Having scrapped our six day backpacking trip in favor of a single day loop of Grindstone Mountain, I hoped to fill my final day off with one more hike before getting back into the swing of things at work. Kris also had the day off and he invited his friend Cole to join in on our plans. Ever since Kris and I hiked the Evergreen Mountain Lookout Trail I have been wanting to bag more Washington State Fire Lookout Towers. Their history is so rich and each one has it’s own unique look and story to tell. My first lookout tower that I climbed to was on Granite Mountain halfway up Snoqualmie Pass and I’ve slowly been knocking them off the list. Hidden Lake Lookout brings my total to six.
A staircase through the forest.
Heading up the drainage of the East Fork of Sibley Creek.
We began our day around 6:45am, picking up Kris at his house in Kirkland, and then Cole at a Park & Ride in Bothell. We made great time heading north on the freeway and started making our way east at Arlington, onto Darrington, Rockport, and then Marblemount. Turning off onto the Cascade River Road, the drive takes on a tunnel-like feel as the forest closes in and we get further away from civilization. About 16 miles in and we make the left hand turn for NF-1540 which is an extremely narrow and steep forest service road. We get to the parking lot as another party is loading up for an overnight stay in the lookout. We chat for a brief moment and then hurry up the trail. “Cya, at the top” one of the guys says…We beat them to the top and were on our way down after spending an hour in the lookout before we saw them…
Cole and Kris traversing the eastern slopes of Hidden Lake Peaks above the creek drainage.
Little Devil Peak awash in clouds.
The hike is roughly 8 miles according to a WTA resource and gains 3,300 ft. in the process. The trail begins in forest, following rocky switchbacks and intermittent wooden stairs before it opens up in the drainage of the East Fork of Sibley Creek. Fall colors were super vibrant; the red, yellows, and oranges of all shades smeared across the hillside like a oil painting. At this point visibility is looking bleak and is later confirmed to be little to none by some passing hikers who spent the previous night in the lookout. We stayed optimistic for a break in the clouds as we pushed on in the mist.
Looking down the trail to the jagged ridgeline between Little Devil and Dorado Needle.
As we exited the vegetation rich area of the creek drainage we entered an moonscape of granite boulders. The trail meandered through the alpine before gaining more elevation to a notch between two highpoints on a ridge. Through the haze the lookout could be seen high above, perched on a tower of granite blocks, impossible to ascend without climbing gear…or so it seemed. We continued up the boulder field, following cairns until we reached the notch. Hidden Lake lies several hundred feet below in a high cirque overlooking nothing but clouds and air. Such a long drive to not be rewarded with some of the best views in the North Cascades (or so I’ve heard, and read). Eldorado, Forbidden, Boston, Sahale, Johannesburg. These are some of the most striking and imposing peaks the Cascades have to offer. Mountains that I aspire to climb in the future (West Ridge of Forbidden Peak please!). Oh well, all the more reason to plan a return trip in the future. As we leave the notch towards the lookout itself I spot the climbers trail that leads to the true summit, the 7,088 ft. North Peak. Another reason to come back, to bag the proper summit.
North Cascades National Park border.
Kris is ready to scramble the granite boulders to the top.
Cole and Kris arriving at the lookout tower.
Hidden Lake Lookout
The traverse above the Hidden Lake cirque is a bit of a scramble, with trails and boot paths going in a myriad of directions. Cole stayed high on the ridge with Kris close behind, while I somehow got way too low and ended having to do some mantling over precarious boulders and tip toe traversing on crumbly gravel ledges. Probably not the standard route because I would not have felt comfortable with an overnight pack on. The scrambling was short however, and the final ridge to the lookout was a piece of cake. We boulder hopped over stones ranging in size from microwaves, to cars, to house.
Chillin’ in the fire lookout with Cole and Kris.
Summit of Hidden Lake Peaks (South Peak), 6890 ft.
Cole surveying Hidden Lake on the way down back down to the notch.
Kris on the descent into the Hidden Lake basin.
We had the lookout all to ourselves and had a nice lunch out of the cold wind, bummed about the views but stoked about our new temporary home. After taking some pictures and snacking on Rice Krispies we laughed at some of the achieved register entries left by previous guests and signed our own names before locking up the door cover and heading back down the ridge. We finally ran into the two overnight dudes, back at the notch and let them know the lookout was all theirs. We passed more day hikers and one more guy caring an overnight pack before got back to the Forester parked at the trailhead. It seems that the past three fire lookouts that I have visited have been with less than optimal visibility. Pilchuck Mountain last year with Kris, Julia, and Vernon was also socked in, and our trip last week to Evergreen Mountain was pea soup. Fingers crossed for the next fire lookout tower that I decide to visit.
Spider Mountain from the boulder fields on the descent.
A stand of thin alpine trees.
Northwest Blazer 