Whittier Ridge-Lakes Loop, Norway Pass & Mount Margaret — Monday, Aug. 19, 2024

I took my 16 year old son backpacking for 2 nights in the Mt. Margaret backcountry, starting from the Norway Pass trailhead. We did the Whittier Ridge - Lakes Loop as a long day hike without our backpacks (see warning about Whittier Ridge below). It was a fabulous trip! The weather was cool, which made it great for hiking. Surprisingly, there were almost no bugs. There were wild flowers absolutely everywhere. It was really beautiful! And, there were tons of wild berries, especially near the lakes (Obscurity Lake, Panhandle Lake, and Shovel Lake). The huckleberries were plump and sweet and even the salmon berries tasted quite good. I've never see such abundance of delicious berries in the wild! With the exception of Whittier Ridge, the trail was in good condition, but overgrown in places. 

WARNING ABOUT WHITTIER RIDGE: As others have noted, this section of trail is steep and unmaintained. The exact trail can be hard to spot at times, but it follows the top of the ridge. The terrain is rocky and narrow and often involves scrambling up over rocks, or descending steeply. You will need to use both hands and you will need to take your time. The rocks and soil are loose in places, so be VERY CAREFUL! We really enjoyed it, but the difficulty of this section should not be underestimated. We passed a search and rescue team. They were looking for a couple that had been hiking the ridge. That couple was apparently daunted by the trail, so they tried to find an alternate route down the mountain. That proved to be a bad idea. 

That said, the views from Whittier Ridge were absolutely stunning! It rises high above the lakes to the south, and even higher above the valley to the north. The rouged terrain looks really cool, and we saw no less than 20 mountain goats on the slopes bellow us!

If you hike in this region, then I highly recommend taking the section of trail that leads to the top of Mt. Margaret. The views from the top are fantastic! From one location we had a clear view of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, Spirit Lake, and much more! One unexpected feature was the incredible number of grass hoppers along the trail leading to Mt. Margaret. I've never seen so many in one place!

This is a great area for hiking/backpacking. Highly recommended (with caution regarding the ridge trail).