ALPINE LAKES HIGH ROUTE | Big Heart Lake to Tank Lake | Not a hike for the faint of heart (3 nights)
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- čas přidán 13. 09. 2024
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4 days in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness of Washington! A big loop from the West Fork Foss trailhead to the Necklace Valley trailhead (and a several mile road walk back to our car at the West Fork Foss th). Off-trail for the portion from Chetwoot Lakes until Tank Lakes, via Iron Cap Mountain high ridge traverse.
It was hard to find detailed online info about the route before we did it. This route is not for the faint of heart! There is actually a lower route around the base of Iron Cap that is still difficult/not on-trail, but it's much less exposed/less risk of falling than the high ridge traverse we chose.
At 2:30 I explain my trout fishing setup at Big Heart Lake.
Leave me a comment if you have any questions!
Cheers,
Kayla
Off trail makes you appreciate the magical qualities of a smooth trail! ✨️
I really enjoyed this and the ways you gave us information
Ain't that the truth! Lol!
Thank you so much. I imagine a lot of people struggle with that route. It was hard to find good info about it before, so I was really hoping my video might at least help a few people stay out of trouble out there 😅😂
Great video. I've been in that area a few times and the terrain can be challenging but very rewarding. Good advice on your takaways. I'd also add that it can be very helpful to download a gps track and get beta from others who have done similar routes in the area. It can save you a lot in finding the best route and you can get an idea for the amount of time it takes to move through the area.
Thanks for checking it out! At the time I could only find gpx tracks for a couple other people who did the same high ridge traverse over Iron Cap; it was hard to find much beta on the routes through there. This trip really improved my ability to read terrain maps though... the maps lie sometimes! 🤣🤠
Awesome video overview and great insights about the trail. Thank you for the trail Beta. You rock!
Thank you! Cheers! 🤙
Wow, great job Kayla. Thank you for sharing. My friend and I did did the Chetwood Lakes - stopped at the atrium between Big Heart and Angeline then returned back. It took us 12 hs.
Thanks a hard core hike!!!
This one is on my must do list! Last August ( 2022) I managed to score a 5 day Core permit. It had been 35 years since I had been back in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. This year I'll be pounding a lot of dirt there. Thanks for the vid!
Hi, enjoyed the video.
Me and my friends are planning to do this hike in one day. We’re gonna camp the night before and start hiking at 3 am with headlamps from west foss trailhead. Any advice?
The whole hike, as in you're doing a loop and exiting at the Necklace Valley trailhead? Or just an out-and-back from the West Fork Foss trailhead? I do not recommend attempting this whole big loop in one day. It took us 3+ days, even though we are in good shape.
@@kayla_sulak The whole hike as in the entire loop. We are planning for an 18+ hour hike starting at 3 am and ending around 8-9pm. We are going to have one car parked at the West Fork Ross trailhead and another one in Necklace Valley trailhead to cut down a couple miles.
Dang that's a heck of a day! My main advice would be to stay low and travel outside of the Iron Cap Lake basin, to get around Iron Cap... Unless you're specifically wanting to bag the Iron Cap summit. If you traverse OVER Iron Cap, you'll have to lose all that elevation gain and drop back down to the valley floor again, then go way back up yet again to get to Tank Lakes. The reason for that is because of "Iron Cap Gap" which is impassable without rock climbing gear, otherwise you could just hike down the shoulder of Iron Cap from the summit instead of going back down to the valley floor to get around it. Le sigh! Anyways, have fun and be safe out there
Did that dude hike the whole thing in flip-flops? LOL..
Haha. Yeah... The worst part is that he had shoes strapped to his backpack the entire time, but he insisted on wearing the flip flops instead 🤷♀️😂
@@kayla_sulak what a legend..
Let me try this hike out this summer. Do you know approximately when is the trailhead accessible?
The trailhead might be accessible already (?) as it starts out at pretty low elevation. Once you get up into the hills, there could be snow til late June or early July. Some people say the portion to get around Iron Cap Mtn is easier when there is still snowpack (with appropriate gear-- spikes/crampons, maybe an ice ax), because there's a lot of slippery scree/gravel when the snow is gone. It's a heck of a trek. Bring a friend and/or an emergency GPS beacon if you can