Very pleasant hike up to Rachel Lake. Very clear trail until you reach the roots and rocks section of short switchbacks. Occassional patches of snow until 4500 feet then solid 2 - 3 feet up to the lake. The snow along th lake shore is melting out in the established and hardened sites. No bugs. . .yet. Lake is clear of ice except for a thin patchy layer at the north end. The way to Rachel Lake is not distinct through the snow if you haven't been there before. You need to cut sharply to the left and head up a fairly steep looking slope. With a range of footprints going differnt ways, I contoured up the slope above one of the creeks coming down and ended up on the north bench between Rachel and Lila Lakes. It was an easy walk and slide down to the open campsites along Rachel Lake. Altho I brought (and used) my ice ax, no one else in the 5-7 parties I passed going up or coming down had one. Indian paintbrush near the trailhead, skunk cabbage and Devil's club just starting to put out stalks and leaves up around 3,500 - 4,000 ft. Many lovely sitting spots along the creek. Trail is muddy and wet in places.

I climbed Alta Mtn. via the Rachel Lake Trail. The trail has many spots that are basically a creek. Lots of exposed roots too. The lower trail was just about completely snow-free but once you cross the creek at the beginning of the steep timbered part (3500'') below the lake the area is completely snow-covered. Once out of the timber and on the ridge above the lake the snow is gone again. There's a bunch of sharp snow aretes on the ridge to the summit of Alta but no bad cornices that I could tell.

Since the weather was supposed to be mediocre, we headed towards Mt. Alta, which is little further East. The trail was very scenic with waterfalls everywhere (including the trail). Snow occurred in places on the trail but started in earnest about a half mile from the lake. We followed tracks that we thought were leading to the lake but instead lead us up a canyon and over the creek leading from Lila lake to Rachel lake. This worked out fine but I wouldn't recommend it since we ended up crossing over a very full and steep creek. From the lake, I headed up towards the ridge. After traversing right below the ridge a while I spotted a mountain goat near the summit of Alta. I ended up doing a lot of up, down and over as I stuck pretty close to the ridge. This was a mistake. I realized after I had done it that it is much easier to go along the bench until you are close to the base of the peak. You still have to do a little traversing and scrambling but this was much easier than the way I came. Later in the year you can pick up the climbers trail and it is fairly easy. The weather from the top resembled an August day right before the nice days end. The volcanos were clouded over and Stuart had a big scary looking cloud covering the top of it's lighting rod peak. Most of the nearby peaks (Chickamin, Lemah, etc.) were in full view. Coming off of the peak I headed back the easy way I described until I got back to Lila lake. From there I ended up going back the same way I came.

A clear, windy, cold day. The mud wallows on the Rachel Lake trail are frozen solid. The fairly obvious use trail leaves Trail #1313 about 2 miles from the trailhead (go just beyond the clearing where you can see both the waterfall on the right and the summit). Only a few patches of hard snow near the top. Ice axe was not taken nor required. Ski poles are useful.

Saturday had that feel to it, the feel of the last one or two good days for high alpine wandering in the Cascades. Cold, clear, with loads of fall colors and fresh snow on the peaks, it was quintessential autumn hiking weather. With limited time we decided to make a run at one of the few non-technical Snoqualmie Pass peaks left on my list - Alta Peak, out of Rachel lake. Turned out to be an excellent choice. We reached the TH late, about 11:00 am, to find about a dozen cars in the parking lot. We quickly started up the trail, after examining the missing permit box - does the Forest Service take those down or was it vandalism' Without a pass, we breathed in the spirit of civil disobedience and elected to go on anyway. The first three miles were in good shape, with lots of creeks coming down across the trail and several muddy spots, none too bad. The brush which can tower 6 feet over your head on this trail in August was in decline, reaching only to our shoulders, and someone had just come through and done a heck of a job clearing it off the trail (thanks!). Box Creek was lovely as always, with cascades and pools providing ample excuses to take a quick break. At three miles the trail gets nasty, turning uphill in a hurry. This section of trail has to be one of the rootiest I have ever seen. Furthermore, we got a REAL close look at the creek a bit further up, as it was literally underfoot for a good section of the trail. Upon reaching Rachel Lake at about 4.5 miles, we found it clear of significant snow and rippling in the friendly fall sunshine. Blueberries were numerous but overripe; campers and hikers were scarce. We continued up toward Rampart ridge, turning right toward Lila lake at the top of the ridge (the left trail goes to the Rampart lakes, very spectacular as well). Some snow on the ridge, patchy and maybe 4-5 inches deep at most, easily passable. At the next juction we stayed left, heading up the steep meadowed south face of Alta ridge, climbing among wine-colored blueberries bushes and earning grand views. This ridge has at least 3 false summits before actually reaching Alta peak, and the trail becomes more of a scramble route about halfway along it, with some moderate exposure and minor scrambling required in places. At long last we stood on the summit itself, beside a giant cairn, with simply breathtaking views. To the east we could look back down Box Canyon to HiBox mountain, impressive from this proximity, and out to Three Queens. To the south we could look back along Rampart Ridge to the Rampart lakes, flashing brilliantly in the sunshine, and off to Mt. Rainier looming like a giant on the horizon. Westward was the awesome valley of Gold Creek, buttressd by the ridge of Kendall mountain, and further out the other peaks of Snoqualmie - Red, Lundin, Snoqualmie Mountain, Denny Mountian, the Tooth, and the king of the Pass area, Chair Peak. The major summits of the I-90 corridor were also visible, from Silver Peak to Granite, Bandera, Pratt, Defiance and McClellan Butte. The best view was north, however, into the heart of the Alpine Lakes, toward Chikamin and Lemah, Daniel, Hinman, Thompson and Chimney Rock. The PCT cuts an obvious line across the midsection of all many of these peaks, and was snow-covered for much of the way. Directly below us to the east also was Lila lake and its complement of ponds, most of them frozen in the shadow of Alta. There was significant snow in the Lila Lake basin but very little along the exposed ridge of Alta peak. We took our summit shot, ate summit chocolate and gazed out to the many peaks, savoring the experience. Winter looks to be long and wet and virtually upon us, so it was grand to get out for a trip to the high country, possibly the last for the year. Maybe not, one can always hope for an ""Indian autumn"", and if it happens, I'll be out there. If not, see you next year when the alpine season begins. Marmot