have been to in Washington so far. I would love to explore that whole area more and stay up there. After exploring a bit we made our way back to camp and made chicken and dumplings backpacker meals, made s'mores, drank wine, and enjoyed each others company.

This was also Cooper's (our one year old golden retriever) first time backpacking. We had gotten him his own pack to carry his food and a doggy sleeping bag (it's a real thing!). He had gone on many hikes and thought he was ready to do an overnight. He handled all the day hiking very well and made new doggy friends. When it came time for bed he moved around a lot at night as the wind was howling and there seemed to be lots of noises, but we all made it through the night.

We all slowly woke up the next morning and heard the pitter pattering of rain on the tent. Internally we were all thinking lets just never leave the tent so we don't have to deal with the rain. Well that chance of rain came through, but at least it wasn't the day before. Let me just tell you packing up a wet tent is at the bottom of the barrel for fun things to do on my list. Everything. Was. Wet. We donned our rain coats, rain covers for our packs, and hit the trail and made the 4 miles back. So wet trails + 80 pound eager golden retriever + steep descents do not mix well. Cooper does have a pulling problem on leash and made it miserable going down the mountain. We keep him on leash for safety and to avoid that $125 fine. Maybe he will calm down the pulling with age?...

We got back to the car in 2.5 hours and made a pit stop for the good ole' Scott's Dairy Freeze in North Bend. This is the spot for burgers/fries/milkshakes after a hike FYI.

Another backpacking trip in the book, new friends acquired, and as always, a deeper love for Washington and the beauty it holds.

Mt. Pilchuck Fire Lookout

Backpacking Packwood Lake

The trip that almost didn't happen? I say almost because the original plan was to hit the coast but the forecast called for lots of rain so that was a no go. We scoured and researched and read all the forecasts to see where in the state would be getting the lease amount of rain. Doris found Packwood Lake and the forecast didn't seem too bad so we settled on it. Packing for this trip went slightly better than the first time as I had a little more idea of what I was doing, still a newb in the world of backpacking though. I went through my list and made sure I had everything I needed. New supplies this time would be a sea to summit pillow (the best purchase ever), sawyer mini water filter, rain cover for backpack and my hammock.

We were able to get out of Seattle by 3:30 and with a few stops later made it into Packwood by 6. Grabbed some food and was to the trailhead before 7. Make sure you know your directions before getting into "desolate" places like this (no 3G service), or just rely on the locals like we did. Your call. We got everything together and hit the trail just before 7. We were both very anxious to get to the lake before dark and to not be setting up in the dark. The trail is 4.5 miles into the lake with a gentle incline most of the way. It was pretty delightful until it started raining more seriously and then we had to pull out the rain gear. We finally made it to the lake with plenty of light to spear. The lake was pretty busy with people already at their campsites up the lake. We went about a 1/2 mile up the lake and found the first decent spot to set up camp. Lesson of the day: don't set up your tent on any kind of an incline. This is probably common sense to most, but we had no option really and it didn't seem that bad at the time. Well as soon as we set up our bed I knew it would be an issue. There was no friction between my sleeping bag and the sleeping pad so I just constantly slid and always woke up in the fetal position. We woke up the next morning and decided to pack up and find a better spot for our second night. Oh, and our original plan was to go to Lost Lake the second night, 5 more mile up the trail. Thank goodness we didn't attempt that because we later heard that it was still under a lot of snow. So we went another 15-20 minutes up the lake and I spotted a camp site that we nearly missed because it was so secluded, the best kind. We set up camp yet again and set up the hammock as well. This thing is pure luxury out in the wilderness. Just a cup of tea and a good view to boot, the best. Also, I filtered water for the first time and didn't die, hooray!

