Blue and Cutthroat Lakes

I'd survived the previous day's sweltering hot weather while hiking the Maple-Heather Pass loop, near the border of North Cascades National Park (if you missed the recap, check out my previous post.)  The next morning I again awoke early, hoping to beat the heat and get in two more short hikes.

Morning mountain peek-a-boo, Cutthroat Lake trail

On tap for today - visits to both Cutthroat Lake and Blue Lake trails.  Just east of Rainy Pass, these short jaunts were about a 30-minute drive from my motel in Winthrop, Washington.  After a quick stop at the one and only drive through coffee shop in town, I headed westward on highway 20.  Arriving at the Cutthroat Lake trailhead I appeared to be the only hiker, even though there were other vehicles in the parking area.  (There were lots of people dispersed camping here, especially along the entrance road.)

Although mostly in forest, I did have occasional mountain glimpses

Passing the trailhead sign, a few steps later I came upon a sturdy wooden bridge spanning Cutthroat Creek.  After crossing the bridge, I entered a thick fir forest.  It was quite green and lovely, but unfortunately the trees blocked views of the surrounding mountain peaks.  The trail was mostly level and I enjoyed a pleasant stroll through the woods.

A hint of fall color, just getting started

Every once and while I'd get teaser mountain glimpses through breaks in the trees.  The mountains here were tall, steep, and rugged - quite scenic! 

Still lots of huckleberries!

About halfway to the lake, I came upon a large clearing.  Looking uphill from the talus slope, it appeared to have been created by a huge avalanche.  The plus side was this opened up fantastic views of the adjacent wall of mountains.

A large clearing with nice views

Huckleberry bushes lined the trail.  Still heavy with ripe berries, the bushes were just beginning their fall color transition.  While hiking along, I couldn't resist sampling their sweet, purple goodies.

Almost there!

It was only two miles to Cutthroat Lake, and due to the easy, flat trail it didn't take long before I came upon the lake trail junction.  The path heading to the right took hikers uphill to Cutthroat Pass and the Pacific Crest Trail, while the left fork led hikers to the lake.

Cutthroat Lake was ringed by tall mountain peaks

After following a very uneven, rocky, roller-coaster trail for about a quarter mile, just when I began wondering where in the heck the lake was, I came upon Cutthroat Lake's grassy shoreline.  And, oh what a beautiful setting!

Grassy shoreline

Massive, granite peaks ringed the lake.  Green fir forests lined the shoreline.  The calm morning weather gave perfect reflections of all this in the lake's still waters.  And, best of all, after being overcast all morning, the sun broke out of the clouds upon my arrival, bathing everything in lovely light.

Nice reflections in the lake's still waters

Heading to the left, I navigated the muddy shoreline, snapping photos as I went.  The adjacent peaks were especially photogenic on this side, as were the lake reflections.  A pop of a mountain ash's red berries added a bit of color to the scene.

The sun came out upon my arrival at the lake

Near the lake's far left side, I took a snack break and enjoyed the early morning quiet.  I had the lake all to myself at this early morning hour.

Such a beautiful setting!

After a half hour of exploring the lakeshore and snapping countless images, it was time to retrace my steps back to the parking area.  As I stepped onto the path leading to the main trail, I ran into my first hikers of the morning.  Great timing!

Trying to get myself in the picture

From the main trail, it was a quick return trip.  I ran into a few hikers, all heading towards the lake.  One older couple told me this trail was especially beautiful about a month from now, near the end of September, when the larch tree needles turned a golden yellow.  After parting ways, I began to notice a few yellow branches on the ends of some trees.  On this late August morning, the seasonal transition was just getting started.

Larch trees just starting to turn

Upon arriving back at my car, I drank some water and ate a granola bar for "second breakfast."  Then I headed down the potholed entrance road back to Hwy 20.  After climbing through the tight switchbacky highway once again, I turned into the Blue Lake trailhead, just beyond Washington Pass.

Bridge near the Cutthroat Lake trailhead

Blue Lake is a wildly popular hiking trail.  At five miles round-trip the trail is short enough for most people to successfully traverse.  The reward is a stunning blue glacial lake surrounded by steep, granite mountains.  In late September, the numerous larch trees lining the lakeshore turn a stunning shade of gold.

Large clearing on the Blue Lake trail

By now it was close to 10:30 in the morning, and I was afraid the parking lot would be full.  I'd heard the trail often got so busy people had to park along the shoulder of Highway 20.  But luck was with me that day, as I had my choice of several parking spots.  A few other people hanging out by their cars were in the process of getting ready to hike.  I could tell right away, unlike Cutthroat Lake, I'd have lots of company on this trail.

Colorful fireweed leaves

My journey to Blue Lake began on a boardwalk spanning a swampy section of the forest.  Then I began to climb a rocky, dusty trail through more dense forest.

