Went to Independence-IL/North Lake-NL trailhead, with intent to go to NL. Rainy weather with low visibility (none of the ridges were visible). Switchback up from IL to ridge was clear and well trimmed. We brought machetes anticipating needing to do some brush cutting, but the shrubs along the west facing rockslide switchbacks were well cleared (only place it ever grows over with weeds on the way to NL). Reached first snow at about 4200' in the shadows and depressions. Visibility lessened and snow started falling about 44-4500'. No good views of the ridges at all and no downward visibility into the NL valley or its surrounding ridges. Since we went for the views, we turned around at the ridge as the snow increased, returning to rain after descending a few hundred feet. Rain all the way otherwise, but mild temps. Ours were the only tire tracks to the trailhead that day.

Tried to hike to Independence Lake back in April but had to turn around due to lack of 4x4 (deep snow on the road). Road clear all the way to trailhead. One big tree across trail which is fairly easy to navigate. 45 minutes to lake. Nice lake. Didnt make it to North Lake due to hiking with friend who refused cross the lake outlet via the slippery log. I myself gave a poor impression of being a lumberjack and fell into knee deep water which was rather cold..There were some bugs which were more annoying than anything else. Next stop, Minotaur Lake.

Not wanting to hike in extreme heat (anything over 80 is extreme for us) we opted for a pleasantly cooler Sunday. Coal Lake Road is completely open to the end with no obstacles. The views along the way are very impressive. Strangely, for as popular as Independence Lake is supposed to be, the road up was quite narrow in places. The trail to Independence Lake is snow free until you reach the far end of the lake. Admittedly, it was the hardest elevation gain of 20 ft I've encountered. The ups and downs over a mile were almost not worth it. But continuing on, our goal was North Lake (or the ridge above it). After Independence Lake, the trail gets really steep switchbacking upward. There's one huge blowdown we had to crawl under. We turned around at a small creek crossing at 4500 ft. Although snow was minimal on this trail, the snow bridge on this creek crossing looked to be quite tricky. Better safe than sorry. Except for minor patches on the trail, there are large snow patches at the north end of Independence Lake. Bugs were out but did not require chemicals. Several trees across the trail.

This was my first time on this trail and I was pleasantly surprised. The road to the trailhead is in very good condition and could easily be driven with a passenger car. The trail to Independence lake has almost no net elevation gain but you probably gain and lose about 300 ft getting there. Some of the Mountain Hemlock on this segment are of impressive size. I counted 380 rings on a modest size 3 foot diameter wind fall that was crosscut for the trail. The lake is in a very scenic forested setting. Just beyond the lake the trail starts going up at a pretty steep incline. About 1/2 way up you pass by one of the biggest Alaska Cedars that I've seen. When you get to the first pass turn right which first traverses the ridge a short distance then skirts around the edge of a small pond. Just beyond the pond follow the difficult to see trail that goes up along the right side of the rock fall. The trail soon becomes obvious again after 30 ft. I missed this turn off the first time around and ended up at a nice little lake about 100 yard down from the junction. Just beyond the 2nd pass are filtered views down to North Lake below and nice views of Glacier Peak and Mt Pugh to the east. The views are improved only modestly by scrambling up to peak 5072 to the northwest of the pass. Round trip is about 6 mi and 1400 ft net. Total elevation gain with ups and downs is about 1800 ft. The trail is a bit rocky but overall is in very good condition. It looks like WTA installed some very nice water bars all along the way to preserve tread. I cleared a few of them of debris.

The trail is in good shape to the pass overlooking North Lake. Lots of blueberries up high, and some blue huckleberries and salmonberries lower. A few bugs still out -- and this is late September?! We continued along the ridge to peak 5306. It's a little brushy in places, but easy enough travel, all the way to the summit. Great views of the North Cascades.