Parking at the Maple Pass Trailhead is rough since snow is still blocking the majority of the parking area. Parked cars were spilling onto the shoulders of WA-20. It was particularly crowded as I was leaving around 1pm on Sunday. I'd expect the snow to melt out in another week or two.
There were occasional patches of well-travelled snow up to Heather Pass (I stayed in trail runners for this). I switched to mountaineering boots at the pass where it becomes continuous snow. There's a large rock slide about half way to Lewis Lake. Use caution here. There are large unstable boulders sitting on top of melting snow and I observed a couple small slides.
There was an easy to follow boot path all the way to Wing Lake where I camped, along with around 4 other groups. The lake is still snow covered but it's possible to access water here without needing to melt snow. There are a couple sites where tents can be set on bare ground (at rock islands) but I ended up camping on snow. Overnight was a little windy with lows in the 40s.
The following morning the summit was in clouds. I waited an hour to see if it would clear but it seemed to just get worse so I set off anyway. Again there's a well-travelled boot pack to follow to the ridge. Once on the ridge, you can stay on rock for most of the way up. There are a couple couloirs with snow about half way up. I ended up staying on rock to bypass the steeper snow (approx 40 degrees) but then switching to snow for the final 100ft to avoid some steeper scrambling.
For the summit block, I followed the ridge directly from the west side. This involved some class 4 moves but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting since there are plenty of good holds. Although I brought a rope in case I needed to rappel, I didn't feel the need and I downclimbed it.
On the way out I plunge stepped the snow to skip some of the scrambling. I ended up postholing in a couple places so I'm not sure this was much easier. In typical fashion, the clouds around the summit cleared about 30 minutes after I had left.
Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Q1vqQnrJYdvyyFrQ6
Trip Report
Heather - Maple Pass Loop, Wing Lake & Black Peak — Saturday, Jul. 9, 2022
North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20
Comments
Luke Bakken on Heather - Maple Pass Loop, Wing Lake, Black Peak
Thank you for sharing pictures!
Posted by:
Luke Bakken on Jul 12, 2022 07:42 PM
dwerwinski on Heather - Maple Pass Loop, Wing Lake, Black Peak
Do you need a permit to camp at Wing Lake?
Posted by:
dwerwinski on Aug 05, 2022 01:04 PM
jheidel on Heather - Maple Pass Loop, Wing Lake, Black Peak
No, Wing Lake is part of National Forest which does not require a permit for backcountry camping. Note that there are some special restrictions around the Maple Pass Loop itself: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/okawen/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=59285&actid=50
Posted by:
jheidel on Aug 05, 2022 03:33 PM