Welcome to Strongbow's Northwest Hiking first blog post. I am looking to share some great hikes that I have done in the Pacific Northwest. This trip report is for the hike, Hidden Lake Lookout, which is located just outside the North Cascades National Park near Marblemount, Washington. Let's start out with the stats of the hike.
Stats:
8.0 miles, roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3300 ft.
Highest Point: 6900 ft.
Directions:
Co-ordinates: 48.5148, -121.2152
Drive to Marblemount, Washington which is on Hwy 20. When the road goes thorugh town it will turn sharply to the left, instead of going left with highway 20, go straight on to Cascade River Road. Drive down this road and start looking for FS 1540 after around 9 miles. You will see a sign for hidden valley road (FS 1540). Drive up this road, which was a bit rugged, for about 4.5 miles to the end which is where the trailhead starts.
Trip Report:
I hiked this at the end of summer in 2017. North Cascades National park is filled with large mountains and glaciers. It is also a bit of a hidden gem as is not as popular as man national parks but it has some great hikes and scenery. This hike starts out going through dense forest. You will soon climb out of the forest into the open and amazing views will start to open up.
Grind up this section of the trail while enjoying the views and beauty of the mountain. You will eventually start to peak out as it becomes very rocky.
Once you get to this section you can barely make out the lookout on top of the rocks.
The next section of the trail to the lookout is a bit of a scramble. Nothing too difficult, just watch where you step and work your way up the rocks. There are a couple of marked out paths going up.
When you get to the top you have a 360 degree view of the area. You also get a great view of hidden lake. If you plan on camping you can actually stay in the lookout. It is a first come first serve basis.
Please comment about the hike and post pictures if you have any.
