Ranking: 3/5 It’s a long slog through old growth forest to finally reach the pay-off, which is spectacular ridge top views of iconic Mt. Rainier, but once on top, all the effort fades away, as you drink in awesome long distance views of your surroundings, including long distance vistas of the North Cascades. During fall, the colors pop, and provide a beautiful Joseph’s coat of color, highlighting the treeless ridge around Noble Knob and pretty George Lake. The return trip downhill from Corral Pass through Echo Lake, is a long hike through deep woods, with relatively little to look at, other than forest canopy.
Difficulty:6/10 The only thing that keeps this from a “5”, is the fact that the last day, (if you choose to do it that way) is over 15 miles, mostly through forest. The trails are well marked and easy to follow, especially as you get closer to the large lakes. Other than that, this is a pretty straight forward hike, the only place that you will have to watch for, is the cut-off to George Lake, as it’s an Elk trail.
Getting Here: Take I-5N towards Tacoma, and turn right on exit 127 to merge onto WA 512E towards Puyallup, and stay on 512E for 11.9 miles. Stay in the right lane, as you will briefly merge onto WA 167N towards WA 410E Seattle/Yakima. Stay in the right lane for 1.1 miles, and it will veer right onto WA 410E to Sumner/Yakima. Stay on WA 410E for the rest of the way, another 15.6 miles to Enumclaw. Drive through the town of Enumclaw, and continue on WA 410E for another 20.3 miles to Greenwater Road #70. It’s the first left hand turn past the Greenwater Fire dept. building, on the outskirts of the town of Greenwater. Follow road #70 another 9.6 miles to the trail sign, on right hand side of road, Greenwater Lakes trail #1176. The road is paved to the parking lot, and there is a vault toilet at the trailhead.
Maps:Again, since there doesn’t seem to any one good option, we used My Topo.com, as our guide. From this website, you can print your own map, which will be specifically tailored for your hike.
Permits: will need a Northwest Forest Pass, or equivalent to park at TH, and need to Self-register at TH.
Lost Lake, Echo Lake Added 4-13-2011
Our last overnighter for the season, and it feels as if the door is being slammed shut on the hiking season…With cooler temps, rain, and fog during most of the season, it feels as if summer never really arrived. Or, if it did, it was a whirlwind affair, just breezing through between the seasons. This last hike will include Brian, his dog, Merci, and I, for an overnighter into the Norse Peak Wilderness, for a loop hike that will pass many lakes. And miles…Unbeknownst to us at the time, as I “miscalculated” the total mileage for this trip.
Day 1
3300ft gain/315ft loss. 8 miles. Since this is so close to home, we were able to leave the house around 9:00am, and still arrive at the trailhead a little after 10:00am. Nice! The weather is promising to improve, (at least according to the weatherman), even though the day is starting out cool, damp, and gray. A few showers pelt the windshield on the way to the trail, and we hope this isn’t indicative of what’s to come…The beginning of the hike is smooth, and the trail winds through old growth forest in a gradual uphill to the first lakes along this trek, Greenwater Lakes, a duo of small proportions, that are popular in the summer, for their close proximity to the trailhead, and shallow depths, easily heated by the sun. Today, however, they are vacant, and the only sound we hear is the call of songbirds.
“…We trudge onward like zombies to Lost Lake…”
At the farthest of the two lakes, there are several log footbridges that span the Greenwater River, that feed the lakes, and beyond. It’s more of a creek, really, but after the last foot bridge before continuing up, are pretty rapids cascading down over moss covered rocks, a theme that will repeat itself all along its length. Much of the trail, until the “Y” intersection where we bear right towards Lost Lake, will follow its meandering path, and if not visual contact, then definitely within earshot. After the right turn, the way continues upwards, at a moderate pace, and there still isn’t much to see except the trees, and the occasional mushroom dotting the sides of the trail. I keep my eyes peeled for edibles, and it helps to curb the boredom. Since Brian and I are going on 2 hours sleep, it’s a challenge to keep the mind focused on what we’re doing. We trudge onward like zombies to Lost Lake. Once we reach its shores, we drop our packs, and eat something, needing a quick break.
Lost Lake is calm, and its smooth surface reflects the surrounding hillsides, the image broken occasionally by a fish going airborne momentarily. Small ringlets spread out to mark the spot like a bull’s-eye where the fish made its re-entry. Looking skyward, we are glad to see that the weather seems to be clearing, and an occasional sliver of blue pokes out from under the blanket of gray sky. Hopefully, the trend will continue. Shouldering our loads once again, we follow the trail to the far end of the lake, and then begin a more challenging hike upwards, for the next 1.2 miles it continues relentlessly up, to gain the top of the ridgeline. Forest gives way to sparser alpine firs, huckleberry brush, and bear grass in abundance. The clearings provide us an opportunity to look further, towards the opposite ridge, turning golden colors to indicate the changing of the seasons. Finally, we top out on the Noble Knob ridgeline, and even under cloud cover, we can see for miles northward, towards the spiny ridgelines along the North Cascades range, snow covering many of the higher mountains still.
“…like a hitchhikers thumb is the namesake for this ridge, Noble Knob….”
Looking west from our location here, the dominant rock formation sticking up like a hitchhikers thumb is the namesake for this ridge, Noble Knob. We’re getting close now! Planning from home, using Google Earth, and poring over map detail, it appears there was a small lake just over a saddle at the base of the knob that looked promising for our nights’ stay, called George Lake. There is no official trail, but I had was sure that those who had gone before us, would have beaten some kind of path to its shoreline. I marked possible ways down on the GPS unit, and as soon as we neared our first “POI”, we could see that this was close to the low point of the saddle.
