WESTERN WASHINGTON

Summary

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Gorgeous alpine lakes are the destination on this hike. Despite a trail mishap it was a lovely backpacking trip.

Trail Stats

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Trail Details

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It’s funny how I can clearly and concisely recollect certain places and hikes. While I clearly recall how stupendously gorgeous the Rampart lakes are, I can hardly remember the trail getting there. I certainly remember it’s in the tree’s and a few places have drop offs. And there’s a creek running by part of the lower trail. Beyond that, not much.

Choosing to do Rampart Lakes as a backpacking trip was one of our better ideas. We headed out to the Rachel Lake trailhead. Turns out that’s an awfully long drive. From the Seattle area head East, past Snoqualmie Pass, around Kachess Lake, turn when you see a sign for Rachel Lake. It takes a hot minute.

As I barely recall the hike in, I’ll glaze over it. You go up, through tree’s. It is steep. You will certainly notice a backpack on your back if you haven’t carried on in a while.

We chose to camp at Rachel Lake. It’s a pretty large lake and not as fragile an area as Rampart Lakes. And we brought the dog. She could root around more at Rachel without disturbing the environment nearly as much. Plus it’s only about 3.5 miles in. And it was really nice to ditch our packs, set up camp and head out again with oh so light daypacks. Much better.

Getting to Rampart Lakes from Rachel Lakes is a workout. The trail switchbacks up the entire ridge in a fairly short distance. Mostly in the tree’s. At some point there’s a split in the trail. To the right is Alta Mountain and Lila Lake. Stick to the left for Rampart Lakes.

Arriving at Rampart Lakes is magical. They have a network of trails meandering through the area. It’s a popular destination. Normally, other people are out enjoying the day as well. Try not to crush the vegetation as you pass through. The shores offer plenty of places to sit and have lunch or swim. There’s even a designated potty area if you have need.

Having a few days, we did head out to Lila Lake. I would recommend it if you have the time. Yet another exquisite alpine lake. We also went part way up to Alta Mountain. Holy heck. That trail is rugged and steep. But the views were sensational and made up for our effort.

What I do recall, in rather vivid detail, is part of our return hike out. Packs back on weary shoulders. Down we go. A bit down the trail we hit a rock face, maybe 6 feet tall, that we had to descend. Doug went first. I followed.

The trail, when you got down, headed to the left. It turns out I don’t like to descend with my left side facing the rock wall. I prefer my right side facing the rock wall. Key point. Doug offered his hand when I was near the bottom. But, in my defense, I was facing the wrong way and reaching back behind me was awkward. So instead I said, “I’ve got it.” Well. I most certainly did not have it. Left foot hit flat ground first. And promptly rolled. Balance was completely lost. Over the edge I pitched, head first, down a drop off about 8 feet down. (Doug said it was 10. I disagree) It was definitely taller than Doug. And I slid another 12 feet or so down. Through some very thorny bushes, which shredded my palms as I desperately tried to grab onto. A conveniently fallen log abruptly stopped my rapid slide. I was nicely wedged, head downhill, between the ground and that log. Thanks dead tree!

Doug, having been a helpless witness to my fall, jumped off the drop off after me. Maybe not so smart. His panicked rescue involved wrenching on my backpack in attempt to dislodge me. All that did was nearly strangle me, my chest strap was nicely lodged against my neck.

Making it to the drop off I now had a problem. It was taller than both of us and I now had two bum ankles. One I rolled and the other I hyper plantar flexed. Now that hurt. Also resulted in the end of my backpacking season. Took forever to heal that one. All meaning, I needed help getting up. Luckily some random stranger lifted me out via my armpits. I made it a few feet down the trail before sitting and going into some sort of shock. I looked like I went through the wringer. Bloody all over from those stupid bushes. The dog was rather unperturbed by the whole ordeal and just wanted to keep going.

At that point Doug took my pack, wearing it on his chest. I hobbled after, using my hiking poles. I felt ridiculous. I looked awful. We ran into a group of firefighters about a mile out. Great. They definitely noticed and were over eager to help. I politely declined. How mortifying.

I did make the mistake of deciding to soak my feet in the creek. I even knew better. Trying to get those boots back on was nuts. My ankles were SWOLLEN! Never take the shoes off.

Beside the memorable trail mishap, I recommend Rachel, Rampart and Lila Lakes. The whole area is something from a dream. And I count myself very fortunate that I walked away from that mishap with a few bum ankles. Could have been a helicopter ride out. The worst part is, a few paces after the mishap we crossed branches across the trail. Meaning, we had inadvertently wound up off trail. And shouldn’t have even come across that rock face. Oops.

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