This July 2012 hike was buried deep in my subconscious…read more On this hike I wished for a quick death to put me out of my misery. I would have been fine being ended by fire or becoming bear food. . But I'd do it again in a heartbeat. . The corgi in a backpack picture of Gunner (& myself) hails from this adventure on the dream-like bluffs above beautiful Lake Chelan. There are hikes and there are hikes which are requirements. The Chelan Lakeshore Trail is the latter. Crystal clear gem waters Icy oasis blue Omnipresent lake The taunting Chelan If there is a Billboard Top 100 for Hikes in the world, the Lakeshore will easily make the Top 10. No one will question the beauty of Lake Chelan. The deep green valley cuts into the Earth yielding the gin-clear glassy waters of the Chelan. Many don't hike the lake. Hordes party in our inland Washington Club Med in the town of Chelan. Thousands take a boat up the 55-mile sliver of a lake yearly. These are all noble and righteous ways to entertain The Lake, but to hike The Lakeshore---that is a memory maker. Just don't do it in the heat of summer (with short-legged doggies more suited for rainy climes). The hike. Yes, the hike. This 17.5 mile hike. The Lakeshore trail requires taking a boat ride. Plop your backpack on the dock, hop on the boat, and enjoy the views. The boat ride in and of itself is stunning. For those backpacking the 17.5, you will get dropped off at Prince Creek. It was eerie to see the boat pull away, and move up-lake like the boat from Apocalypse Now. Foreboding. It was a sunny (hot) August day, but you are on Lake Chelan, you're at the beginning of a legendary hike. Adventure pumps you. Our feet move us on a happy quickstep. The trail points skyward away. Yes for most of the hike, you aren't actually along the shore. With this deep cut gorge, you don't have many flat sandy beaches to walk along. You basically walk along the side of cliff walls and atop bluffs. The lake is close, but painfully and cruelly far away. This made me curse her. But the hike IS beautiful. Those first few miles had me snapping memories and photos. I didn't want to forget Mother Nature's beauty. I'd say after 2-3 miles is when Gunner (corgi #1), expressed issues. He'd simply stubbornly stop and lay down on the (burning) trail. This was not good. We had a 12-mile day. For another mile or so, I was able to coax and scream him to continue, but by Mile 4, his Lakeshore hike was done. What to do. We stopped along the trail under one of the few shady trees. We were all sweating, fatigued, baking. I didn't know what to do. We thought of MacGyver-ing a makeshift gurney, but it woul've only lasted 17 steps. Secretly, I thought of hiking the 4 miles BACK to Prince Creek, setting up tent along the water and waiting for the next boat & calling THAT my Lakeshore hike. We were dead. We had no options. I had to be "the man". Make a decision, damn it! I did. I laid down my ~35-lb pack, I pulled out my Thermarest and gave it to my sister. This freed up space in my pack. Space for a corgi. My 35-lb pack became 70lbs. I had a corgi in a backpack. It was amazing to see how my neurotic Gunner simply let me take his overheated body and place it in my pack with absolute zero fuss. We looked funny & happy (look at the picture). We now had a way to continue. It was funny to have a doggie in my backpack. He'd watch my fellow hikers behind me, and then look over my head forward (dropping slobber on my exposed neck & shoulder). This was fine for 1-2 miles, but then the fatigue began, and my feet began to explode. My joints weren't used to this weight. My feet started blistering. Water was limited. So, I couldn't stay completely hydrated. I needed more water due to the heat, but even more due to the extra load. This is how we went. I'd hike for a mile with a doggie on my back like Luke Skywalker with Yoda on his back in "The Empire Strikes Back". Then I'd have Gunner struggle to walk for a half mile. We alternated our Hells. All the while, Gomez (corgi #2) my other corgi persevered....well for another 8miles. Then he simply stopped. No screams moved him. I now had two nearly dead corgis, and my wimpy self was wishing for a quick death. We still had a couple of miles--nothing you'd say. But for us it was eternity. If it wasn't for my sister & her upbeat-ness, I would not have made it. Then we smelled campfire smoke. We were approaching the Moore Point campsite! Still had a mile to go, but it was downhill, the end was in sight, & the day was almost over. When we made it to Moore, we set up camp & jumped into the ICY water. I decided to end our hike (we'd recuperate and catch the boat in the morning). Some angels of the hike (who helped carry a corgi for a mile earlier), gave us a small bottle of Glenlivet--a wee dram did us good. I'll never forget that evening, that hike, that heat. And, I'd do it again. No question.

