We left the car Saturday morning around 9:00 am. BEWARE- there is stinging nettle at the very start of this trail, by the road. I have hiked this trail before and have brushed up against it :(

The trail all around is all in great condition. Only a few downed trees across the trail, but nothing too terrible. Having hiking poles really helped. Be ready for a steady uphill all of the way up to the Round Lake turn off. It's relentless. But totally worth it for the views! The turn off to Round Lake is unmarked, so keep your eyes out for it. Once you hit the meadows for the first time (after hiking through the forest), keep your eyes out for the turn off to Round Lake on the left side of the trail. 

From Round Lake it is a consistent up and down all of the way to Camp Lake, where we stayed Saturday night. We got to Camp Lake around 4:00 pm. Beautiful views all around. We could see Mount Pugh and Mount Baker from our campsite. We did a quick scramble up to see Lake Byrne just to see it- another beautiful alpine lake! 

It was a cold night Saturday night (frost on the tent rainfly!), but well worth it for the crisp views on Sunday. *Note*- no toilet at Camp Lake (at least not that we could find). So make sure to bring your trowel! Also, we found trash, some of it was burned, in a camp fire at our campsite. Reminder to all to Leave No Trace. Pack out what you packed in. 

Happy trails!

Lost our pictured daypack on this trail. If you happen to find it PLEASE leave it at the TH or take it with you and give us a call/sms 971-225-3881 or email potsber@gmail.com. Thanks!

So other than this epic failure we really enjoyed this hike. When we reached the ridge and saw the lake for the first time we initially turned right and scrambled up to see the view of the lake, mount pugh, and Glacier peak on the other side. After that we descended to the lake. There were a lot of annoying bugs at the lake so we only stayed there for a few minutes.

The hike took us a little over 6 hours

Still haven’t made it to Lake Byrne, but hiked to Camp Lake and it was near perfect. 

Started out very early Friday morning, only 3 cars total in the parking spot. There are some downed trees but all are easy to go over or around. Water sources were actually good and conveniently located (keep in mind the first water source is 1.25 miles in, then the next is 5.3, right before the turn off to Sunup Lake..they are closer together from there on out). A few small snowfields but again, easily traversed. The trail tends to disintegrate in places from mile 7-9, but is easily followed. Mosquitos and biting flies made themselves known. I don’t know who needs to hears this but this trail does not “undulate”. You lose a lot of elevation after you gain it, then lose it, etc. I was in denial reading previous reports, and was not mentally prepared! I did not see anyone for the first 8 miles on Friday and had Camp Lake completely to myself, except for the fish (and mosquitoes). 
Left on Saturday, decided to hike back out rather than stay over as planned at Sunup due to heat and flies as well as the increase in traffic. 
There were over 20 cars parked along the road. Just info to use as you please, the trail is very narrow, especially along the ridge line around the Round lake overlook, which makes stepping aside difficult, even in “normal” times. 

One other quick note, probably doesn’t have to be said here, but for the love of all things North Cascades, pack out your trash. 

This tough hike was well worth the effort. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. There are a few spots along the trail where you have to work your way around a downed tree. At one point you'll have to crouch under a tree trunk and scoot through. The bugs are annoying. Despite the heat, I'd suggest long sleeves and covered legs. While the trail isn't as busy as Dickerman, Pilchuck, or some of the other popular Mt. Loop hikes, we did cross paths with about a dozen-plus other groups. 

Ever since my October 2018 hike up to Sunup Lake, I’ve wanted to hike Lost Creek Ridge to Lake Byrne, the gem that lies at the eastern end of the ridge above the White Chuck River valley with front row seats to Glacier Peak’s western expanse. This year, wta member Wild Side and I got our chance. After examining the route on topo maps and google earth, we decided to plan the backpack as a 3 day/2 nighter. With a big elevation gain the first day, we had contingencies to camp at one of the lakes to the west of Byrne (Hardtack or Camp) or even in a meadow along the ridge where water was running and we could find a flat spot.