Our plan for the second day was to try to hike around the lake since we had nothing else to do. We hiked about an hour up it and found out there is no trail that goes around the lake, only a trail that heads up to higher elevation. We made our way back to the campsite in mid afternoon and lounged around a bit before deciding to start a fire. We gather wood (small pieces), set up paper in it, lit match, after match, after match and nothing. Nothing would catch. Was the wood too wet? Was it too windy? Were we incompetent at starting a fire?.. Desperation came over both of us as we so badly wanted a fire but were not able to get it going. I wanted a cooked marshmallow, dammit! Well truly a gift from God, a younger man walked directly through our campsite (which no one else had and as he was still looking for a place to set up camp). Doris being braver and more exuberant than I (per usual)  asked him for help. He said sure and maybe within 20 minutes, we had a fire going. Pure trail angel right there. We would've been cold and in the dark all night if not for him. So we then spent literally 5 hours foraging for wood to keep this damn fire going. We weren't gonna let it die after all that trouble. We could only get smaller pieces of wood with no ax to chop up bigger pieces, so it was never ending. We roasted marshmallows, sipped boxed wine and enjoyed each others company for the rest of the night. Also, as far as backpacking food goes, you should definitely get Backpacker's Pantry Chicken and Dumplings. It is basically chicken pot pie, a hot meal never tasted so good.  That night was also the best night of sleep I have got backpacking yet. I will give it to a flat ground and a real pillow! The next morning we took our time getting up, eating breakfast, and soaking in the view one last time. We packed up and made our way back and within a couple hours we were back to the car.

Overall really great trip and would love to explore more of Goat Rocks Wilderness, specially high country.

The more I get into backpacking, get into the wilderness, get out of my comfort zone the more I learn. The more I grow as I person. The more I see what I am capable of and the more I fall in love with it's beckoning call.

"Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books."

- Sir John Lubbock

Heather Lake

4.6 RT/ 1034 Elevation Gain This hike is a gentle incline with a beautiful lake at the end. Such a gorgeous hike even on a cloudy day. This was our dog, Cooper's first time swimming. He had a blast and is a natural at it.

Mailbox Peak

9.4 Miles RT/ 4000ft elevation gain I had heard about mailbox before even moving to Seattle. I mean, hiking to a mailbox at a top of a mountain is pretty awesome! I had great company that day as well with 3 friends with. We set out early to conquer it, and conquer we did. I was sad that there was clouds to the south blocking views of Mt. Rainier. I guess I'll have to come back to see that another day. I also discovered from this hike that my hiking boots were not the right ones for me as they would leave me with a blister on the back of my heals. This was fixed within the next week with a trip to REI and a new pair of boots in hand.

Mt. Si

We put our mind to doing Mt. Si this weekend, not really sure if we were ready, but went for it anyways. Mt. Si is 8 miles roundtrip and 3150 elevation gain- the most we have done yet. We knew we had to get out there early to get a parking spot and avoid a stampede of crowds. We left Seattle at 7AM and got there a little before 8. The parking lots was over half full at this point. We started the hike just around 8. The way up was a continual grade that was exhausting and difficult. The hike is rated expert. There really isn't much to see at all on the way up, no look outs at all. We stopped to rest maybe 2-3 times just to catch our breath before going on. The trail was very well maintained with no trees down or anything. 2 hours and 7 minutes later we got to the top and it was stunning. I would not recommend this hike on a cloudy day because what would be the point? Mt. Rainier will always be my favorite and this hike gave us an up close and personal view of her. We sat and adventured around the top for about an hour. I really could've stayed up there all day it was so beautiful. Oh, and we ran into a group from Minnesota and Wisconsin and one of the guys graduated in my husbands med school class and is a resident at UW. Such a small world. At the top there is a haystack that gets you 200 feet higher, but it is very advanced scrambling and we were not looking to die this day. We made our way down in 1 hour 30 minutes. After this hike we feel like we are ready for Mailbox. Won't be able to attempt it for awhile, but we're coming for ya.

Lake Serene

We left by 8:15 and got to the trail head by 9:30. I believe we took the very last spot in the parking lot. As the season goes on we are learning to leave earlier and earlier for hikes... We got on all our gear and headed on. It was a clear day which made the views along the way stunning. 2 miles in we hit our first landmark of the Bridal Veils falls. It was another half mile off the trail (and some crazy incline later) and we were there. The falls themselves are a sight to see. We stopped here for awhile and then were on our way again. The incline got pretty serious at this point and felt never ending. 2 more miles felt like an eternity. There were many streams to cross and trees to climb over/under along the way as well. I read that .5 mile from the lake the snow started, this was about accurate. We got to try our new handy dandy Yaktrax's at this point. We learned our lesson from Lake 22 and slipping and sliding everywhere. They gave us just the traction we needed + our poles and we were golden. We finally arrived at the lake and yes indeed it was serene (except for the somewhat large amount of people). We wandered around the lake a bit taking in the views and just enjoying the moment. It was at this moment where we were wishing we had a stove to make some freeze dried warm comfort food + coffee after this long trek. Our Cliff bars and jerky would have to do. Up until this point the hike had taken 4.5 hours. The trek down took about an hour and a half making for a total of 6 hours for almost 9 miles and 2000 feet of elevation gain. By the end we were wiped out, feet sore and ready to relax. Thank goodness we got to end the day by going to get ciders with new friends. Another great day in the PNW.