This is an amazing lake in the National Forest near Leavenworth Washington. You have to take a 9…read moremile trail out and back, but it's worth the view if you're physically able.

Colchuck Lake has been on my list for YEARS and one I definitely considered a bucket list trail. I…read morefinally got the chance to do it this past weekend and it was 100% warranted as as bucket list destination. Doing some research before the hike we learned that the parking lot is pretty much full before 7am. We reached there by around 6:45am and it was entirely full and people were parking down the road. We were even as far as at least half a mile away from the actual trailhead when we actually parked, but luckily the walk is pretty flat. The beginning of the trailhead has a bathroom that will have a lengthy line in the morning, and it is gross. Just be prepared! In total, we clocked almost 9 miles round trip and it took us just shy of 7 hours. That said, we did spend about an hour at the top to take in all of the views and the experience as a whole. I knew this trail would be challenging and I'd say it was probably the second hardest I've ever done (maybe the third), with the first being Mailbox Peak. There are some incredibly tough stretches with steep rock stairs and areas where it feels like you're scrambling a ton. There are moderate breaks where the trail flattens, but it's pretty challenging the entire length of the hike. The end point, the actual lake, is entirely worth the pain and "I don't know if I can do this" moments along the way. Absolutely STUNNING. Probably the most unreal colored water I've ever seen with the shade of blue that it was. The mountains encompassing the lake look fake - literally like AI in real life or something. Truly is a great spot to find a nice rock to sit and relax to enjoy lunch and reenergize for the trek down the trail. After hitting the bottom, it was a loooong walk back to the car with us being so wiped. Much to our disappoint we also discovered that ALL of the cars parked along the road received $100 tickets from the Chelan PD, despite there being no signs that said we couldn't park along the road (just on the bridge, which we weren't on). Overall Colchuck Lake was worth the wait and I'm so glad to have seen it finally - I just don't think I'll ever do it again LOL.

We have hiked this trail many times. This last weekend we enjoyed warm weather with a cool breeze,…read moretalk about perfection! The views from the top are gorgeous, it's such a rewarding climb. Straight up on an incline, rough on the knees coming back down. Just take your time and BRING WATER! Great workout with a beautiful view. My family of 4 (2 adults 2 kids 6/8yo) hiked the entire thing in 1 hour and 10 minutes. We did NOT take any side trails and stayed on the main trail to preserve the natural habitat. Dog friendly, wear appropriate shoes for when you get to the top it's rocky in the area where the saddle rock is. Continue on past that area for a great viewing area with benches and safer photo opp areas.

The Old Pipeline trail is great for a fairly easy and close stroll in the Leavenworth area. The…read moretrail is pretty well-maintained. The bridge is very cool to walk across and see, and as a bonus there is a small little beach area along the river that our dogs very much enjoyed. Some parts of shaded in some parts of expose, so just know that if you are planning to walk this trail in the middle of a hot summer day.

Man o Man! this is a cool bridge. It is an old water pipeline carry water for steam locomotives…read moreentering a nearby tunnel. they simply cut it in half and made it a walking bridge! the trail goes on for quite a while, but would be nice if you could easily get to the waters edge. there are some great pools to float in if you could get down to them! They even have restrooms and a sandy beach on the highway side of river. don't blow by this little gem when visiting Leavenworth, you will love it!

Used this to get from Snow Lakes Trailhead to Colchuck Lakes Trailhead…read more Well worth it! They were running a little behind, but got us there in 20 minutes. The road to the trailhead can be bumpy and their vans power through. Not to mention on an August Saturday, the parking at Colchuck Lake will be full by 430, so having someone drop you off is helpful. The drivers were friendly, fun and gave good tips on conditions and the hike. FYI - parking at the Snow Lakes lot at 450 on a Saturday was full and had to park on the road.

Incredible service - they were timely, succinct, and dependable. I would recommend anyone…read moreday-hiking the Enchantments to use this shuttle service!

