Completed the Devils Dome Loop on June 16th.

Stats:

Mileage: 41.2 according to my Suunto Ambit 3 Sport, 43.2 according to the Strava app on Austin's phone

Elevation Gain: 11,417 ft

Start time: 5:26 AM

End time: 6:15 PM

Total time: 12 hr 49 min

Trip Report:

We drove up to the East Bank trailhead and slept in the back of our Subaru Outback on Saturday night so that we could get an early start the next morning. It's about a 2.5 hour drive from Seattle. The trailhead is right off Highway 20 on the left (if you're heading east) right around mile post 138 and has a pit toilet.

We started at 5:26 AM, cloudy, 55-60 degrees F. The trail starts by dropping down a few hundred feet, then it will cross Ruby Creek over a very nice bridge. We headed right to do the loop counter clockwise. The first 3ish miles are rolling along Ruby Creek which was a nice little warm up. There were a few blow downs along this section but nothing too crazy. Very easy to get around. The Canyon Creek bridge is indeed out, so starting at the East Bank trailhead was the way to go. After we saw the Canyon Creek bridge, we hit the Jackita Ridge trail and this is where the climbing began. It wasn't too steep, just a constant incline which definitely tired out my legs a bit.

The trail will mellow out a bit around mile 8 and go through some nice alpine meadows with a few small patches of snow. We passed a cool little shelter with bunks and a small trowel if you need to dig a cat hole to poop in! After this, we climbed a bit more until it opened up and we were on Jackita Ridge. We hit our first snow crossing around 11.5 miles. It was a couple hundred feet long, but the snow was soft enough where we could easily kick steps into it. We didn't use any traction and managed just fine. The second snow crossing was a little trickier (a bit steeper), but we could see the trail lower down so it was easy to navigate. I would highly recommend having an app like Gaia or Topo Maps to help find the trail. It was easy to lose a couple of times but we managed just fine with Gaia.

The clouds finally started to burn off and we got our first views of Jack Mountain. It was really intimidating to see it and realize that's what we were running around! But man, what a view. After running a few miles on the ridge, we started to drop down into a beautiful valley below Devils Pass. Make sure to fill up on water here because from the start of the climb up Devils Pass to Devils Dome, I don't think there were any water sources. The running along the section from Devils Pass to Devils Dome was spectacular and helped us make up a little bit of time from dealing with the snow. It's pretty mellow and rolling until we started the climb up to Devils Dome. The views up here were spectacular. 360 degree views of the North Cascades and the Pasayten? Can't beat it.

After topping out at Devils Dome at 6900' (the halfway point on the loop), it's (basically) all downhill from there. The descent felt long, but it felt good to actually run after 10,000' of climbing. My legs were ready to move faster than 3-4 miles per hour. The 8ish mile descent went by pretty quick. This is where it got a little bit warm but it wasn't bad. I could see this part being really hot later in the summer.

After this, we hit the junction with the East Bank trail. The next 12 miles along Ross Lake were a bit rough, not going to lie. I was excited to have some "easy" running to the finish, but after already having 30 miles on our legs, it didn't feel too easy. The very slight incline was hard for me to run up (not sure if it was physically hard or mentally hard at that point, but probably a combination of both). Either way, we got it done and made it back to the bridge crossing Ruby Creek. I said "let's run the last climb up to the trailhead" because I like to finish strong, but I was definitely walking after about 1 minute of running. My legs were toast! Anyway, we made it back to the trailhead at 6:15 PM. Probably drank 4 liters of water and ate 7 spring energy, 2.5 pop tarts, lots of potato chips, and frosting (don't knock it till you try it). We literally did not see another human being the entire loop. 42 miles and some spectacular views all to ourselves. This was a great time of year to go. It never got too hot, we had plenty of water sources along the way, no smoke to deal with, and no one else out on the trails. The snow did slow us down a little bit, but we weren't going for any FKTs. I cannot recommend this loop more! I remember hearing about this loop years ago (before I was a trail runner) and wanting to backpack it. Never did I think I could complete it in one day!

My original plan had been to do a three day, two night trip backpacking in on the East Bank trail and spending 2 nights at the Lightning Creek Campground with a day trip up desolation peak. Well, plans change. Note: All boat in camps on Ross Lake are closed to all users, I had wrongly assumed that the Lightning Creek Stock Camp would be open to hikers, it is not. I found this out when I stopped by the Marblemount Ranger Station to pickup my backcountry camping permits. This means that on Ross Lake you have Randal Creek, May Creek, and Devil's Junction to choose from.

