Larchmania! Blue Lake, 10.3.15
Growing up in Colorado, there was no more beautiful sight than the gorgeous aspen trees with their brilliant yellow leaves and bleach white trunks against a vivid blue sky on those crisp autumn days in the Rocky Mountains. Here in Washington, we have the lovely Western Larch tree. The Western Larch does not grow on the western side of the Cascades so a trip over the Cascade crest is required to see these beautiful trees. Unlike the aspens, larch trees have needles which are light green in the summer and very soft to the touch. However, like the aspen trees, in the fall the needles of the larch turn a brilliant yellow, gradually turning gently to gold before the freezing temperatures and cold winter winds blow them all off the trees. I have been longing to do a short weekend backpack or at least a day hike during the peak of the color changes but for many ridiculous reasons, I had never had a successful larch trip. Until today.
Neighbor Greg and I decided to take a long drive for a short hike this morning so we drove three hours across the amazingly beautiful North Cascades Highway to the Blue Lake trailhead just before Washington Pass. We have known about the Blue Lake trail for many years and driven by it a bunch of times on the way to somewhere else but had never stopped and hiked to the lake. Even though it is only a 2.2 mile hike right off the highway, this lake is so far from Puget Sound (and any other towns for that matter) that it didn’t make sense to plan to go all the way there without camping overnight. But the lure of the larch was upon us and three hours each way seemed like a small price to pay if the conditions were right.
Arriving at the trailhead it was beautiful weather. A bit on the chilly side at 42 degrees but sunny blue skies and no wind was all we could have hoped for. I started out with a fleece shirt, wool hat and gloves but within the first fifteen minutes I was back in my hiking shirt and put away the gloves and hat. The trail was very easy, gaining just over a thousand feet in 2.2 miles to the lake outlet.
The most prominent peaks in the area (and there are many) are the jaw-dropping granite pinnacles of Liberty Bell and South Early Winter Spire. The two peaks tower over the highway as it crosses Washington Pass and switchbacks down towards Winthrop and the Methow Valley. I have seen these peaks many times driving past them but Blue Lake is nestled into a bowl tucked away along the backside of these incredible peaks. Due to their huge granite faces on all sides combined with their close proximity to the highway, Liberty Bell and South Early Winter Spire attract lots of hardcore climbers who love to dangle on sheer smooth rock faces.
Liberty Bell on the left and South Early Winter Spire on the right
As the trail wound up the mountain the terrain changed from forest to open avalanche swaths. This provided us with great views of the the peaks. Adding to the joy of being back on a mountain trail on a beautiful fall day, we were soon amidst tons of larch trees at the very prime of their autumn splendor.
Greg with larches galore and the Liberty Bell
In barely over an hour we arrived at the outlet of Blue Lake. The sun was just coming over the huge cliffs that towered over the far end of the lake, lighting up the trees near the lake outlet.
Golden larches near the shoreline
Since it was still fairly early, the sun had yet to light up the rock cliffs surrounding the lake or even the lake itself. What to do? Explore!
Greg and I decided to follow the ridge up above the north side of the lake to see what we could see, to see what we could see, the other side of the mountain, the other… of sorry, I got carried away with an old camp song for a minute there. As we climbed above the lake the sun began to fill in the lake basin and the color of the water was three toned. Dark green by the shoreline, then a ring of iridescent green that faded into the deep blue that gives the lake its name.
Blue Lake
As we climbed higher and higher, various other peaks that we were familiar with came into view.
Whistler Mountain with Black Peak behind
We climbed up about 600’ higher than the lake. At this point the ridge was getting steeper and changing to more solid rock so we opted to stop on a high ledge with a great vantage point to eat our lunch, take pics and soak up the scenery. After lunch we worked our way down in a different direction so we could check out a basin we had seen far below.
Sunlit larches above Blue Lake
The basin was full of radiant larch trees but we also had brilliant red ground cover to add to the scene.
Magical basin above Blue Lake
Once we got back down to the lake outlet we climbed a knoll on the other side of the lake opposite where we had just been. From the top of the knoll we had a commanding view of the ridge we had just climbed along with a vista that included Liberty Bell, South Early Winter Spire and Blue Lake.
Blue Lake
This photo says it all! It was an absolutely beautiful day and I was sooo glad to have finally done a larch hike during prime time.