![]() To reach the lake, it is a steep half mile (0.8 km) boulder scramble down to its shore. Beyond the lake are sweeping views of Forbidden, Boston, and Sahale Peaks, with the Quien Sabe Glacier fronting the far basin. The lake may be frozen or have patches of ice well into the summer. From this 6600 foot (2000 m) saddle you are rewarded with your first view of Hidden Lake, a truly hidden deep blue gem of a lake that lies tucked in a talused pocket below the peak. Keep a sharp eye for cairns and sections of trail, and head for the low point of the col. Look for glacier lilies blooming through snow edges.Īs you near the saddle, the trail is easily lost in rocky slopes and lingering snowfields. Watermelon snow, a type of green algae, colors the snow fields red. ![]() At this elevation, summers are short and intense. During the short summer season, the meadows below the lookout are alive with color and sound. As the trail approaches the base of the rocky summit, a few small tarns and snowmelt provide a last water source for backpackers. Look back frequently as a sea of peaks begins to rise behind you. Now the trail begins a long, upward, open traverse through meadows, rocky slopes, and communities of heather and huckleberry, interspersed with small creeklets. Hikers enter the National Park at the saddle before descending to the lake. Fires are not allowed in the National Park, and stoves are recommended for all camping in the subalpine area. Avoid camping on the fragile heather communities. There is also dispersed, minimum-impact camping allowed in the US Forest Service, before reaching the saddle and lake. Decent camping in the park can only be reached via a rocky scramble through the massive boulder fields above the lake-there is no trail, so be prepared for some route-finding and scrambling. The area around Hidden Lake is a cross-country (trailless area) and there are no designated sites, toilets, or bear hangs. It is a very popular day hike, but also makes a nice overnight backpack trip and is an access route for climbers headed off into the Eldorado and Triad area.īackcountry Camping: A backcountry permit is required for all overnight stays within the National Park. Not so hidden anymore.Hidden Lake Peak is a joyous hike that begins in cool forests but quickly propels the hiker into vast, open meadows filled with wildflowers, then rocky slopes and heather, before ending at a steep rocky pinnacle with a historic fire lookout perched on top. Below lies the deep blue paradise of Hidden Lake. On especially clear days, the snowy snout of distant Mt. ![]() Your reward for the lung-busting is a stunning array of some of the Cascades’ most revered and challenged peaks: Boston, Sahale, Snowking, Glacier, Eldorado, Torment, and Forbidden North Cascade, all lined up as if posing for a group photo. You just have to pick your way through a boulder field to get there. To get to the cabin means a roughly four-mile hike from dense pine forests and stream crossings, to lush meadows and drainages filled with wildflowers and blueberries in the summer, and then to bare granite and steady switchbacks at 6,900 feet in elevation, an elevation gain of about 3,300 feet.įinally, the cabin swings into view. There it sits, far above the trail, miles ahead of you, perched on what look like sharp fingers of rock clawing toward the blue sky. Your first glimpse at the Hidden Lake Lookout Cabin in North Cascades National Park may be a little discouraging.
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