My mother-in-law likes to use the "best laid plans" quote for some of my adventures. It's true, they don't always go according to plan. Sometimes, they even go better than planned. This is an example of the latter.
I had planned to take the kids to Blue Lake (yes, one of the many Blue Lakes in Washington, but I meant this one) on the way to Grandpa Jack's cabin. Unfortunately, the weather was sketchy and we'd already been in the truck way too long so we skipped the hike in favor of an arrival at the cabin before dinner. I wasn't too bent out of shape about it. I figured we'd have another shot when we returned over the North Cascades Highway a few days later.
After a great weekend east of the mountains we were headed home under blue skies. The kids were tuckered and jumped at the chance to do a shorter hike, even if just barely. Blue Lake is 4.4 miles round trip with 1,050 feet of gain. Lake Ann is a mile shorter with only 700 feet of gain. Ok. Lake Ann it was.
The trail is in great shape and heavily traveled, though not too bad on this Sunday afternoon. We climbed through the forest on a series of switchbacks with occasional patches of snow, especially where we crossed gullies. It was warm enough that snow on our heads felt great.
Unfortunately, that snow meant we couldn't find the trail to the lake. Bummer, we'd just need to keep going. I'd love to say this was all part of my best laid plan, but really I was just surprised there was so much snow. On the upside, we were climbing toward Heather Pass.
As part of the fabled Heather-Maple Pass Loop it's a given the views would be stunning, but I didn't think they'd be that stunning. Like jaw-dropping stunning. The kind of stunning I usually save for Mount Rainier or just outside the Park.
But unlike trips near Rainier, there was no central focus on this hike. Everywhere you looked was special. Lake Ann was down below, still partially frozen. Maple Pass and the ridge between Ann and Rainy Lake loomed above the lake, still clad in snow. Across Heather Pass, when we got there, Black Peak stood at the end of a long snow field that looked perfectly passable, though later in the year it's a terror of loose rock. Even looking back the way we'd come was pretty with peaks from the other side of the valley.
And to think we got to experience this amazing place because (a) we had lousy weather on the way east on Friday, (b) the kids were hoping for a shorter hike as we headed back west Sunday, and (c) there was too much snow to find the trail to the lake itself. I couldn't have planned it better if I tried.
The only problem was that due to the snow beyond Heather Pass we had to turn back and forgo the remainder of the loop over Maple Pass. (Never mind we hadn't prepared for such a trip.) That just means we'll have to come back. I've heard great things about doing this in the Fall when the larches turn. Maybe I should start planning to accidentally wind up here in a few months.
