Hidden Lake Lookout — Friday, Jun. 18, 2021

Driving back to the East side, I thought a quick 8-mile hike would be fun.  It was beautiful (the North Cascades seem to always be so), but I and another party never reached the lookout.  The snow field bowl was full of spring snow -- wet, slippery, and covering any trail at the bottom of the bowl and near the ridge. We kicked steps into the snow to scramble up the bowl (my attempt to reach the tree line was thwarted by slick mud and vegetation),and reached a saddle, but small maps on cell phones did not allow us to determine which saddle we were on. (I had the WTA version; he had the AllTrails version -- looked identical except for the colors.)  There seemed to be no clear route to either of the higher crags.  Hidden Lake remained hidden, as did the tower.  (The search for a missing hiker did not create a clear route and no active search is currently underway.)  

Skiers were able to reach the higher ridge on the northeast.

I hiked in trail running shoes and wished that I had worn boots and brought either spikes, snow shoes, or hiking sticks.  Below the snow field, the trail has a number of treefalls and streams running both down the trail and across the trail. The waterfalls were beautiful, but scampering over snow and wet logs got the feet wet.  There are also snow bridges, that could collapse near the bottom of the snowfield.

Glacier lillies were out and  some indian paintbrush was emerging.  Sunlight filtering through the trees on the lower trail was enchanting.

Glimpses of peaks make me want to return later in the year.  Prepared hikers with good maps (or experience on the trail) would be able to enjoy the entire hike, but it was a rough 4 miles up to the saddle.  

The road to the trailhead is OK, there are a few places where water ravines, rocks, and sawed logs require a careful approach, but pretty much any operating vehicle can make it up (with care).