The area was full of mountain peaks

About halfway to the lake, I entered a large clearing.  Mountains surrounded the meadow area, their jagged peaks lining the sky.  A few scraggly fireweed plants still bloomed, but otherwise the vegetation looked dry and tired.  Some of the fireweed leaves were already turning a vibrant red.

One larch branch in full golden color

Temperatures were starting to get hot again, and I began to sweat as I climbed higher.  The Blue Lake trail was much steeper than I'd anticipated.  After cruising along the flat Cutthroat Lake trail, all this elevation gain was surprising and unwelcome.  Having heard this was an "easy" trail, I'd expected the same level of hiking as the first trail I'd visited this morning.  But this trail felt much more difficult than the 1000 feet of elevation gain mentioned in my hiking guide.

Craggy peaks 

As I traversed higher on the trail, several pointy, craggy mountains began to rise above the treeline.  I'd read that people often climbed some of these peaks.  They were so steep, and their summits looked so tiny, I couldn't imagine standing on the top of any of them.

Finally - Blue Lake!

Not only the heat, clouds started filling the sky, and it got very humid.  This heat-humidity combination began to zap my energy.  Where in the heck was this lake?  It seemed I'd been climbing forever - would I ever get there?

Two huge mountains rose from one end of the lake

And then, just when I was about to give up and turn back, the outlet creek for Blue Lake came into view.  Rounding a bend in the trail, I came face to face with two giant monolithic granite mountains that formed one side of the lake.  Spread out in front of these peaks were the turquoise waters of Blue Lake.

View from my lunch spot

Oh, it was a breathtaking sight!  Many small groups of people were sitting around the lakeshore.  I found a perch on a small rocky point opposite the mountains and took a break.  While eating my sandwich, I struck up a conversation with a woman who was visiting from New York.  She was trying to visit all the iconic hikes in Washington.  As I'd discovered on yesterday's hike, a lot of the visitors to the North Cascades were from out of state.  The woman offered to take my picture, but she didn't get a great shot of the mountains and lake behind me.  Oh well, when someone volunteers to do a favor, you can't be too picky.

Panoramic cell phone pic

After finishing my lunch, I packed away my food and wandered a bit farther around the lakeshore.  One couple had jumped into the lake's waters and were enjoying a refreshing swim.  I'm sure it felt good in the day's heat, but I had no desire to join them.

A couple people went swimming

Another couple was tentatively wading on the lake's very edge.  I watched them for a few minutes, while snapping a few more images.  The midday, overcast sky made photography especially challenging.

This place was very popular - I definitely wasn't alone

More and more people kept filing in to the lake.  I saw at least a dozen hikers perched on the rock I'd used for my lunch break.  The shoreline was beginning to fill up.  Too many visitors for me!  It was time to make my exit.

You can see why they call it Blue Lake

On my way down the trail, I ran into a young couple.  The man and I struck up a conversation and I found out he was from Iowa and loved visiting the Pacific NW.  He and a friend had been fishing for salmon in Astoria, Oregon the day before, a place where my hubby also goes to fish.  The man and his wife had plans to visit the other two Washington National Parks before heading home.  It was interesting to meet so many people from across the US that were also National Park junkies like me.

Mountain views on the return hike

My downhill journey was mostly uneventful, except for meeting lots of people heading uphill.  When the hiking guides said this trail was popular, they weren't kidding!  I arrived back at my car hot and tired.  Although I'd been most excited about hiking the Blue Lake trail, I actually liked Cutthroat Lake much better.  Maybe it was because I'd had the place to myself, but I also thought the scenery surrounding Cutthroat Lake was much prettier.  I heard the trek up Cutthroat Pass was spectacular, so I've put it on my list for next summer's visit.

Main street, Winthrop Washington

Although it was early afternoon, I was done hiking for the day, and headed back to my motel in Winthrop for a shower and some downtime.  I'll leave you with a couple of photos of the cute, Western-themed buildings in the touristy berg of Winthrop.

Winthrop Town Hall

There are still several more hiking trails I'd like to visit in North Cascades NP, so a return trip is on my agenda for summer 2026.  And someday I'd like to visit both the Heather-Maple loop and Cutthroat Lake when the larch trees are decked out in their fall finery.

Old-timey gas station

Although the weather was less than ideal, I'm glad I sucked it up and made a visit to this magnificent corner of Washington.  A week later, several wildfires broke out in nearby forests, cloaking the sky in dense smoke and clouding the mountain views.  Turned out that despite the heat, I'd picked a good time to hike the trails of the North Cascades after all.  Good thing I'd gone through with my plans and didn't chicken out.

The moral of this story - there's never a perfect time to make the trip.  Just make plans and go now.  You might not get another chance.