“…if the clouds were just a little lower, they would have been torn open, like a tire on a spike strip…”
So, up we went, and from the top of the saddle, we weren’t disappointed. Below us, was a small alpine lake, ringed by crimson berry brush, and green trees. Very beautiful. From its bowl, you could see the prominent features of northern mountains, pinnacles of sharp peaks that just seemed to brush the lower cloud level, it seemed as if the clouds were just a little lower, they would have been torn open, like a tire on a spike strip. There was a trail leading down to the water’s edge, and it was easy to follow, only it wasn’t fellow hikers that had blazed the trail, it was elk. Obviously, this was a favorite haunt of theirs, off the beaten path, the trail a series of hoof prints, beating out a dirt track through the shrubbery. Once at the water’s edge, we could see that people had camped here before, fire rings at the prime spots and logs set around them, to provide fireside seats. A small spit of rock juts out in the middle of the lake, creating a kidney shape, and it was on this point, that we made camp.
Our weary feet and backs were relieved to drop the load. The lake is shallow, at its deepest it might come up to chest level, but the majority of the lake is no more than 3 feet deep. I take several pictures, wanting to capture the blazing reds and yellows of fall reflected off the surface of the lake. With no wind, it’s as smooth as glass, and creates a perfect mirror. At first, I’m delighted to see fish jumping, (since I finally brought a pole), so I wet some gear, in hopes of landing the big one…After twenty casts, and closer scrutiny of the jumpers, it’s obvious that they are so small, the lure I’m using might be as big as they are. Foiled again. We tend to bigger matters now, like securing firewood, and pitching camp. Brian has to watch Merci with an eagle eye, for she constantly wants to wade into the water. She minds well, but any unwatched opportunity, she’s looking to get wet.
We’re done eating by 6:30 or so, and start a fire, as the temperatures starting to drop, and the wind’s beginning to pick up. We fight sleep until 9:00, watching the comforting flames consume our ration of firewood, (ok, more like dead sticks and branches), until we can fight it no longer, and turn in. The 3 of us are kept company by the windblown fly, and the full moon. It’s like sleeping under a street light. No worries, though, we’re glad to see clear skies, and are hopeful that tomorrow will bring more of the same.
Day 2
1227ft gain/4189ft loss. 15.25 miles. Yes, that’s right. 15.25 miles. I wouldn’t really realize it though, until I was home, and downloaded the GPS data. I knew it was a long day, (we spent 7 hours hiking without stopping, never once dropping our packs), for I felt hobbled once we finally arrived back at the truck. I practically threw my pack into the back of his truck, wanting nothing more than to be rid of its weight.
“…The ridge line here is resplendent in scarlet hues, mixed with gold’s, and it creates a patchwork quilt of colors…”
Blue sky! Amazing, really, I have a hard time remembering when I awoke to blue sky this year in the backcountry! There, atop the ridgeline, was the full moon, not having completely disappeared yet below the ridgeline, and I get some good pictures of the moon before it dips down out of sight. We eat breakfast, break camp, and head back the way we came. This time, we follow the game trail until it crosses the trail, making for an easier descent. The ridgeline here is resplendent in scarlet hues, mixed with gold’s, and it creates a patchwork quilt of colors, the early morning sun lighting it up as if it were on fire. Very beautiful, and it covers most of the open ground along the ridgeline here, until we reach our trail junction that takes us along the backside of the connecting ridgeline between Noble Knob, and Mutton Mt.
Once again, we enter trees, but it’s a flat hike for the next mile or so. Peeking through the trees, we can see the mountain is out, fresh snow adorns its flanks and against the cloudless blue sky, it’s an impressive sight, we’re close enough to see all the crevasses in the glaciers. The trail here is well maintained, and soft dirt is welcome underfoot. We reach another trail junction, and it’s here that we get full on, unobstructed views of Mt. Rainier to our southwest. It’s a rare day to see it out like this, and I make sure to get as many shots of it as I can. The trail takes us along the backside of Mutton Mt. and we pass at least 20 or 30 people, taking full advantage of the beautiful views.
It’s Saturday, and one can drive to corral pass, making this an easy day hike, for there is little elevation gain/loss from here to the pass. Again, the bright, fiery reds are stark contrast against the blue sky, and pristine white of the mountain. Once past Corral Pass, we really begin our downhill and it switchbacks down to the beginnings of Greenwater River, Lost Lake collects the tributaries that flow out of the valleys above, to help form its beginnings. The trail follows the river as it flows downstream from there, collecting steam as it continues to be fed from small streams flowing down clefts in the wooded ridgelines above us. It’s hard to see, as this part of the trail is through dense old growth.
“…Now, it’s just a mindless hump to get home, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other…”
The first real clearing we see, since our descent from Corral Pass, is at Echo Lake, a large woodland lake, with grassy fields at the southern edge. Stock use this trail as well, so there is a horse camp around the middle of the lake, at the northern edge, is a small backpacker’s camp. We never once encountered bikes, or horses on this trip, and from Corral Pass, to here, not one other backpacker, either. We continue our downward trek through old growth forest, occasionally meeting up with the river, for the next 3.34 miles. By the time we reach the “Y”, and our final stretch home, I’m exhausted already, not realizing the amount of miles we’ve already travelled. Now, it’s just a mindless hump to get home, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. By the time we reach the truck, (as I said before), I thought my legs were going to fall off, and I could not wait to get the pack off of my back. Even Merci, who constantly ran back and forth, running out ahead, then back to Brian, looked bushed. Within minutes of climbing in the truck, she was racked out.
It was a great hike, even including the exhaustion. The fact that we got to see some pretty country along with great weather, (for a change), only helped to highlight this hike. And, it gave me some new ideas on where to go, for there are many trails and ridgelines to explore in this part of the Snoqualmie-Mt. Baker national forest.