Before we headed out we stopped at the visitor center right by the campground to talk to a ranger about some possible hikes and if there were some other options we hadn’t considered.
One of the guys who was working the cash register was very knowledgeable about the area and the hikes, he suggested that we hike to Heather Pass from Rainy Pass – that it was a better way to see Lake Ann and the rest oft he mountains. He did warn that we would likely encounter snow, so we ran back to the campground to get our Yak Traxx, just in case!
Finally we headed out to drive the road! We stopped at the Diablo Lake Overlook and spent a long time checking out all the views and taking lots of pictures! Diablo Lake was created by the Seattle City Light Company when they dammed up the Skagit River to create power! The other big lake in the area – Ross Lake was created for the same purpose. There are also two “Company” Towns in the park: Newhalem and Diablo where workers for the power company live. I’m wondering if that’s why I have AT&T coverage on my iPhone – maybe Seattle City Power has an AT&T tower for their workers iPhones? This evening when we drove through I saw some kids out playing – hmmmm…maybe they need a teacher????
After Diablo Lake we continued down the road. The mountains are ENORMOUS! And there are so many of them! Around almost every corner there is a huge waterfall!
Finally we made it to Rainy Pass! The pass itself is developed, but very primitive – pit toilets and a few picnic tables. We found a good table and got out our picnic lunch! Soon the mosquitoes made lingering over lunch uncomfortable, so we headed out to walk to Rainy Lake. The walk to Rainy Lake was only 2 miles (round trip), paved and flat, so Mom was able to go with us! The trail itself was rather boring, but the lake was pretty awesome! Reminded me of Avalanche Lake in Glacier.
After we got back from the walk to Rainy Lake, Dad and I got ready for our hike to Heather Pass. We’d guesstimated that it was about 2 miles each way for a total of 4 miles and that we’d be back in a minimum of 2 hours and up to 4 hours as the absolute longest it would take. We left Mom at the car with her Kindle and headed into the woods.
The initial part of the trail was deep in the cedar forest and was rather boring, but soon we came to a big bowl where the views opened up! Here it reminded me of Cascade Canyon in the Tetons. Soon we were back in the trees again, but not for long! In less than 1/2 a mile we we were out above the trees on an exposed and rocky trail with views all around! We continued to climb and as we did more of the mountains revealed themselves to us and it was amazing! I could hardly walk for stopping to take pictures! As the trail continued to climb we got great views of Lake Ann as well! Pretty soon we were at the end of the lake and the trail turned up again and we climbed even higher making out way to Heather Pass.
Soon we came to some big snow patches that required extra care, but not Yak Traxx, to cross. It’s an interesting experience to swat at mosquitoes while navigating snow! It was after of these big snow patches that we ran into a guy coming down, I was getting pretty tired and ready to go back so I asked him how much farther – he said it was just a few more minutes and it was worth it – so I pushed on! After traversing the final snow fields we reached the end of the road – Heather Pass! WOW what a view! HUGE mountains in every direction!
In addition to the mountains, there was snow in every direction! Lots and lots of snow! The trail formed a loop and conceivably you could have walked all the way around, but we couldn’t tell where the trail went, even with a map! Good thing we’d already planned to go back!
We were a bit concerned about the time – it had taken us more than 2 hours to walk there, what we’d expected it would take 2 hours round trip! It was here that we realized we’d likely underestimated the mileage! We started back down, only stopping occasionally to take pictures – those "I’m pretty sure I got this, but I’m taking another shot – just in case” shots. It felt like we were hiking faster, but the downhill is so slow! I hate walking downhill! When we came back to the bowl I had to take more pictures because the light was different!
We finally got back to the car at 6:00 – our “outside chance” return time and we’d just barely made it! Mom had had a nice afternoon at the car, despite nearly being eaten alive by mosquitoes!
The day ended up being a bit more than we bargained for hiking wise – Dad and I ended up hiking about 8 miles and gaining about 1500 ft of elevation – but it was TOTALLY worth it!
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| North Cascades: Diablo Lake & Rainy Pass hikes |
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