Heather Maple Pass

Drove up the North Cascades Highway to see how far we could hike on the Heater-Maple Pass Loop Trail (7.2 miles with 2,000 ft of gain). We hiked up about 1,850 ft and 3.5 miles before turning around due to deep post holing and not wanting to go down the other side of the loop with only route finding skills (I think that is a steeper section and did not want to do it in heavier snow).
We did not encounter any snow or ice on the highway, but did find the parking area covered in snow and were greeted by this happy snowman.
The trail was 99.9% covered in snow. Fresh snow blanked the trail, on the lower sections it was clear where the trail was. Later on we were route finding. We took turn breaking trail with another couple who were out on the trail. We brought microspikes, but not use them as the fresh snow was not icy today.





This trail starts out going uphill in the forest. We encountered one downed tree that we had to climb over. About a mile up the trail, we crossed a talus field and had a nice view of some of the local peaks

We did not take the side trail to the shores of Lake Ann, but enjoyed the views once the trail broke out into the open,

There still a few signs of fall along the trail. On the first couple of miles it was easy to see a trough showing where the trail was under the snow.

After the first set of switchbacks above Lake Ann, the snow was deeper and we made tracks where there was only a faint trace of the trail under the snow

So many lovely views of Lake Ann and the surrounding peaks as the trail climbs.

When we reached Heather Pass, there were no signs of previous hikers crossing to the north. I hiked out a short ways, before seeing the views here were mostly obstructed by clouds and turned around.

I was post holing almost to my knees in the fresh snow.

Nice views back on the main trail.













We expected that most of the larch trees would have shed their needles in this recent storm,

so we were pleasantly surprised to find some of the larches holding on to their golden needles, laden in snow.

The clouds were continually moving around the peaks.

Wide angle view of the basin holding Lake Ann below

Icicles on the rocks

The trail winds around the sides of these steep mountains.

There were some large snow balls coming down this avalanche chute and across the trail. 

more icicles

Fabulous views of Lake Ann nestled between the mountains.

The snow was not enough to obscure where the trail was on this section, but once it turned back to the opposite direction we would need our route finding sills.

Great views continued

When we reached about 6,500 ft, the snow was getting deeper and deeper. We stopped here to take a break and enjoy a late lunch. Another hiker went a bit further and returned saying he was post holing above the knees and would soon be going through waist deep snow if he had continued upward.
We were happy with our hike and agreed to return the way we had hiked in.





Lots more photos of Lake Ann and the surrounding peaks as we enjoyed the views on our hike back down the trail.

Fabulous day, I'm getting ready to enjoy winter hikes.

Bumping Lake Trail

We drove over to the east side of Hwy 410 to see the larches at Bumping Lake. As we drove down on the east side, besides seeing larches along the highway, we spotted this bobcat walking alongside the highway.!

View of Bumping River along the Bumping River Road

view looking towards Bumping Lake as we drove over the dam

The Bumping Lake Trail starts where the road ends past the marina on the west side of the lake. The trail is 4.5 miles, connecting with the Swamp Lake Trail at the south end of the lake. We hiked about 3 miles along the trail before returning, hiking 6 miles round trip with about 200+ ft of elevation gain. The trail is mostly in the forest on the west side of the lake. The first part of the trail was covered with fallen leaves.

Soon we were able to see views of Bumping Lake with both yellow cottonwood trees and yellow western larches.

There were some larches right next to the trail.

A few times, the trail crossed open rocky slide areas.

Here we had great views of the lake, we could see quite a few yellow larches on the other side of the lake.











There was also some bright red leaves on huckleberry bushes lining the trail.

View along the lake shore further down the trail

There were different types of golden yellows making this cloudy day bright and cheerful

We saw several fallen larch branches along the trail

Early on, there was no wind and we saw lovely reflections in the lake

It was very quiet and peaceful, we did not see any other hikers until we were almost back to the trailhead.

The level of the lake was low, so there were lots of exposed stumps

We found a nice place along the lakeshore to eat lunch and enjoy the views.

elk prints along the lakeshore

more fall color along the trail

pano of Bumping Lake

some nice views as we retuned towards the trailhead.

some of the fall color and fungi we saw along the trail today: