Tapto Lakes - Aug. 17-21, 2021
This year, I decided to apply for advance permits in the North Cascades. Usually, advance reservations aren’t necessary if you have flexibility in your schedule (and especially if you have weekday availability), but I decided why not? The plan was to do Copper Ridge and then check out Tapto Lakes; I ended up scoring permits for Silesia Camp, Graybeal Camp, and Tapto XC zone in that order. My friend Holly joined in and we were psyched for a trip to a place that had been on both of our bucket lists for a while now.
A few weeks before our entry date, the Bear Creek Fire broke out (allegedly human-caused) and put our trip in jeopardy. The fire was right along the Chilliwack River trail which was later closed down from the junction with Brush Creek all the way to the junction with the Copper Ridge Trail. The rangers worked with us to modify our itinerary so the rough plan was to spend the first night at Hannegan Pass (outside the National Park boundary and therefore not requiring a permit), the second night at Graybeal, and then the third and fourth nights at Tapto Lakes. The ranger we spoke to was skeptical that we would be able to hike from Tapto Lakes back to the trailhead in a single day and pushed us to add an extra night at Copper Creek camp. We assented and decided that we would probably not use it and just call them on the last day after we got back to the trailhead.
Under stormy skies, we finally got underway in the afternoon of the 17th. It had rained most of the day and was lightly drizzling on the trail. The high humidity and layers of waterproof clothing made the going very slow, but we knew we only had 5-6 miles to cover. We quickly filtered water and then slogged all of our gear up to Hannegan Peak and set up camp. At sunset, the clouds began to break a little bit and we got a spectacular light show (I’m not used to having such luck so it was a nice change of pace). By morning, the clouds had cleared completely and we were feeling optimistic about the rest of the trip.
We dropped down into the Chilliwack River Valley and made good time down to the cable car crossing (a real treat!) and then around Easy Ridge to Graybeal Camp. We both remarked how dry and hot the trail here was – a tunnel through some truly dense brush (side note: the 2022 Brush Creek Fire along this trail has burned nearly 800 acres so far and closed down the entirety of the Copper Ridge Loop plus the Hannegan Pass trail and access to Whatcom Pass from both the west and the east). The trail itself was in great condition since it was brushed out.
Challenger Glacier in hideous condition after the heat waves of 2021.
On the 19th, we started up towards Whatcom Pass in the early morning and passed two women descending who said they saw a bear on the trail. We didn’t see it but did run into a backcountry ranger who checked our permits. We took a long break at the pass and scoped out the route up Whatcom Peak’s north ridge. The plan was to set up camp at Tapto Lakes and then scramble later in the day, but we were both exhausted and could see clouds building on the south side of the summit. We decide to skip the peak altogether which was probably the smart decision since the summit never came out of the clouds for the rest of the trip.
After setting up camp, Holly took a nap while I went to explore some of the tarns around Tapto Lakes. Conditions were very moody and I think I captured some pretty wild photos on this trip. We unfortunately didn’t get much of a sunset (nor a sunrise/set the next day). The next day, the clouds were lower and everything above the toe of Challenger Glacier was socked in. I ambled over to Middle Lakes while Holly spent time at camp. I’m sure the views would be great in better conditions. That night, it rained the hardest I think I’ve ever seen it rain in the backcountry in the middle of summer.
We grudgingly got a very early start the next day since we knew we had 21 miles to cover and it would likely take us 12 hours. The descent from Tapto Lakes was wet. Our shoes and pants were drenched in a matter of minutes due to the sopping wet brush from the rain. We made sure to take plentiful breaks and made good time along the river and back up to Hannegan Pass. At this point, my left knee really started to bother me; I felt a stabbing pain behind the knee every time I took a step downhill. I think I was initially moving a quarter of a mile an hour with plenty of breaks. I’d never experienced pain like this on the trail before and wasn’t sure what the cause was. After an agonizingly long break and learning to adjust my gait, I hobbled back to the car in just under 12 hours.
Unfortunately, the misery didn’t end there. I began to feel really nauseous shortly after we left the trailhead. The winding forest road didn’t help matters one bit. Eventually, Holly pulled over and I dry heaved into a potato chip bag. I got some dramamine at a pharmacy and then we finally got on the way back to Seattle. I’m pretty certain this was due to dehydration and low electrolytes after a very long day. I do also think my knee would have been in better condition had I been well hydrated and not low on electrolytes. My knee would go on to bother me for the rest of the year and I had to go to physical therapy for help (it ended up being a very tight hamstring causing the knee pain).
Not to end this post on an even worse note, but apparently I didn’t learn my lesson in 2021 because I experienced a severe electrolyte imbalance issue this summer. I hadn’t hiked at all since October 2021 and decided Sourdough Mountain (10 miles RT, 5100 ft of gain) would be a good way to shock my body back into shape. Reader, it was not a good idea. The day was hot and I definitely didn’t eat enough food, drink enough water, or load up on enough electrolytes. I felt fine for most of the hike and even once I got back to my car. When I was on the road in Arlington, I felt my whole body start to tingle (the same way you feel when a limb falls asleep) from head to toe. I pulled over immediately and the tingling got worse until I felt the muscles in my hands and chest involuntarily contract. This went on for about five minutes and some kind strangers pulled over and gave me some snacks and a drink. Overall a pretty scary experience. Now I carry Salt Stick chews and a large amount of electrolyte gels whenever I hike and have not had any issues on similar hikes in similar conditions.
In any case, I’d love to get back to Tapto Lakes and perhaps check out Sublime Ridge some day soon.
