Just a one-night, out-and-back on the Ross Lake East Bank Trail to Lightning Creek to test my gear and myself before a longer hike next month. Gaia says 17.5 miles out (because I missed one junction) and 16.5 miles returning, and about 1800 ft elevation each way.  The trail is about perfect -- much of it in the woods; beautiful parts along the lake, cliffs and bridges; waterfalls; and plenty of accessible water.  One easy feet-wet crossing at Roland Creek.

Remember to make your permit reservation at recreation.gov and pick up your permit before 11am at the Marblemount ranger station.  And if hungry, I recommend the bulgogi burger, great beer selection and service at Mondo cafe in Marblemount!

East Bank Trail:
We started at the east bank trailhead off highway 20. Friday night we hiked to our first camp spot, Roland Point, after picking up a walk up permit from the ranger station. Then the next day we hiked to lightning creek and met up with the rest of our party that boated in. We set up camp for the night and lightened our packs before heading up desolation.
The east bank trail is chill! It’s rolling and the one climb is very mild. You’re in the trees a lot but the break out parts where you get views of the lake are great. The bridges are pretty cool too!

Desolation Peak:
From lightning creek it’s about 6 miles to the top. The desolation trail is also 4500 ft. Of climbing. It’s a pretty consistent steady climb all the way up. And unfortunately in the trees for a while but with about 1500 left you start to break out. We got some wildflowers up in the alpine and then views of the surrounding peaks. It’s definitely a grind but worth it! The lookout at the top had luckily just opened and the ranger there was cool. He gave us a tour of the place and chatted with us a bit about what his duties are while he’s up there. Both times I’ve been to a manned lookout have been very fun experiences. Chatting with them is the most fun! We took some pics of the nearby Hozemeen and Jack mtns and then hustled back down to beat the dark. Took us 8 hrs in total with a 45 min break at the top.

Sunday we hung out at camp until our boat picked us up at 4pm and drove us back to the parking lot.

Tough doing so many miles on Saturday but an awesome trip to start the season!

We backpacked with four children, youngest 4 and oldest 8. We tent camped at Hidden Hand, Roland Creek and Rainbow Point. Every campsite was great - each site had good water access, was clean and well kept. Roland Creek required us to take our boots off to cross and carry the children over as water was quite swift and deep. There was a deer each at Roland Creek and Rainbow Point that seemed unafraid of us. Trail throughout was clear of obstacles and manageable for children. Wildflowers were in bloom and we found ripe wild strawberries. One of the adults had a deer tick bite at Rainbow Point though and we all had mozzie bites. 

We had wanted to take a water taxi from Rainbow Point to Hidden Hand and hike out from there, but saw that the boat access at Hidden Hand was quite difficult to access for children due to low water level. Thankfully, the water taxi was able to take to Ross Dam boat dock but the hike up to the Ross Dam trailhead was steep! 

Three-day backpack on Lake Ross:

Day 1: Ross Lake Resort Water Taxi to Desolation Peak TH; hike to Desolation camp. (3.5 miles / 3,500’)

Day 2: Summit Desolation, hike to Rainbow Point camp. (14 miles / 3,300’ up / 5,000’ down)

Day 3: Rainbow Point to East Bank TH; hitchhike back to Ross Lake TH. (10 miles / 2,200’)

 Luckily, we were able to change our trip start date last minute from Monday (rain and cold) to Wednesday (dry and warm). After picking up our camp permits in Marblemount, we parked at Ross Dam TH around 10:30 am taking one of the three remaining parking spots. Hiked down to the water taxi and was shuttled up the lake. The lake water is low, and the docks are high and dry. So, we walked off the nose of the boat onto a rocky slope and up to the trail.

The trail up to Desolation Camp is not long but it is steep. We found a good source of water flowing about 2 miles up the trail, so we loaded up with a few liters to last us through the next morning. The trail is shaded much of the way, but the upper section is open and hot. Desolation Camp is in the trees with some views. A short walk from the tent pads leads to a comfortable cooking area among rocks. An open pit toilet is accessible just a short walk past camp. Some small critter insisted on scratching around my pack in the middle of the night, even with all our food & smelly items secured in the bear barrel.

We rose early and were on top of Desolation Peak by 7:30am. The lookout is still shuttered. Gorgeous views in all directions. We broke camp and were heading down by 9:30 am. Stopped at Lightening Creek Stock Camp for lunch and on to Rainbow Point for the night. One section shortly before Rainbow Point drops steeply to the lake (no tripping!).

Rainbow Point camp is in the trees. Every camp we stopped at, except for Desolation, had clean and stocked vault toilets, picnic benches, and bear boxes. What a luxury! The weather was getting warmer, so we rose early on the last day and were on the trail just after 6 am, enjoying a few hours of cool hiking.

The bugs were present at Desolation but not really biting. I got a few bites at Rainbow Point, and they were bad enough to pull out the bug spray the last few miles before East Bank TH. The lake and many creeks supplied all our drinking water, though it was a bit of a walk to the lakeshore. We only had to cross one creek on a shaky log (Roland Creek). All other creeks were easy rock hops or had sturdy bridges in place.

This is a popular trail, and we were glad to go early season and mid-week. We passed one ranger a few miles from the end. He checked our permit and verified we used a bear barrel at Desolation camp. Ruby Creek was flowing big and fast! The final climb up from Ruby Creek to East Bank TH wasn’t too bad.

 We were prepared to hike the remaining 5.5 miles on Happy Panther back to the Ross Dam TH, but it was getting hot, and we were tired. Only one group in the parking lot at East Bank TH when we arrived, and they were heading in the wrong direction. No one stopped when my friend held out her thumb. We were about to give up when a truck pulled over to head back the way it came. I flagged them down and was soon on my way back to the car. Thank you kind people!

We spent 3 days/2 nights out on the East Bank Ross Lake trail. Our group of 2 humans and 2 dogs started Wednesday at noon from the East Bank TH. We camped at Devil’s creek and Roland creek backcountry sites. The trail is in excellent shape right now with only a few downed trees to climb over. We saw abundant yarrow, penstemon, paintbrush, twin flower, candy flower, harebell, tiger lily, columbine, sugerstick, bunchberry, and more!

Three highlights to share:

1. We were visited several times by a young deer at the Devil’s Creek hiker campsite. Two barking dogs, our yelling, and rocks thrown near the deer wasn’t enough to keep this deer away! It looked emaciated and was kicking up dirt nearby where we had peed. This deer had the intensity of a goat in the Enchantments. This site doesn’t have a bear box like other Ross Lake sites so we were glad to have our bear cans to keep our food away from the deer.
2. Crossing at Roland Creek is still slightly higher than ankle deep. Trekking poles at this crossing were helpful.
3. We passed a ranger on our trek out Friday morning who checked our permit. I haven't had my permit checked in NOCA in the last decade- it was great to see a ranger out on the trails!