Miles: 6 mile loop
Elevation Gain/Highest: 1083ft/2800ft
Map: Green Trails MacGregor 81
Favorite Eats After Hike: Stehekin Pastry Company and Pack A Backpack.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Our hike:
6/3/17
We were in Stehekin for a quick weekend overnight and had a little time to hike in the evening. We were staying in the Tumwater campground and did a short loop up the Old Wagon Trail to the PCT and then south with a short jaunt up the McGregor Trail around Howard Lake for a stop about 2785ft up by a waterfall and a view point down at the lake with Bannock, Agnes, Moore and Skookum Puss Mountains for our dinner backdrop. Stunning.
This was my first time up McGregor and I’m still not entirely sure we were on the actual trail. We started out where the sign was off the PCT at 5:37pm and followed an obvious trail around the northwest corner of Howard Lake but the trail was not matching in anyway what I had on my map or GAIA. The switchbacks were much wider.
Now, the trail is quite overgrown in places but where it wasn’t we were clearly on a trail. And when we were standing where GAIA said there was a trail, there was clearly not one anywhere near us heading up or down perpendicular.
At about 6:10 the trail we were on crossed an obvious recent avalanche path where the brush was hacked off at the ends and shortly we reached a switchback at Howard Creek (renamed like the lake?) with a lovely waterfall coming down over a cliff band.
From here the trail went left and we wondered up a bit but then decided time wise we would head back down to the outcropping by the waterfall to make dinner. I imagine the switchback would have eventually began those tight switchbacks you can see on the map toward the summit. If you are looking for a nice loop hike while staying in this area, this one offers nice views!
Here is more information about staying at the Tumwater Campground in the North Cascades National Park up from Stehekin, WA. A hike to the summit of MacGregor Mountain (about 16 miles RT and 6,200 ft) is an all day affair or overnight, permits available in the Golden West Visitor’s Center in town.
For more hikes in this area, visit my Eastern Washington page. This hike is only accessible by foot, boat or plane. For the ferry that shuttles visitors to Stehekin, visit the Lady of The Lake website.
Thank you so much for stopping by Must Hike Must Eat!
If you need some healthy eating inspiration start here:..
Need some eating out suggestions when friends want to stop after a hike? I have a Pacific Northwest Eating Guide here.
Find out what’s been happening outside the blog:
If you have a question you don’t want to post in the comments, you can ask them here: