Desolation Peak — Saturday, Aug. 23, 1997

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20

We picked the day of the thunderstorms to hike up Desolation peak from Ross lake. After camping on the lake for 2 days, tuesday looked the best for climbing Desolation. It was great on the way up, partly sunny and cool. The trail is in great shape, brushed out, blowdowns cleared, blueberries ripe and very good. We stopped at Desolation Camp since the kids didn't wish to climb even that far. They did like the view and the blueberries though. Desolation camp is nice, it even has a designated place for cooking (complete with a sign says ""cook""). No water at the camp, however the spring half-way up the mt. has plenty of water. On the way back down, the thunder and wind started. The boat tie-up at the trail head isn't protected well enough and our little rental boat was being thrown up on the rocks in the wind. It was a scary ride back to our camp. Ross lake was full of water and empty of people and bugs, and just beautiful.