Trailhead not well signed and directions confusing, but we parked a mile away and had a beautiful…read morewalk to the trailhead past the lake. Highly recommended as the views on the way in were worth lingering over, including mullein so huge it looked like a saguaro cactus! We took an SUV, but saw some sedans make it past enormous potholes, so it is possible to get there in your Corolla with care, defensive driving and a bit of risk. There were some drop off's and it was hairy encountering other vehicles heading the opposite direction on the single track road, but we managed, and people were polite. The hike was gorgeous and I don't know if this is considered the end of the season or not, but it was cool and cloudy and we did encounter a rattlesnake on the trail just at the edge of the woods where it opens into the valley. It rattled and coiled at us but did not strike. Moving through the clumps of tall grass was a bit nerve wracking after that, but we swished the bushes with a stick and encountered nothing but wasps nesting in an old combine toward the edge of the valley. It was beautiful and we didn't die and we will go back and not die again.

It's not the landscape, the wildlife, the trails or the views. It's the people. Most are…read moreperfectly fine and are out there to camp, hike, and fish for the sake of the activities. However, there is a percentage that is there because it's free and remote while still being accessible to a town where they can get their drug of choice. You'll recognize them by the ancient, filthy, motorhomes. My son was hiking with his girlfriend when they were approached by one of these "campers" who asked if they had any fentanyl to sell! Wow! Is there no where to escape this scrounge? Anywhere?

Mileage: estimated about 10 miles total (2 miles to where we set up our tents, then we hiked a loop…read moreof about 6 miles, then 2 miles back to the car the next day) Backpacked: April 16-17, 2016 This past weekend a group of us did an overnight backpack trek to Ancient Lakes. 3 first timers backpacking and it turned out to be an awesome trip! We had some problems trying to find directions out to the place, so here's directions from my personal experience. Directions: we stayed in Quincy the night before, so we took the 28 to Whitetail Road. Made a left on Whitetail from the 28, then a right on road 9 NW. follow road 9 NW and it turns into Ancient Lakes Rd NW. At the end of the road, you'll find the west parking lot. I am not sure how to get to the east parking lot. There's a lot of parking here, when we got there by 11 am, it was really crowded but we still found a spot. (When you are on Whitetail Rd, it might look like you are just driving through farms, but buried in there, there's Ancient Lakes!) There is a port-o-potty at the trail head on the west side. Trail head: is well marked, we hiked in about 2 miles and got to the lakes and the rolling grass area where you can set up tent where ever. There are some man made fire rings scattered through out the area. Hiking: After we picked a spot and set up camp, we hiked a loop around the lakes. We started towards the waterfall. It was a scramble up the side of the waterfall, like a class 4 rock scramble lol. Loose rocks, loose footing. From there, we went pass that waterfall and onto the backside where the east parking lot is. Which there's another waterfall there, and there's also camp spots there too. We looped around, it wasn't too hard. We estimated this part of the hike to be around 6 miles round trip back to our tents. Lots of people camping, we counted about 50 tents, then you estimate about 2/per tent, so like 100 people were out here! But you still are able to find solitude. We came across 3 snakes, an owl, and a marmot. Easy trek, not very hilly at all. Good for first time backpackers. The area can be explored in a day. I found this site useful: https://www.theoutbound.com/washington/backpacking/ancient-lakes-day-hike-or-backpack

I am in love the the Lake Ingalls hike! My friend and I arrived at the trailhead Sunday morning…read morejust before 8 a.m. and already counted 120 cars at the trailhead. We parked about 0.3 miles from the trailhead. Cars lined both sides of the narrow road, despite a sign indicating for folks to only park on one side. There were some very questionable parking jobs on edges and cliffs. There was a small line waiting for the one toilet, which was not stocked with toilet paper (don't forget to bring your own + hand sanitizer). There were a couple surprises I had after reading other trip reports. The first one was that the road up to the trailhead was not bad at all. Sure, it was a little bumpy and there were a few potholes to watch out for, but it was seriously nothing compared to other trailheads I've been on. A sedan can easily make it up to the top with no problem. The second thing I found different than the trip reports was the level of difficulty. WTA rates this hike as expert, and I thought it was nowhere near expert. It really was a nice gradual incline with some rock scrambling at the top. Plus, there's beautiful sights to see the entire way up, so it was very pleasant. The trail was packed, but once my friend and I started hiking, we slowly spaced out from the others. Everyone we encountered was super kind and courteous. The only downside we had from the people was that this is a trail that does not allow dogs, and there were several we encountered (including one off leash who ran up to my friend and was a little nippy). There was also fresh dog poop right on the trail an owner had left behind. The lake at the top wasn't too busy. There were plenty of spots to sit to grab a bite to eat and admire the view. After the initial descent from the lake where there's a lot of rock scrambling and questioning if you're still on the trail (there's multiple ways up through the rocks, so just keep going and look for cairns), it's a steady decline that's easy on the knees. I will definitely be back!

