Rampart Ridge by Alta Mountain via Lake Lillian / 壁壘脊

Home > Trips > Rampart Ridge by Alta Mountain via Lake Lillian / 壁壘脊

Rampart Ridge by Alta Mountain is a long ridgeline in Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The impressive ridge surrounds many notable lakes, including Rachel Lake. Moreover, the most direct way to reach it is from the south via Lake Lillian.

See more trip photos here.

Check out this post for Rampart Ridge in Pasayten Wilderness.

Rampart Ridge at a Glance

Access: NF-4832
Round Trip: 6.7 miles
Elevation Range: 3480′-5870′
Gear: microspikes, snowshoes, ice ax
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes

The Preface

The weather looked iffy this morning, so I wanted to stay close to home. After sifting through the area’s options, I decided on Rampart Ridge at the last minute. It’s also a place I haven’t been since I first saw it a decade ago.

We somehow missed the alarm this morning and ended up three hours behind schedule. But as we went over Snoqualmie Pass, I decided to ditch plan A and turned the car around.

See more trip photos here.

Road 4832

I last drove on Road 4832 on our way to Mount Margaret. Since we were in an SUV back then, the shallow snow wasn’t much of a concern. It looked like most people come up here during the high season. So I knew we wouldn’t get very far.

The decent roadway had some potholes. But the brush on both sides has made the path feel much narrower. Glad we went up to 3500′ before seeing snow. Then I parked in the last available pullout and walked a little over a mile to the trailhead.

See more trip photos here.

Lake Laura Trail

Glad that I didn’t keep driving as there was no room to turn the car around in continuous snow. Soon, it drizzled as I put on snowshoes. Afterward, we reached the first road bend at the start of the trail. But the slide alder ahead made it look otherwise.

We explored the hills by the road but quickly realized the feasible way was through the slide alder. But perhaps I had missed the actual path since people come here every year. Shortly, I saw boot and ski tracks on the other side of the brush.

See more trip photos here.

Lake Lillian to Rampart Ridge

We followed the tracks up the slopes before they faded. Then we continued north and crossed the stream out of Twin Lakes. Soon, we were inside Alpine Lakes Wilderness, with many dry areas in the trees. But we stayed on the snow to avoid the brush.

To see Lake Laura, we would need to drop 200′ through the dense forest. But we continued uphill to Lillian Lake below Dungeon Peak as the lake graced us with her presence. Shortly, we walked around the east shore.

See more trip photos here.

Bypassing the Ridgeline

From the lakeshore, we climbed 400′ up to the saddle. There we got our first look into Box Canyon. Then we dropped onto the eastern slopes and avoided the ridge altogether. The ridgeline also didn’t look conducive to traversing. So I was more than happy to stay on the mild ground.

Many old tracks here pointed to the ridgeline ahead. So we made a direct rise through the wavy terrain in the same direction. Soon we made it up to 5800′. It was woodsy here. But trees kept out the wind as we walked to the real summit. The rain had stopped at some point. But it was still cloudy.

See more trip photos here.

Rampart Ridge Summit

Summit boulders were still under snow. So it was easier to go up through the steep terrain on the east. That part turned out better than it looked. The puppy followed Sir Cody’s every move through the exposure. Then we situated ourselves on a dry spot among the trees.

Box Ridge and Alta Mountain were visible the whole time. But most of the time, clouds would obscure Chikamin Ridge and the western horizon. The impressive Mount Thomson went in and out of the mist. I could also see the snowy slopes of Snoqualmie Mountain from here.

See more trip photos here.

Outro

Views from the southeast to the southwest were more visible than in any other direction. It could just be terrible weather. But the scenery didn’t look as impressive there. Glad we were able to see something despite the growing clouds.

It rained earlier while we were still down on the road. But then we were in the forest for the most part. So we didn’t get nearly as wet. The heavy rain outlook never formed. But the thunder did rumble a few times just as we left the ridge.

See more trip photos here.

Soon we made it down past the lakes. Then I noticed boot tracks that had turned around in the forest. Back on the road, we met three guys and a pup out on a photo excursion.