Mileage:9.4 to the lakes, 10.2 to the peak
Elevation Gain: 2360/3355ft
Map: Green Trails Marblemount No. 47
Favorite Eats Nearby: 5 B’s Bakery, Bird’s View Brewing Company, Shambala Bistro & Bakery, Mirkwood Public House, Glorybucha Microbrewery, River Time Brewing, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
My hike:
9/29/2016 I took a gamble that most folks would be further up HWY 20 looking for larches and I decided to finally go visit Thorton Lakes and Trapper’s Peak. With only one car in the parking lot at 11am I knew I had made the right choice. Although the road up had plenty of washboards, ruts and potholes it really didn’t live up to it’s infamous reputation. Not that I was disappointed.
I had dawdled this morning to get to trail in hopes that the low clouds would burn off and they were mostly gone when I started up the trail. The first 2 miles are flat and easy, ranging from car width like the logging road it used to be to 1 foot wide brush lined pathway. It was easy to tell were the trail leaves the road as you turn left and head up and up root and rock covered forest ground.
Not a lot of views here but the walk was peaceful. There are some drainage problems so expect mud hopping. Plenty of bootpaths off the trail to catch views of the lakes.
I was pleasantly surprised to find huckleberries still clinging to the red leafed bushes as I hit the junction with the lakes. I wanted a scramble today so I kept to the right and stuck my poles in the my pack. The trail from here requires your hands in quite a few places as it makes its way along the ridge toward the peak.
I passed the only other person on trail I would see as she was leaving the summit so we both lucked out to have it to ourselves.
I arrived about 1pm, had lunch and wandered around exploring the top for about an hour. The skies remained blue until about the time I went to leave but the clouds were slowly turning the sky grey as I walked back down.
The last bit of sun peaking through the clouds on the lower Thorton Lake was quite pretty and I was down to my car about 5:45pm, satisfied with my North Cascades hike to Thorton Lakes and Trapper’s Peak.
I wrote in more detail about my hike on my post: Ups and Downs.
Directions: Drive HWY 20 east from Marblemount until just after MP 117. You will see a sign (Thorton Creek Road) pointing to the left, turn into the large gravel area and drive up the infamous gravel road (plenty of washboard and ruts) to the trailhead about 5 miles in.
For more hikes along HWY 20, click HERE.
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