Beautiful weather temp, humidity and zero wind. Minimal High clouds and lots blue sky.
Leslie would have enjoyed it.
★
★
★
★
Amazing and very hard but the views are worth it. Did not go all the way down to the Twin Lakes. Turned back to Silver Lake and had an awesome swim!
★
★
★
★
★
A bit of a bush whack but awesome summit block scrambling and fun glacier travel
★
★
★
★
★
8/25/21 Wednesday
Good trail! Good workout going up! Shaded from the sun by the forest canopy. I started up at 8am and arrived at Blanca Lake around 10 am. It was a cool, sunny, calm morning. No bugs! And no other hikers yet. It’s amazing green color makes this lake awesome to view! On my return, there were a dozen or more hikers going up. And at least two campsites in use. I would hike here again!
★
★
★
★
★
Went on a Monday and basically had the trail to myself. Was a little muddy on the downward trek to the lake itself; wear grippy shoes/boots.
★
★
★
★
Had to hike from the road closure on the mountain loop, Darrington Side. and up the access road. Fallen trees ont he access road, and fallen trees on the upper and lower Elliott creek trails.
Upper has fewer fallen trees. You need only climb over, under, or hike around most.
on lower, prepare to play a game of crouch, crawl, climb, balance etc as trees have damaged bridges, and riddle the lower trail.
You will likely have the pick of the campsight if you go this time of year!
★
★
★
★
★
Need bike. 10 miles of biking, 10 miles of hiking. Hiking trail is difficult, a bit of route finding to Twin Lakes. Silver is good for a swim. Long day.
★
★
★
★
Road has a decent amount of potholes, but none so big they can’t be skirted past. Pretty rocky in some stretches but I made it fine in a sedan.
Trail is steep, rooty, and rocky for most of the way through the forested section. Once it opens up there’s a slushy coating of snow that was slippery—poles were helpful. Lots of water on the trail from the recent snow melting out again, as well as rain. We wore ponchos and waterproof boots. I never needed to put on my puffy coat but my hands were very cold once my gloves soaked through.
The snow became deeper, but still slushy, ascending Labyrinth Mt from the saddle overlooking Theseus. Poles were very helpful from here on. We didn’t use our microspikes because the snow was too wet. Lots of exhausting but minor post-holing as we found a route up Labyrinth (gaiters would’ve been nice!). We ended up having to turn around .1 miles from the peak, at the bottom of the boulder field. The snow was too deep to know what was beneath you, but not deep enough to be able to walk safely across.
Beautiful views whether it’s socked in at the lake, or from the saddle when the clouds part even briefly! Lots of mini waterfalls and streams below Labyrinth, braiding through the trail and underneath the snow. Blueberry treats hiding underneath the snow as well!
★
★
★
I had been wanting to get to Glacier Basin for a long time, so I was thrilled to finally get a chance this weekend. We left the Barlow Pass trailhead at about 8am and started towards Monte Cristo. The log "bridge" over the Sauk was in great shape and was pretty easy to cross this time of year. The only people we saw along the way were a few backpackers who had spent the night along the river. Out from Monte Cristo, the trail gets quite a bit more difficult. We must have been the first of the day headed up, because the trail is fairly overgrown in places, and the brush was quite wet. It's a tough climb including a few slick spots, a rope section, and a small snow patch, but well worth it!
The basin itself is incredible. There's a snow cave, tons of creeks, huge glacial boulders, and even some artifacts left behind from the mining days. We easily spent a few hours wandering around the basin and enjoying the magnificence and solitude. I'd definitely love to come back to camp here sometime.
On the way down, we crossed paths with a few people prior to Monte Cristo, then saw a fair number of families enjoying the day in the townsite. With our wandering, I logged a total of 16 miles and 3,800 feet of elevation gain. I'd guess the numbers listed by WTA are on the low end.
★
★
★
★
Great day for a hike! The key here is to get to the trailhead as early as possible. We arrived at 7:30 AM, and already the parking was starting to fill up. Trail was well used, and easy to follow. We took the upper trail up to the lake ... that trail, while longer was in great condition and an easy grade all the way to to the junction with the lower trail. After that, a few roots and what have you, pretty standard for the PNW. Lake was amazing and well worth the effort.
We took the lower trail down. It was ok, supposed to be scenic, et al, but we found it average. Plus lots of roots and rocks, and mud. It’s easy enough to navigate, but if you need to move quickly and efficiently ... the upper trail is for you.
Plenty of room for social distancing. Most people wore mask, and trail etiquette, was certainly higher than in our neighborhood, so that’s good.
Anyway it’s a classic PNW hike ... just get there as early as you can. Enjoy!!
★
★
★
★
Easy hike, lots of wild flowers, and ghost town at the end was interesting
★
★
★
★
★