Franklin Falls

My new friend, Doris, invited me to a hike with two other people I had never met. I jumped at the chance, of course, and we began our journey out early. We were moseying to the trail head when out of no where the road was completely blocked with snow. Our only option was to get out and walk to the trailhead. We had to walk about a mile to the trail head. The road/trail was way snowier than we expected. I did not dress appropriately for this and am slowly learning my lesson with proper clothing choices. I also should have brought my new Yak Trax's as there were some really slippery spots along the way. We got to the waterfall, finally, and it was so beautiful. We didn't stay long because it was really cold and windy down there! On our way there we saw one group of people that didn't go all the way to the falls because of the snow. On our way back we saw probably 30 people heading to the trail. I love early hikes with minimal people. This is the way to do it people. Overall a day of snow adventures, magical snow covered trees, a beautiful waterfall and 3 new friends.

Lake 22

We left for the hike by 9 and got to the trail head by 10:15. Learning to leave earlier and earlier for hikes as small parking lots fill up crazy fast. We put on our packs and hit the trail. It started with some easy incline for over a mile. With snow melting up the mountain, the whole trail was basically a river. Time to put the Oboz hiking boots to the test. At some points there were full on water falls to cross, but nothing impassable. We got to a clearing on the trail that turned to all very steep rock. This part was more difficult to get through and around fallen trees. Another half mile or so and we finally reached the lake. Leading to the lake was compact, slippery snow. We are learning more and more what gear we need by when we don't have the correct gear. Spikes would have been really great for this hike on the snow. We did have our trekking poles with that helped a lot. The lake was just another world, something you have to see with your own eyes to really capture the beauty of it. Snow covered mountains, a frozen lake and peace transcended the air. We hung out in the middle of the lake for awhile having a snack and savoring the beauty. We made our way down the mountain with the whole trip taking about 3 hours. Lake 22 will need to be a winter hike norm.

Little Si

We have some pretty big (for us) hiking goals, so slowly making our way up bigger and steeper trails. We would love to do Mt. Si, Mailbox Peak, and possibly make it to Camp Muir this summer. Getting a head start on this in February should help condition us to make it happen.

Little Si is 4.7 miles round trip and 1300 elevation gain. Mt. Si is 8 miles, 3150 elevation gain, yikes. This hike wasn't too terribly hard at all. The middle leveled out with some steepness at the end, but not unbearable. The summit was busy and over run with families and the view was alright, not as good as Rattlesnake. It was much more enjoyable without the pooch (sorry Cooper, some day you'll be ready to hike). The hiking boots are wearing in nicely and we are learning more and more each time (like needing a Discover Pass to be in a state park, hello). Our next investment is in 2 Opsprey day packs (talon 22 for him and tempest 20 for me). These should be really good 3 season, day packs. What I mean by that is being able to use it when it's cold and pack many layers with. Probably getting them within the next week to use the current REI deal. They always get us.

Rattlesnake Ridge

The very popular, very busy Rattlesnake Ridge. Popular for it's proximity to Seattle, moderate incline and great views. We had just bought our new hiking boot, Obos, and were ready to put them to the test with the pup in hand. The incline was challenging, but doable. We learned a lesson with hiking with Cooper though, it's really hard. He is still a puppy and pulls so hard on the leash making it not enjoyable for all. The top was beautiful though and worth the trek. We wanted to get this one done for the season before it gets crazy busy there in the summer. I also found out my hiking boots were a size too small, learned that the hard way on the way down the hike. Good thing REI has an excellent return policy.