American Travel Journal

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Rainy Pass Trailhead - Pacific Crest Trail - Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

When researching our September 2022 visit to North Cascades National Park, we noticed that the Rainy Lake Trail trailhead was near where the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) crossed Washington Route 20, the North Cascades Scenic Highway. When we arrived at the turnoff for Rainy Lake, we noticed the PCT signs. After we finished our Rainy Lake hike, we strolled south on the PCT for a few hundred feet before turning around and returning to the trailhead.

PCT trail marker in lieu of a blaze

The PCT disappears into the woods

View north of an unnamed peak (7004' 1.9 miles)

View south of the unnamed mountains (6698' 1.2 miles) along the south end of Rainy Lake

A recreation pass is required for parking at the Rainy Pass trailhead. A five-dollar per vehicle per day Northwest Forest Pass can be purchased from a self-pay station provided at the trailhead. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used in lieu of payment.

The National Forest Service website for the PCT is https://www.fs.usda.gov/pct.

Monday, November 7, 2022

Rainy Lake Trail #310 - Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

While planning our September 2022 visit to North Cascades National Park, we searched for easy hikes in the North Cascades area and the Rainy Lake Trail popped up near the top of the list. This is an ADA-compliant paved trail of 1.8 miles round trip in an out-and-back configuration. By my count, there are seven sturdy benches scattered along the 4800-foot elevation trail. While not in the park, this trail provided us with an opportunity to stretch our legs as we drove east to Winthrop.

The Rainy Lake Trail #310 trailhead and parking are located at mile marker 157.6 on the North Cascades Scenic Highway, also known as Washington Route 20. This is about 18.5 miles east of North Cascades National Park and Ross Lake National Recreation Area via the scenic highway. However, the road roughly parallels the park boundary and is less than two miles from the park at the Rainy Pass Picnic Area.

Trail specific information at the trailhead kiosk

Crossing the driveway to the trail

Rainy Lake Trail to the left

Typical trail conditions

Englemann Spruce

Mountain Hemlock

The only sunny part of the trail

Back into the forest

The bridge handrails have taken a treefall

Mossy Lichens

Second bridge

Stream that drains Lake Ann

Glimpse of Whistler Mountain (7790' 1.3 miles)

Trail reopened after a tree fell

Snow creep - not entirely resisting the downslope force of the snowpack

Pacific Silver Fir

Another bench

Ferns carpet the forest

End of the trail

An unnamed peak towers over the lake

Rainy Lake is a glacial cirque

Remnants of last winter's snow

Moraine dams up the lake

Another look at the bowl that nearly encircles the lake

The clear water suggests the lake is filled with snowmelt and not glacier fed

A last look

A recreation pass is required for parking. A five-dollar per vehicle per day Northwest Forest Pass can be purchased from a self-pay station provided at the trailhead. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used in lieu of payment.

The forest webpage for Rainy Lake is https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/okawen/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=59385.

Sunday, November 6, 2022

North Cascades Scenic Highway - Washington Route 20 - North Cascades National Park

On our September 2022 visit to North Cascades National Park, we've already posted about several scenic locations on the west side of the park and Ross Lake National Recreation Area (NRA) along the North Cascades Scenic Highway (Washington Route 20). These include

Visitor Center at mile marker 120
Newhalem and Ladder Creek Falls at mile marker 120.5
Gorge Dam viewpoint at mile marker 122.9
Gorge Overlook at mile marker 123.4
Gorge Creek Falls at mile marker 123.4

We drove east along the scenic highway to the eastern boundaries of the park and the NRA and then backtracked to stop at a few of the viewpoints along the north side of the highway.