We started on a Friday morning at 10 am. By then the small parking area (space for about 5 cars) was already full, so we parked on the side 50 feet down the road. Fortunately, the NFS had recently mowed down the Devil’s club and other growth a good 6 feet on either side of the road to allow additional unofficial parking. The trail is in good shape most of the way up to Bingley gap (2.7 miles). The switchbacks start very gradually, but become increasingly steep as you gain elevation. As the trail breaks out of the forest into the meadows, the trails begins to show signs of deterioration. This is bound to be unavoidable in meadows where the dirt erodes much more easily than exposed rock, but clearly the Lost Creek Ridge trail is due for some maintenance. Additionally, as you leave the southern basin under Zi lob peak, the trail becomes what one trip reporter has called “a rollercoaster” until Hardtack Lake. In some sections where there are ascents and descents, the slope increases to +/-40-60%. Few of these places are treacherous, but they are energy-sapping!

As for water, except for a couple small trickles in the first mile, including at the duck-under of the massive old-growth tree downed on the trail, there is no water from about 2400 ft until Round Lake (assuming you want to make the nearly 600 ft descent to Round on your journey). Otherwise, the next water is from the drainage from Sunup Lake, about ½ mile from the overlook onto Round Lake and about 5400 ft elevation. Fortunately, much of the beginning of the hike is in gorgeous shaded forest. Water can also be found in several places in the basin beneath Zi lob peak, about 6 miles from the trailhead. Don’t plan on reliable water until Hardtack Lake, about 9.5 miles from the trailhead.

For Day 1, we were beat and decided to stop at Hardtack Lake. Hardtack Lake has several decent campsites around the lake, but the lake isn’t particularly scenic nor does it have great views. Fortunately, it’s just a short 2.5 miles to Lake Byrne and made for a leisurely 2^nd day hike and long day exploring the beauty around Lake Byrne. Before getting to Byrne, we passed Camp Lake, which is spectacularly blue, with lots of fish visible. There are great camp sites there on the south side, and you’re likely to have fewer others camping with you if you camp here. But Camp Lake wasn’t our destination! Another 400 ft climb from Camp Lake takes you to what I’ve seen called “Little Siberia,” a rocky snowy meadow that forms a small plateau before the trail descends 400 ft back down to Lake Byrne.

Lake Byrne is spectacular to be sure! So blue I couldn’t believe it! Unfortunately, campsites are sparse, given that the eastern shore is dominated by small but steep meadowed bluffs. If the few campsites immediately near where the trail reaches the lake are full, you can continue over the lake’s drainage and follow the steep trail up the next bluff where there are many possibilities. The most flat and grassy campsites are actually at the far southern end of that bluff, although neither has both perfect lake view/access and Glacier Peak views. But you’re also likely to be alone at that end of the lake, and the lake access is superior there.

The steep slopes surrounding Lake Byrne limit exploring options, but it is possible to hike the boot trail counterclockwise around the northern end of the lake over the rocky boulder field to the western meadowed slopes under the snowfields that feed into the lake. And you can easily climb up here for better pictures of Glacier over the lake. That day we were there, a bird of prey of some sort (couldn't tell which), rocketed into the lake and came circling out of the basin with a trout in its talons. So amazing to see! Sunset is the show here, with the light changing from orange to pink on Glacier Peak. Sunrise is less dramatic since you're looking at its shadowed face.

Unfortunately, our departure on Sunday coincided with the unprecedented heat that built in that day. We departed Lake Byrne at 6:45 am and it took 8 hours, including a few stops, to get back to the car where it was >95 degrees. I drank 3 liters of water and only had to make a bathroom break one time until I was back home in Seattle! yikes! Overall, we agreed it was a glorious backpack, albeit one of the hardest of our lives, and well worth it, but probably one we would never do again given the condition of the trail on the ridge.