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WHIDBEY ISLAND  WASHINGTON  USA

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SNOW KING LAKE

     This is my favorite place in the North Cascades.  That is extremely high praise considering the awesome beauty of the North Cascades, but this is truly a wondrous place.  I have been to Snow King Lake four times, the first in 1993.  That time I was with four other guys doing the entire Found Lakes Circuit. My next trip was solo.  I had planned a trip with my son and one of his friends.  At the last moment, they backed out and my heart was set on going.  It was a great trip but lonely and very wet.  The morning after walking in I was awakened by rain drumming on the roof of my tent.  That is a beautiful sound but only if you have a really good tent and raingear.  The tent was great, but I felt that my raingear was too heavy and left it home: bad mistake.  I got wet but had an enjoyable trip nonetheless.  The next year we made the trip as planned the previous year and the boys loved the place.  This last summer 2001, I made the trip again with my beautiful wife. She has loved hiking and packpacking since our first try nearly 30 years ago but sadly has not been able to get out much in the last few years. We had planned to hike the 93 mile Wonderland Trail, encircling Mount Rainier but had to change our plans at the last minute.  She wasn't sure she wanted to try Snow King after hearing all my descriptions of hardships on the trail but finally agreed to tackle it.

     She is a lot stronger than she thinks!  She carried a forty-one pound backpack up that mountain!  That is a workout for anyone, including experienced hikers.  I was prouder than a hog in a mud-wrestling match.  There isn't a trail anywhere in the North Cascades she needs to fear now.  She went toe-to-toe with the worst of 'em and emerged bruised, scratched, mosquito bitten, and bone weary, but victorious.  And that is something to brag about.

     This hike qualifies as one of the most strenuous, physically demanding outings I have ever done.  The trail is unbelievably steep, qualifying more as a climb than a hike, and on the ascent, it seems endless.  Then it flip-flops and plunges back down just as steeply and just as endlessly.  And that's just the half.  Back up you go again, climbing boulders, pushing through brush, and slogging through bogs.  It is a wonderful experience. The difficulty of the trip is one of its most appealing prospects.  A minimum of three days is required for proper enjoyment, adequate rest, and exploration, and more time is better.  The trail is a bit difficult to follow in some places so be careful to not get lost.  On the way you will pass Found Lake, the first and most often used camp.  Another four hundred foot climb brings you to Skaro Lake, then Neori Lake.  A short climb over the ridge and the trail plummets straight down to the basin containing Snow King Lake.  By plummet, I mean that the trail turns so steeply downward that plummeting is exactly what it would be exceedingly easy for the hiker to do.  Once the treacherous part is past, it is another 50 feet of steep descent to the floor of the basin and what has to qualify as one of the most beautiful mountain lakes imaginable.  The camp at Snow King is the best wilderness camp I have ever inhabited.  The camp area is on a peninsula built up from years of glacial silt deposit, is soft underfoot, and makes for an amazingly comfortable sleep even without a pad.

     A beautiful meadow above the lake is very much worth a visit.  There is no official name attached to the meadow but on my first trip it was unofficially christened "MinikoValley." I won't elaborate. An energetic climber can walk the length of the meadow along Found Creek past the wide glacier smoothed flank of Snow King Mountain, to the saddle between Found and Otter Creek drainages, and unsurpassed views of the rugged North Cascades.  Just follow Found Creek up from Snow King Lake, veering to the left, for the climb into the meadow. Another approach to the meadow is to climb the talus just beyond the widest part of the lake to a fabulous view over the meadow to Snow King Mountain.  Another side trip very much worth the effort is a trip to Cyclone Lake.  It will take about 1.5 hours with a light daypack to make the climb.  Cyclone Lake is a wonderful place.  The approach along the outlet creek is very steep and rocky.  There is a trail marked out with surveyor's tape.  At the top you will pass through a notch and enter the cirque at lake level.  It is a grand view that awaits!  PJ and I spent a couple hours at Cyclone Lake having lunch, taking a refreshing wade in the creek, and enjoying the mountain air.  It was marvelous.

     Fishing in Snow King Lake has been fantastic every time I have been there.  The lake is full of hungry cutthroat and rainbow trout.  I'm not telling here what they bite but I will say you don't have to pack a lot of rigging. I have never been skunked in Snow King.  The traditional times for fishing are best, dawn and dusk, but the turquoise water hides the fish well enough so that fishing is productive all day long.  Found Creek descends directly from glaciers on the flank of Snow King Mountain, thus the water is the milky blue color rather than the more often seen crystal blue.  I have not tried flyfishing but I bet it would be marvelous and there is room for casting.  

     The trailhead is not marked on any Forest Service map I have seen.  The Green Trails Version maps show the area very well though and should provide sufficient information for an enjoyable trip.  Drive up SR 20, the North Cascades Highway, to Marblemount.  Turn right, cross the bridge, and drive up the Cascade River about 15 miles to road 1570.  Continue to road end and find trailhead on left.  Enjoy!