This is about a 10 mile total hike. I'm not a very experienced hiker, so it too me a while to get…read moreup there. My boyfriend and I camped up at the top too. Up to the top, it's quite easy as in the trail and the incline should be fine if you have hiked a lot. At some point up the trail, it gets a little narrow and steep way down if you're not careful. Bless my boyfriend for carrying my camping bag too. At the top, there's a camp ground. It's near a river if you want to get water. There's also a toilet! It's a wooden box and it's a great view to take a dump at. From the campsite, it's about 1 mile to the lake at the top. There are cairn stacks along the way to reach the lake. Without following it, I'm sure you can still find it, but with it, it shows you an easy route to climb. The lake itself is very clear and very cold! I went in August and there was still some snow! There are also mountain goats! I found the best time to see them is in the morning. They come near the camp site too! I heard a baby mountain goat crying for it's mom too. It was so cool seeing them so close! You can see where they have even around since their fur gets caught on the branches.

6/11: Went to Pearrygin Lake for the first time with my kids and my sister, it was amazing to be…read morethere. Restrooms in day use were very clean and well stocked, and I appreciated the swimming area coned off away from boaters so my kids could swim safely. What I wanted to give the biggest shout out to is the staff. Particularly the staff member in the front office she was very kind and welcoming. Also the gentleman mowing the grass I believe he said his name was Griffin. My son approached him and he shut off the mower and answered every question that was asked. He was so polite and kind to my son it made his day. I definitely want to come back especially if Griffin is there, he really went out of his way to be nice and kind to my son even though that he was busy. Very good guest service.

Great small lake and park near Winthrop. Part of the lake is well-maintained and landscaped and…read morethere are plenty of tables and spots to have a picnic. Large, clean restrooms too. There is a swimming area sectioned off, and it would be a great spot for boating. Definitely a nice picturesque spot while in the North Cascades.

The views on this hike warrant a five star review for sure! Loads of waterfalls, mountains, and of…read morecourse trees and flowers to see on this route up to Rachel Lake. The problem? Not a clear trail at all. My hiking group and I found ourselves asking, "Is this trail?", numerous times on this extremely strenuous seemingly endless uphill trek to the lake. Now, granted, some of our group was in better shape than others and managed the physicality of the trail better than others but still we all agreed it was extremely hard. First you drive up a gravel road approximately 6 miles to get to the parking lot. One bathroom is available there which wasn't too gross. Once you enter the trail it starts heading up. And up and up and up. It is seemingly endless. I believe it about 4 plus miles up. The trail starts out fairly marked and easy to follow. Then it doesn't. Unfortunately I got separated from my group for a good portion of this hike due to my attempt to stay with the "faster" ladies, lol. I just kept going up. Thank goodness a few other people passed me to let me know I was on the right track. No trail at all really for a good portion and I merely followed a dry creek trail. Extremely rocky and loads of bushwhacking. I had to stop every five to ten feet to catch my breath. The steepness reminded me of a hike in Big Sur called Garrapata which after I competed that one I said I would never do again, lol. Now to the good parts of the hike. Gorgeous scenery beyond words! Loads of amazing waterfalls as you are following a creek flowing from a lake high above. The lake was outstandingly beautiful. I took a quick dip in the icy water at the top! Quickly it changed my outlook on the hike and cooled me off. Will I do it again? Maybe, but next time. I will bring more snacks for the hike that give me energy. I will start out slower and take more frequent deliberate breaks. And please please don't forget your mosquito repellent! Also, long pants as a large portion of this hike you go through tall grasses and overgrowth. I consider myself an experienced hiker when I was in CA, but here in WA, I am a beginner for sure. Stay hydrated and go at your own pace. This is worth it at least once. SYOY and No FOMO for me here! Lol.

Lake Rachel is a great hike if you're looking for a beautiful end view and lots of fun sights along…read morethe way. Unfortunately, the trail is not marked well and we went off path and up towards different falls a couple times but going off trail was worth it for the extra couple views we saw! Be prepared to get your feet wet and be careful climbing over the slippery rocks.