ice blue jewel

On our way from Winthrop to Marblemount, we stopped to hike Blue Lake. Our last hike on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, the trail underwhelmed at first before delivering the most spectacular scenery of our trip.

The Blue Lake trailhead is located just a few minutes along the scenic North Cascades highway from Cutthroat Lake. And yet, whereas we saw hardly a soul at the latter a day earlier, Blue Lake was comparatively heavily trafficked. The Cutthroat trail quickly cuts away from the highway and plunges deep into the woods, which muffle the noise from passing vehicles; within minutes of setting foot on the trail, we stopped hearing the passing cars and immersed ourselves completely in the sights and sounds of the forest. Not so with the Blue Lake trail, which meanders within earshot of the highway for at least a mile — or roughly half the trail length.

After that first mile, our hike improved considerably. First, we reached a clearing with stellar views of some of the Cascades’ most iconic peaks, including the snow-covered Liberty Bell. Then, as the path led further away from the highway and into the tranquil solitude of the mountains, we stumbled on a family of mountain goats: four adults and two adorably fluffy babies. The goats were unimpressed with our presence and did not mind us photographing them up close at great length. We stayed with them for about fifteen minutes, until a crowd of other hikers formed around us.

Shortly after leaving the goats and their admirers, we reached the snow line. The final half-mile of trail was still covered in snow, though much of it had been tamped down by the many passing feet that preceded ours. We were able to navigate the path without poles or micro-spikes, though the snow was undeniably slippery; on the way back down, D nearly bit it on a particularly treacherous section where the snow gave way quickly to slick mud.

Some hikes offer splendid views or interesting scenery throughout; others are largely unremarkable until one reaches one’s destination. Blue Lake falls squarely into the second category. The mountain goats notwithstanding, we were prepared to rank the Blue Lake trail far below Cutthroat until we reached the eponymous lake and our jaws dropped. No doubt, the lake looks differently in every season. Hiking it this week, we found ourselves in a veritable winter wonderland.

A snowmelt spring bubbled joyfully between two snowbanks, emanating from a lake that was still almost completely covered in ice. Just enough of the ice had melted to uncover a translucent surface, which reflected the snow-covered peaks ringing the lake. Neither our words nor these photos could possibly do justice to the majestic beauty of it all. As with the goats, we lingered at the lake while we had it mostly to ourselves, reluctantly shouldering our packs and heading back downhill when a large group of other hikers approached. Not far from the parking lot it hailed, a belated reminder of the forbidding terrain we had just covered to enjoy one of the eastern Cascades’ most spectacular vistas.