Copper Glance Lake

Sarah and I headed to the Methow Valley for the weekend to stay at a friends cabin. We woke up Saturday to a bluebird sky and 80 degree weather and decided to head up to Copper Glance Lake--a hike that had been recommended to me by some NWhikers. After a scenic 30 minute drive we arrived at the trailhead.

The hike starts off along an old road that heads up to an abandoned mine. Early into the hike you come upon Copper Glance creek. The original bridge has collapsed, but the boards still remain and we were able to cross without a problem. The road section of the trail was a bit grueling as it climbs about 1000 ft up to the old mine. Luckily the flowers along the trail were coming to life giving us a distraction from the constant climbing. The mine was pretty interesting although we decided not to explore into the tunnel.

Tiger Lilly

The mine

At this point the road turns into an actual trail and makes a hair pin turn to the south. The climbing doesn't stop, in fact, the trail immediately after the mine was probably the steepest of the hike. Have no fear, the monotony of climbing up dusty trails is soon ended by a view of Isabella Ridge peaking over a grassy knoll. At this point it seams as if the lake should be directly in front of you, but the trail cuts to the right and continues to climb. From here on out, we no longer minded the climbing because the beauty of the open meadows filled with flowers quickly made us forget the burning in our lungs and legs. The hike became spectacular from this point onward. The flowers, the blue sky, the craggy ridge; we really couldn't have asked for more...and we hadn't even made it to the lake yet.

The first glimpse of the Isabella Ridge

Lupine, Asters, Forget-me-nots and much more

After crossing the meadows we came upon a small pond, then veered left and headed up a brief but steep gravelly slope. Soon after this you hit the highest point on the trail (again more splendid views) and then begin to drop slightly down to the lake. The lake was fantastic. The water was so clear--clearer than most lakes I've been to. The shores are rocky, but we saw a few dirt spots where you could set up a tent. The lake is also surrounded by larch which I'm sure make this a beautiful fall destination. We sat and soaked up the sun for about an hour. We watched a lot of what looked like trout swimming just below the surface. It was a pretty amazing place. On the way back we decided to scramble up another 50 ft from the trails highest point to a couple of big boulders for a 360 view of the area which I'd highly recommend.

The pond just below the lake

Copper Glance Lake

360 view above the lake

The whole time we were out, we only passed one couple on their way down from the lake. The hike is about 6.3 miles round trip and gains about 2700 ft in elevation. To get to the trailhead from Windthrop take the Westside Chewuch Rd to the eightmile creek road and continue on this until you see the trailhead on the right.

Boulder River

We decided to try out this 8.6 mile trail despite the ominous weather forecast. It is a relatively flat trail that meanders along the Boulder River often 50-100 feet above the river. The first mile is through logged forest but after that you enter the 48,674-acre Boulder River Wilderness and hike through a nice area of old growth. There were many impressive cedar trees and the trilliums and huckleberries were blooming. We passed three nice waterfalls rushing down the canyon wall, all in the first hour of the hike. After the falls the trail became quite muddy and the light rain turned into a more constant downpour. We had misread the trail guide and thought we were headed to a final water fall at 4.3 miles so we were a little disappointed to find out that the trail just ends in a flat camping area near the river. On a sunny day it would be a beautiful place to relax for a while, but in the cold rain we only stopped for a few minutes. There was another nice camping area right before you reach the wilderness boundary. The hike out was cold and wet and the trail had turned into a series of giant puddles and mud pits. All in all, it was nice to get out and we mostly enjoyed the hike.

Pyramid Lake

This winter, my graduate school did an exchange with the North Cascades Institute. We were treated with the pleasure of staying on Diablo lake for the weekend and doing a little exploring of the area. A group of us decided to make the short (4.5 mile) hike to Pyramid Lake. It was a nice leg stretcher following up a babbling creek through some nice sections of forest. The lake itself was rather small and totally frozen, but offered some nice views of pyramid mountain in the background. This is not a hike I would drive out of my way for, but it was a nice walk, especially for the winter.

Pyramid Mountain

The frozen lake

Looking down on the lake

Some of the group