Eagle Lakes — Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013

North Cascades > Methow/Sawtooth

We were looking for a good hike to see the larch changing, and we found it with this one! Originally planned as a 2-night loop of the Golden Lakes, we just went to Upper Eagle and day hiked to the pass above because of the snow on the trail above 6,000'. Much was made in Ira Spring & Harvey Manning's description of this trail being unprotected wilderness and the ORVs and motorcycles ruined it. We were pleasantly surprised at how natural and pristine everything looked despite the other trail users. We've been more put off by regular horse droppings than any tire tracks or oil drips by motorized vehicles. The one group of three motorcyclists we encountered were friendly and respectful, albeit a little loud for ten minutes. We spent the night in Twisp before heading to the trailhead, some 25+ miles south of town. Hank's Market in Twisp makes a good stop for food before heading out. The description to the trailhead is a little inaccurate in Spring & Manning's book. After getting off Methow Valley Highway onto Gold Creek Loop road, you turn east on SOUTH Gold Creek Road (not North, as the book states). Continue up the road 5 or so miles until it becomes gravel, then turn left on 300 and head up the well-maintained gravel trail to the trailhead. (There were signs on the outhouse that it was closed for the current government shutdown, but it was still open and had pleny of TP when we were there.) The trail is in good shape, and it had a sign that a local ORV/motorcycle organization had adopted the trail and helped maintain it. So maybe they're not all that bad. The only difference with this trail from others is that it is a little more "U"-shaped from motorcycle tracks than the flatter hiking-only trails we've hiked. It's a good hike, with a gain of about 2500' over3 miles from 4500' to Upper Eagle Lake at 7100'. Starting at about 6000', there was snow starting on the trail, and by the time we got to the lake, it was 5-6" deep, and quite slushy & wet by late afternoon. We camped at a snow-free campsite right on the edge of the lake all alone on a beautiful starlit night. One major benefit of unprotected wilderness: CAMPFIRES! We finally got the wet wood to start a nice fire in an established fire ring, and warmed ourselves up in the snow. We dropped our packs and dayhiked up a mile and 1000' to Horsehead Pass, which gives an excellent view of the trail around Martin peak towards Angel's Staircase. We opted for an off-trail scramble to the top of the ridge overlooking Upper Eagle lake at 8200'. From there, we could see the expanse of the eastern Cascades south to Mt. Rainier and north past Mt. Baker. Looking down on the lake we camped at as well as the dry eastern Washington hills was a phenomenal experience. Highly recommended if you're not doing the whole loop. Easy hike down back to the lake and then to the trailhead. Next time, we're bringing proper hiking boots and gaiters to deal with the snow and doing the whole Golden Lakes Loop.