Thornton Lake Trail to Trappers Peak
4 / 5
North Cascades Day 4 – 10 Miles, 3 Lakes, 1 Relentless Climb
1 / 26
After days of heat, the forecast finally gave us a break with a high of 75. Naturally, we celebrated by making a questionable life choice: Thornton Lake Trail to Trappers Peak. A 10 mile beast of a hike with over 3,500 feet of elevation gain. Perfect.
The drive to the trailhead set the tone with five miles up a steep, narrow, rough gravel road. The hike began innocently enough. The first leg was a gentle climb on a soft forest trail. But around mile 2, things turned. The trail turned into a nonstop uphill stairmaster, all rocks and roots. No views. Just trees and sweat. We got the occasional slight glimpse of a peak through the canopy, but mostly it was a long green tunnel.
Then around mile 4, the trail went from "steep" to “you’ve got to be kidding me”. We weren’t hiking anymore, we were climbing. It was hands on rock steep in places, and still no big views to distract us from the suffering.
But then finally the payoff. We got some incredible views as we neared the ridge: dramatic peaks all around, layers of ridgelines fading into the distance, and the first glimpse of those stunning alpine lakes below.
Just when we felt like we might be getting somewhere... the clouds rolled in and it started pouring. Fortunately, the rain only lasted about 20 minutes, and while it was cold and drenching, it was also refreshing.
At the end, we could see three lakes stacked down the mountainside. The biggest was nestled deep in a basin, the middle perched on a rocky ledge, and the smallest tucked up near the cliffs. Everything was dramatic and moody after the rain, with mist still clinging to the peaks. Totally worth the grueling effort.
Just as we were heading back, we got one last surprise: a ptarmigan! It was hanging out on a rocky ledge just off trail. I stepped up on a boulder to get a better view, and it bolted at first — but then stopped, looked back at me, and decided I wasn’t a threat. It went right back to pecking at leaves like I wasn’t even there. Reminded me of my backyard chickens.
The descent was no joke, slick and muddy after the rain. But we made it down in one piece, just a little more sore, tired, and wet than we started.
The drive to the trailhead set the tone with five miles up a steep, narrow, rough gravel road. The hike began innocently enough. The first leg was a gentle climb on a soft forest trail. But around mile 2, things turned. The trail turned into a nonstop uphill stairmaster, all rocks and roots. No views. Just trees and sweat. We got the occasional slight glimpse of a peak through the canopy, but mostly it was a long green tunnel.
Then around mile 4, the trail went from "steep" to “you’ve got to be kidding me”. We weren’t hiking anymore, we were climbing. It was hands on rock steep in places, and still no big views to distract us from the suffering.
But then finally the payoff. We got some incredible views as we neared the ridge: dramatic peaks all around, layers of ridgelines fading into the distance, and the first glimpse of those stunning alpine lakes below.
Just when we felt like we might be getting somewhere... the clouds rolled in and it started pouring. Fortunately, the rain only lasted about 20 minutes, and while it was cold and drenching, it was also refreshing.
At the end, we could see three lakes stacked down the mountainside. The biggest was nestled deep in a basin, the middle perched on a rocky ledge, and the smallest tucked up near the cliffs. Everything was dramatic and moody after the rain, with mist still clinging to the peaks. Totally worth the grueling effort.
Just as we were heading back, we got one last surprise: a ptarmigan! It was hanging out on a rocky ledge just off trail. I stepped up on a boulder to get a better view, and it bolted at first — but then stopped, looked back at me, and decided I wasn’t a threat. It went right back to pecking at leaves like I wasn’t even there. Reminded me of my backyard chickens.
The descent was no joke, slick and muddy after the rain. But we made it down in one piece, just a little more sore, tired, and wet than we started.