Maple Pass Loop hike, WA - 4 October 2021

Maple Pass Loop, North Cascades National Park

4 October 2021

The rainy season has started to settle in Seattle with the start of October.  We got a break with some nice weather on Monday, 4 October 2021, where it was sunny but cool.  The waves of weather washing in from the Pacific had a 24-hour gap that allowed the sun to shine.  It was not warm, but the bright colors of the landscape shone in the the sun.  This is the kind of weather that brings out the colors of nature in the mountains - mountain blueberry, sumac, and larches.  Naturally, we decided to go on a hike.  Rather than bury the lede, let me start with a view from the top.

It is a bit of a drive from metro-Seattle to the trailhead, approaching three hours.  We started late (by my keeping) at about 9am, and headed north on I-5 to Arlington on route 530.  This is the boring bit, but heading through Oso, Darrington, and Rockport starts to get prettier and wilder.  Now Route 20 wanders through Newhalem, past Diablo Lake, past Easy Pass Trailhead (hah!) to the Maple Pass Trailhead.  

The trail starts from the ever-crowded parking lot with a steady but brisk rise along a forested valley.  After a couple miles, there is a break to go to Ann Lake or continue upward toward Maple Pass.  As you keep going up, the trail leads across a series of rockslides with nice views of Ann Lake below.

As the trail (seems to) near the top, there is a turn that yeilds a view where everyone stops.  After climbing, it is a treat to see the next valley over.  The saddle between Ann Lake and Lewis Lake has a patch of larches with bright colors.  this is a ruse.  The trail to Maple Pass continues upward.

At this point, the hiker has hit something of a tree-line.  There are trees, but the area is so rocky that very few trees can grow, and few to any size.  The trail climbs and switches back and forth to ascend yet to Maple Pass and a saddle between Ann Lake and Rainy Lake.  Maple Pass does open to the Maple Creek valley, however the trail turns toward Rainy Lake.  

A strong hiker can ascend to Frisco Mountain or farther to Lyall Glacier, but we turned to descent.  The trail descends rapidly above Rainy Lake and then enters the forest that covers the ridge between Ann and Rainy Lakes.  In the photo, one can just make out part of the switchback trail on the left side; just above (and far beyond) the switchbacks is a segment of Route 20 in the distance.

While the mind turns to descent at Maple Pass, I want to show a photo of Rainy Lake (in the distance).  I did not take too many photos on the descent, so this will have to do.  

Notes - In this post, I have included photos, but I wanted to include a video.  I think I have to include a YouTube link, so I will need to experiment further.