Bottom Line:

A treat! The terrain on this one is pretty special - a granite wonderland once you are about 1/2 way to the lookout. The contrast of the white-washed granite and the colorful meadows was spectacular. I would say this hike is as much about the journey as the destination. The views, once you emerge from the woods after ~1-1/4 miles, are great throughout, and the alpine terrain is really unique and beautiful - otherworldly almost. The view of Hidden Lake at the lookout is nice, although wish there was a maintained trail down to the lake to explore (with a packraft of course!) The views deep into North Cascades National Park are dynamite - some of the best glacier views around. Mt Baker, Shukan and Glacier Peak are also visible. After the weekend rain, the air was clear and the visibility outstanding. Oh... and blueberries... LOTS of them :)

Stats:

• Distance: 9-1/4 miles
• Vertical: 3190 ft
• Duration: 5-1/2 hours
• Road/Parking: Cascade River Rd is paved and in good condition through the (unmarked) junction with NF-1540 (it is the only ungated, lefthand, uphill road on the approach). NOTE: The Marblemount bridge across the Skagit is closed, so there is a detour via Rockport Cascade Rd from Rockport, west of Marblemount. NF-1540 is an adventure, probably only doable by high-clearance vehicles. No problem in a Subaru. The worst part of the road is near the beginning, with some very deep ruts with bottom-out potential. The road is steep and narrow - it would have been a problem to encounter oncoming traffic, so I would personally avoid this road on a weekend and keep with the "hiking commute" direction. NOTE: Wider vehicles might be scratched by trees.
• Weather: Sunny with some convective clouds forming over the high peaks; no wind; 50-60Fs (felt warmer in the sunshine). The trail has excellent late afternoon sun making for a warm descent.
• Water: Water is limited on this trail; I carried water. Previous reports put the last water at 1-1/2 miles in, but there is flowing water up to 2-1/2 miles in, and ponds available higher up. The situation might have changed since the heavy rain over the weekend.
• Flowers/Fall Color: The middle part of the hike consists of switchbacks up a wide avalanche chute with amazing views, and lush meadows. I need to come back in flower season - it looks like it was quite the show, with deep and overgrown meadows. What remains? Mainly pearly everlasting and some paintbrush and aster. The meadows are starting to show fall color - still lots of green, but splashes of red, orange and yellow, especially vibrant when backlit by the sun. The color might peak in about 2 weeks. The upper 1/2 of the avalanche chute is full of blueberries to keep you charged and hydrated! The rocky terrain up high is full of heather, lichens and mosses.
• Trail: The trail can be described in 3 parts: an initial switchback ascent through the woods, a long switchback ascent up a wide avalanche chute, and finally a ridge traverse with some scrambling up granite boulders and rock gardens until you reach the precipice of the ridge overlooking Hidden Lake. There is a short scramble up to the lookout itself - I passed on this today and just sat in the sun recharging my batteries with snacks and water. There are many down trees on the initial ascent through the woods, which was wet, rooty and slippery in spots (particularly coming down). There are a handful of boardwalks just before you leave the woods. The avalanche chute is overgrowth with spent summer flowers and fall color that increases with altitude. There are steep and sandy sections where poles were very useful. The ridge traverse and final ascent are beautiful - the granite itself is very grippy, so no traction issues, although the rocky terrain is definitely tiring (another party yesterday bailed before making it to the lookout). Overall, a very quiet day with just a handful of other parties. A couple of tents below the lookout. Pika and marmots creating their usual stir the whole way :)
• Takeaway: I need to try this hike early in the summer during flower season. Based on the remnants, the meadow ascent must be amazing. Also need to plan a sunset at the lookout itself - coming down in the dark would not be too bad, despite the rocky trail. Not too many people, but some folks were out of water, not wanting to filter from the stagnant pools up high (although, per the pic below, there were some granite pools filled with fresh rainwater that were likely fine).

Higher definition pics are available at the Instagram link below. I will try to post a video showing the fall color later today.

This trail was amazing but hard to navigate where the trail was at the top because of the large granite car sized slabs. If you don’t like heights then this hike is not for you! It was absolutely beautiful the lake and all the views but just tricky at the top. The Road is challenging with the big washout all the way across. I didn’t think the road was that bad as far as the places to pull over and let cars pass like in other posts but the road is definitely bumpy and lots of potholes so slow driving folks. Soooo many Mountain View’s!

The trail itself was fantastic. Begins nicely in the woods with some down trees then through a steep, loose dirt section and then into the high alpine with lots of rocks. Trail towards the top is hard to find, caution to people who are afraid of heights. The worst part of the hike is getting about 1 mile away and seeing how high up the lookout still was.

The road - pothole was okay if you can navigate it. There are ways over it without clipping your front end. Parking, however was a nightmare. Too many cars for too small of a lot, also a lot didn’t have permits/passes out for parking. Someone hit another car when we were there and didn’t seem to have left a note, don’t be that person.

We turned around at the big pothole because we didn’t think we would make it through that thing twice. We were driving a Subaru outback and we decided to go to sahale arm instead. Looks like someone else made it up yesterday but based on your vehicle/comfort level it might be good to have a backup plan if you want to attempt this. 

The forest road was pretty rough. I had done this hike 4-5 years ago and don't remember it being that bad, it seems like it's gotten worse. I saw a Subaru Crosstrek up at the top, so it's doable in something like that, but if you care about your vehicle I'd bring something a bit more capable than that. There's multiple big pothole sections throughout, similar to the big one near the end.

Other than that, the trail was fine, easy to follow. Millions of ripe huckleberries in the top half. In the top third the trail splits/diverges a bit, but usually comes back together shortly.

Near the top, right before the very last push up the rocks to the lake, it's easy to miss a left and keep heading straight. If you do, you'll end up slightly to the right/lower than where you need to be. The correct way brings you to a wide, pure dirt path, with small stones lining the edge. Follow that path towards the rocks, to the crevice it leads to, climb up it, and look for cairns on the right part way up. Cross over to the right side at the cairns, to a new crevice, and then climb up that the rest of the way.

To the two people I gave a lift to - When I dropped you off I should have asked again if you needed anything or if you wanted me to stick around to make sure your car made it out. Sorry! I was pretty exhausted. I hope you're feeling better now.