After some hemming and hawing and chatting with the ranger, I decided on an alternate and more strenuous tactic. I would camp at May Creek on night one and then Desolation Camp on night two and then out to the trailhead on day 3. This meant more miles and elevation with a heavy pack and necessitate that I carry a bear canister. With my permit and a bear canister, off I went.

Trailhead -> May Creek Stock Camp

There were a handful of cars at the trailhead, including an Aspire Trail Running van, which meant I saw lots of trail runners headed out as I headed in. The trail was in fine shape with 1 down tree which was easy to walk around. At the first trail junction, I ran into a deer on the trail. The day hikers behind me had a dog with them and the dog was all about the deer. I headed out in front of them and tried to shoo the deer off of the trail, but it really wanted to just continue eating and was not at all bothered by our presence. Eventually, I got the deer to head up the Jack Mountain trail a bit so that the dog could pass without harassing it.

All of the creeks were easy to cross and there was a double log bridge you could cross at Randal Creek or you could take your shoes off and cross in just above ankle deep water.

I had left the car without eating lunch thinking I'd break up my walk a bit and have a snack with a lake view. Little did I know that I would have to walk about 7ish miles to find my first lake view from a giant boulder. I took a rest here and ate my sandwich and continued a little over a mile to my destination for the day, the May Creek Stock Camp.

I took a stroll down to the boat in camp and soon understood why everything was closed (besides from the obviously severely low water levels), all of the boat in camps have fancy vault toilets that have not been assembled; so, the toilet situation is non-existent.

May Creek Stock Camp was lovely! It is set in lush forest and the rushing sound of May Creek is such a tranquil way to fall asleep.

May Creek -> Lodgepole Campground

In the morning I woke to two deer happily munching on moss and watched them for quite a bit as I leisurely started to break down camp, drink some coffee, and have my breakfast. I wasn't in a hurry, I had 15 miles to cover and plenty of daylight.

I was on the trail around 8 AM and it was overcast. As I passed by Rainbow Point Campground, I noticed a couple of backpackers were camped there. The finest bit of trail is here, from Rainbow Point until the Devil's Creek Bridge. It hugs the lake shore and gives you stunning views. There is a small 50 foot section where the trail has collapsed. It is not hard to walk across, but since the ground is unstable, if you are in a large party I'd cross one at a time. There weren't any other difficulties on trail, I counted 3 blow downs, which were easy to step over.

By about 10AM the sun was starting to poke about and the skies were blue and the sunshine was fully out by the time I hit Lightning Creek Campground around 11AM. I also saw a party in a boat here and stopped and had a snack.

The trail between the campground and the junction where you can head down to the dock could use a few more feet as it is grass covered in places and seems to be disappearing. I stopped at a creek along the way and gathered water. I had been looking at Desolation from the lake shore and I couldn't see a lick of snow and was worried that the camp would be dry and figured it best to prepare. As I was getting ready to begin my upward journey, I noticed that there was a boat parked in the shallows between Cat Island, I wondered would I have company along the way? Or were the boaters exploring other lands?

Up and up I went. It was hot. The trail was dry. There is a small stream at about 3800' where you can filter water if needed, this might dry up later in the season. I was glad to be under the cover of the canopy due to the heat, but was stoked by the views and the wild flower bloom once I neared the top and broke out of the canopy. I stopped in the shade at about 4890' and began to hear dog barking above me. Was this the boating party that I saw? As I climbed higher the dog barking got louder and louder. When I was just about at Desolation Camp, I became frightened and I wasn't sure how to proceed? This dog sounded mean. It definitely didn't want me getting any closer. I began calling out, hoping that the owners of the dog would respond to my calls. They did not. Did someone leave their dog alone at the camp? Was it tied up? Was it even someone's dog? Maybe it was a wild stray? Not wanting to have an altercation with an unknown animal in the wilderness, I reluctantly turned around and headed down until I got back to my shade spot at 4890'. The dog was still barking loudly, but a little more intermittently. I stopped here for a bit and decided that my best option for the day was to just head down and camp at one of the closed campgrounds, if I ran into a ranger, I'm certain that they would understand my predicament. I was quite miffed as I had shouldered a heavy load for 13 miles and would now have to walk 6-7 miles back to the lake shore and find camp. I would not reach the Desolation Peak Lookout and would have to come back another day.

On my way down, about 2800' from my high point, a trail runner came blasting past me. I asked him if he had a dog? He said yes, and explained that it had gotten sick 4 times on the way up and so they had tied it to a tree and continued their way to the summit. I explained that I had intended to camp at Desolation Camp, but had turned around because of the unknown dog bark. He apologized and offered me a lift back to the trailhead in their boat. I declined. His 4 kids and a dog came past me a while later. As I write this, I'm still a little angry about the whole situation. People if you bring a dog, you need to stay with the dog. It is not okay to leave your animal unattended on the trail. If this means that you need to change your plans, then do so and prioritize the health and safety of your animal and other trail users.

