West Fork Foss River and Lakes — Saturday, Jun. 6, 2015

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

Left trailhead at 8:30am trying to beat the heat. About a mile in we saw a nice healthy black bear or rather his/her butt as it disappeared up the rocks. Trail is pleasant with a few huge old growth firs on the way to Trout Lake then the trail started the climb. Over 2000 ft in less than 2 miles with a lot of brush. With the heat and heavy damp brush it was like trying to do a stair-master in a sauna. You can see the falls which is the out flow of Cooper Lake from many of the switch backs. For those of us with shorter legs the endless steps up were a challenge. At the top of the brushy area there is a nice little stream to cool off in before you enter the woods for about a 1/2 mile. Wonderful carefully placed rocks lead across the outflow to a great view of Copper Lake. We had lunch and cooled off, then went up to Little Heart Lake. With 80 degrees decided it was time to turn around and head back. Met many overnighters with large packs headed up. Beautiful lakes and nice see the alpine area. Very low snow. Estimate patchy snow on peaks across Copper Lake about 5000+ foot level.