Maple Loop to Lake Ann- 10.1.11

Maple Pass Loop to Lake Ann, North Cascades
Hike #3, 7.2 miles, 2000 ft Elevation gain

This is not one of your easier destinations.  Meant for the more serious all day hike if you have the time to commit to it.  The drive out to Lake Ann is one of the more beautiful scenic drives Washington has to offer.  Past Darlington and heading up into the cascades you pass the three sisters, and soon after the southern tip of Ross Lake.  A steady climb on State Route 20 to Rainy Pass, Milepost 158, elevation at trailhead 4,850.  Down below the trailhead at Milepost 134 is where the road closes from Avalanches Mid November to December and typically says closed until mid April/early May.  So plan your trips wisely and highly recommend spending a few days camping and exploring in and around Ross Lake.

On this particular day the rains had not let up for the 3+ hr drive.  I guess you could say I was just crossing my fingers the whole way and not knowing what I was gonna get.  So as I pulled to a stop in the parking lot I sat and pondered this for a whole 15 min:  Do I let this pouring-down-drenching rain stop me?  I just drove for 3 hrs to sit in a parking lot?? and... Why is there no other cars here?

I now had that eerie feeling when you realize you are totally alone out in the middle of nowhere.  Not gonna admit this to all of the people who constantly question my solo nature excursions.  Always equipped with the many: "Please be safe".  But this was more like a mixture of excitement and a little fear.  With not a living soul on that trail I was wondering if I was putting my survival skills to the test?

One of the many peaks in this Alpine Basin

First 15 minutes it was pouring, and understood now why they call it Rainy Pass.  But as soon as I stepped out into the granite slide clearing the rains came to a stop.  I can only imagine on a clear day what these mtns looked like.  At this moment it just felt like a mysterious forest that coulden't wait to tell me a foreboding secret. 

Haunting and Beautiful

Lake Ann

Deep Blue Glacier Water

Breaking out of the marshy forest of fir, spruce and hemlock you encounter the lower level of lake ann (elev 5300) nearly 1.5 miles in.  A steady hike takes you up and around the towering peaks that cradle the tiny lake.  No shoreline to the waters edge, just a direct descent from the rocky cliffs.  The view becomes more and more impressive as you near the top of a saddleback ridge. 
More than a few times on the trail I would catch a wiff of a very distinct odor.  I would first smell the scent of "wet dog" and notice that there was a distinct path cut across the trail of fallen and trampled brush.  A little unsettling to realize the size this animal must be to have cleared such a path.

View of the lake from Heather Pass

As you reach the top of the saddleback clearing you can head to the left towards Lewis and Wing Lakes.  It was like I had stepped into the sound of music and you cant help but channel Julie Andrews surrounded by the remnants of the summer buds.  I thought I would see where this little trail went but the fog was so thick i could hardly see and thought it best to stay on the main trail around the lake.




Back on the main trail you rejoin the ascent around the lake.  At moments the trail is quite narrow, steep and water covered.  Its a little vertigo when you catch a glimpse of the lake 1000 feet below you.

I made my way along the maple pass (elevation 6,600) and  felt the cold chill of the temperature dropping.  It had been a long trek and was curious what was beyond the ridge, another half mile and the weather told me time to turn back.  Just before the ridge of Frisco mountain I began my descent. 

This is definitly a hike I would like to do again in early to mid summer to catch some of the wild flowers in bloom: lupine, penstimon, arnica, aster and more.  On a clear day the views must be breathtaking to behold the nearby peaks:  Corteo, Black, Tower, Frisco and Whistler.