Anyways, I made it back down mostly unscathed, my dreams were a little broken and I had a couple of blisters brewing, but otherwise I was okay. I decided to push the extra-mile to Lodgepole Camp as it would mean I would have 1 less mile to do the next day.

This camp was okay. Walking down to the lake to get water was a little tenuous and I did it only once. I also had a hard time falling asleep as the sound of the lodgepole pines rustling in the wind was not the most soothing.

Lodgepole Campground -> Trailhead

There isn't much to be said as the trail out was much as it had been on the way in. In lovely shape. I saw a few parties headed in and few headed out. I did note a couple of mountain bikes parked along the trail on Sunday and they were still there when I headed out on Monday. I wonder where their owners were adventuring? There was also a ranger who was headed in that I stopped and chatted with for a bit. She asked for my permit and I relayed my change in intended plans due to the dog. She asked if she would run into the party as they shouldn't have left the dog unattended, but, I told her that they had boated out the day before.

Anyways, I was hot and tired when I finally got back to my car. I'll have to go back to make it to the lookout, but I'll likely use a boat assist next time, or maybe I'll hike in from the north.

We hiked the east bank of Ross Lake to Ronald Creek campground. *Note- the sign for the Ronald Creek campsite is on the east side of the trail. It was hidden behind a tree when we passed it so we missed it. Hopefully it is more visible now for those heading north on the trail.*

There were at least two deer around our campsite for most of our time there, so make sure to keep all scented items properly stored. Also, a friend in our group got a tick on them during this hike so be careful and check yourself after each day of hiking.

The hike was beautiful and on Sunday we took the extra half mile detour to I think it was Hidden Lake campground which was a beautiful lunch spot by the lake. The water level was very low in Ross Lake. 

Happy hiking!

hiked half of the east bank trail of ross lake, from the trailhead on Hwy 20 to lightning creek ~16mi.


slight misnomer: the trail does wind along the east bank of ross lake, but does not quite offer unobstructed views of the lake and opposing shoreline. peek-a-boo glimpses of the mountains across the lake, flashes of water, mixed with inland stretches of foliage, capture the consolation prize. one short stretch between rainbow point camp and devil's junction camp skirts the edge of the lake, offering the most dramatic vistas.


as for the trail, it's relatively flat, ideal for beginner packpackers or an early season jaunt. decent water access, with the trail crossing multiple creeklets. the worst crossings boast a bridge or tree log, never fear. only one crossing warrants mention: the trail crossing with roland creek, right before roland creek campsite. this requires fording. or if you are particularly water-averse, head upstream to find a logjam that can be clambered over. only a few blowdowns, easily traversed.


mosquito season beckons, but the mosquitoes' ferocity varies with the location. some parts of the trail were skeeter-free, others populated by a small cohort (honestly, they weren't that bad, i didn't use any mosquito repellent, but i definitely got multiple bites). 


wanted to day hike from lightning creek camp up to desolation peak and the fire lookout, but the lightning creek campsite lived up to its name, ushering in a thunderstorm and enough lightning to deter me. desolation trail does seem less maintained, since i encountered relatively more blowdowns on the trail before the thunder/lightning aborted my attempt.


plentiful camping sites, mostly empty on a spring weekday. only ran into 2 other backpacking groups during my journey. part of this might be due to the recreational watercraft ban for ross lake, due to the low water levels

We backpacked along the East Bank Trail on Ross Lake to Devil's Junction, then day-hiked up Bear Skull Mountain on the Devil's Dome Loop before backpacking out the third day.

The East Bank Trail is in as good a shape as ever, but the lake is currently closed to watercraft due to low lake levels. The exposed lakebed is also technically closed, however in most places, access to the water from the campsites is easy.

The trail up Bear Skull was completely snow-covered starting just below Dry Creek Pass (5800'). The snow was soft enough that we didn't need our microspikes and ice axes. The summit ridge is still heavily corniced with 8' of snow.

There are streams about every mile and incredible views of Jack Mountain from most of the trail. Considering the low snowpack, there may not be any water on this stretch of the trail by late summer.

The south face of Bear Skull is entirely visible from the trail, so an ascent route is easy to pick out on-the-spot.

Bear Skull Mtn from Devil's Jct: ~6000' elevation gain, 13 miles, 10 hours round-trip

See map linked below.