Rainy Pass to Snowy Lakes
Updated: Nov 14, 2022
Hike Stats
Distance: 23 miles RT
Elevation Gain: 3550 feet
Date Hiked: August 2020
Location: Okanogan National Forest outside of the North Cascades National Park Complex
I’m not always the best at planning ahead. Well, to be fair, when I was a kid I was kind of a super planner. I had big dreams and I had outlined the steps I needed to take to achieve them. This included planning out my middle and high school schedules so that I could take the highest number of AP and STEM classes possible in preparation for a career as a volcanologist. At the tender age of ten, I even cold-emailed a volcanologist working at my dream place (USGS in Washington, naturally) to ask him questions about getting into the field. Some people called me nerdy; I like to say I was passionate. But as I got older, changed career goals, and entered into new life experiences, I discovered that I didn’t much like the meticulous planning that I had grown so accustomed to. It felt suffocating and limiting. I was an Enneagram Type 7 squeezing myself into a Type 3 box in order to succeed in the traditional sense (if you know, you know).
Anyways, so now I’m sort of rebelling against the strict schedules and structure that I’ve forced myself to live by for much of my life. When I sketch out my park trips, I plan things very loosely, preferring to leave lots of room for spontaneity. Unfortunately, this means that important things like, you know, booking campsites becomes an issue. I mean, how am I supposed to know that I’m visiting this particular park on this particular day enough months in advance to book a campsite before they sell out? So that’s how I ended up doing this backpacking trip.
After reaching the park and realizing that I was SOL (turns out there are some awesome dispersed camping sites right outside the park but I didn’t find them until the next day), I began to look for backcountry camping ideas. I had previously heard of an interesting hike along the PCT to a place called Cutthroat Pass from Matt and Karen Smith (of the Dear Bob and Sue books and podcast), but didn’t know much about it other than it was worth the trek. I took advantage of being in town for a supply run to google more about camping options along this section of the PCT. I read a few mentions of good camping at Snowy Lakes about 11 miles in so I decided, “Why not?”
The hike started right outside of the National Park Complex in the Okanogan National Forest at Rainy Pass, right across the road from the ever-popular Maple Pass Loop. The hike began climbing gently through a forest setting, giving occasional glimpses of the surrounding mountains and crossing over a couple of small streams. The views opened up even further after reaching the tree line, providing lots of fodder for my favorite type of picture: a meandering trail against a mountainous backdrop.
After passing the first campsites about 3-4 miles in, I began to tackle the many switchbacks that wound their way up to Cutthroat Pass. The higher elevation plus the steepness required me to take quite a few breaks along the way, but at least I had some beautiful vistas and wildflowers to distract me! In the distance I could see some dark clouds moving in, but thankfully the forecast just called for some light rain and not storms so I wasn’t too worried.
Cresting over Cutthroat Pass, I let out an audible gasp as a 360 degree panorama of mountains on mountains opened up in front of my eyes. The jagged ridges seemed to go on forever as Cutthroat Lake sparkled below. I could’ve sat there for hours just admiring the scenery, so I decided to boil some water to make ramen as an excuse to park my butt there even longer.
Eventually though, I started to get chilly and resolved myself to continuing on. The trail on the PCT from here gets fairly narrow and passes over a couple of talus slopes which were a wee bit sketchy.
Rounding the corner opened up even more views of different ridges and valleys. Honestly the views just never stopped. Every turn brought a new surprise.
Coming around the final bend revealed a U-shaped glacially-carved valley, as well as far-off views of the PCT hugging the cliff below the iconic peaks of Golden Horn and Tower Mountain.
The next section of trail was fairly steep and I was sorely wishing that I had brought my trekking poles with me for this one. My right knee has held up pretty well after my ACL reconstruction, but it was getting pretty sore at this point. After making it down this section, the trail flattened out significantly, and I was able to cruise along through Granite Pass. There were a couple of sketchy sections where there was no buffer between the trail and a painful 100 foot slide down a slope, but with some careful footing I made it through just fine.
The turn off for Snowy Lakes is unmarked, so I had to keep a close eye out for the social trail to the right. I found it right next to a lovely camping area, said hello to some of the campers, and began making my way up to the lakes. The trail itself is relatively easy to follow, but easy it is not. It was one of the steepest sections of the hike, with about 500 feet of elevation gain to be tackled within a half mile. It may not seem like much, but when you are already 10+ miles in and lugging a large backpack, this section can wear you out.
Breathing hard, I finally made it up to the lower of the two lakes, taking a moment to enjoy the reflection of the clouds against the still water. There were only a couple of other hikers around, but I decided to head up to the upper lake for some exploring and to set up camp. The upper lake was equally pretty, with nearly emerald green waters framed by the cliffs of Golden Horn.
I found a perfect camping spot near a rocky ridge where I was able to enjoy what I could see of the sunset behind the mountain ridges while boiling water for my freeze-dried chili mac. It was still pretty overcast, but the glow of the sun through the clouds made for a nice “dinner and a show.”
Backpacking also gave me a great opportunity to try out my new inflatable camp pillow. It was nice to have something under my head, but it will take some getting used to as it had a tendency to slide around on my sleeping pad. That, plus the fact that I thought every gust of wind or rustle was a bear, made for a somewhat restless night.
The next morning, however, was still and peaceful, and I enjoyed a relaxing breakfast by the lake. After chatting a bit with a middle aged couple from Washington who asked if I was a PCT thru-hiker (...did I really smell that bad?), I reluctantly packed up camp and made my way back to the trailhead.
The hike back was uneventful except for the literally breathtaking climb back up to Cutthroat Pass, and I was even able to snag a few pictures of myself enjoying my last adventure with my Osprey Aura before the arrival of my new ultralight backpack.
Pretty tired, I made my way into the tiny town of Marblemount and devoured a steak and potato dinner at Marblemount Diner. I may be short, but I can put away an impressive amount of food after hiking! I headed back into the park for sunset and witnessed something even better: one of the lakes being engulfed by fog. It was absolutely spectacular, and at the risk of sounding even more redundant, I'll just insert some pictures and let you see for yourself. I went to bed that night with both my belly and my spirit full.
Scroll through for even more pics!
Comments