Alpine Lakes High Route in Alpine Lakes Wilderness centers around West Fork Foss River and Necklace Valley. From Malachite Peak to Mount Hinman, one can experience striking landscapes of the Central Cascades.
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Alpine Lakes High Route at a Glance
High Route = Malachite Peak + Turquoise Peak + Camp Robber Peak + Tourmaline Peak + Wild Goat Peak + Iron Cap Mountain II + Otter Point + La Bohn Peak + Mount Hinman + Saint Agnes Ridge + Atrium Peak
高路線=孔雀石峯+綠松石峯+灰噪鴉峯+電氣石峯+野山羊峯+鐵蓋山之二+水瀨高點+拉邦峯+辛曼山+聖艾格尼絲脊+中庭峯
Access: West Fork Foss Lakes Trailhead
Round Trip: 43.4 miles
Elevation Range: 1600′-7492′
Gear: helmet
Route Info: Jerry Stein, Outside & Stuff
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: no
Common Theme: krummholz, damp rocks
October 1-4, 2021
Day 1 – Friday, October 1
Malachite Peak + Turquoise Peak
Night 1 – Peak 5812 east face @ 5500′ meadow
Day 2 – Saturday, October 2
Camp Robber Peak + Tourmaline Peak + Wild Goat Peak
Night 2 – Point 5880 northeast saddle
Day 3 – Sunday, October 3
Iron Cap Mountain + Otter Point + La Bohn Peak
Night 3 – La Bohn Gap
Day 4 – Monday, October 4
Mount Hinman + Saint Agnes Ridge + Atrium Peak
Exit
Day 1
Malachite Peak + Turquoise Peak
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4
The Preface
The trip was six years in the making after the pups and my first visit in 2015. Back then, two friends had invited me along on a similar traverse. But I wanted to spend some time with the late black lab during the shutdown of the North Cascades Highway.
The popularity of this place has outgrown its size with the rise of social media. But now that the high season has ended, it was an ideal time to revisit before the snowfall. Best of all, the weather cooperated most of the time, with just a handful of people around.
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Alpine Lakes High Route: Malachite Peak
I embarked on my four-day trip at 6 AM with two other cars at the trailhead. Later I reached the serene Trout Lake after going through the flat trail in the forest. Then past the empty camp, I went up the switchbacks to Lake Malachite’s outlet.
Soon, I left the path before the bridge and headed northwest into the trees. The small rock fields in the open forest help to keep me from sliding on the steep, slick terrain. At 4000′, I broke out into the open and went through some talus.
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Malachite Peak South Route
Past the rocks at 4600′ was the dense forest that I couldn’t avoid. Then I went north-northwest and spent the next 800′ zigzagging my way through the brush and slide alder. I even tried hugging the headwall off the south ridge, hoping to find a more pleasant way.
Later terrain expanded at 5400′ and would be so for the rest of the trip. After more scree, I reached the 5800′ south notch and saw my next goal, Turquoise Peak, to the south. Then I continued below the summit ridge to the west notch at 6040′.
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Final Stretch on Malachite Peak
From the notch, it’s tempting to go straight up the west ridge. I checked out a few spots but didn’t like the wet rocks over the exposure. Then I returned to the saddle and moved a short way north of the crest.
Despite the dampness, the shady side looked way better. From there, a ramp brought me higher up on the crest. A short, exposed class 3 section then took me through the grassy slope up to the summit.
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Malachite Peak Summit Views
Malachite Peak was my only concern of everything on my plan as I decided to leave the rope behind. But to my surprise, it was at most exposed class 3 on the snow-free terrain. Then everything after this climb would be tamer.
The quiet summit gave much-needed solace from the everyday chaos. The only sounds I heard were the overhead ravens. To the east were some places the pups and I have visited. But I bet they were glad not to come on this trip.
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Alpine Lakes High Route: Turquoise Peak
My second stop on the Alpine Lakes High Route, Turquoise Peak, sat less than a mile away. So back on the south notch, I made my way down the southwest rock gully. I avoided the adjacent timbered slope with hard dirt and slick duff.
Below the joining ridgeline was a massive rock field. So I went up Turquoise Peak’s north side through the light brush and broad talus. Later at 5600′, I went up the steep northeast ridge and battled some krummholz en route.
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Turquoise Peak Summit Views
The day went by so fast! When I reached the top, the sunset was only an hour away. That also meant my plan of traversing to Camp Robber Peak today was too ambitious. But, for now, I needed to find a place to crash.
Malachite Peak looked more impressive from this side than seeing it from Silver Eagle Peak. I glanced to the south, and it looked like quite a way to Tourmaline Peak. Mount Hinman looked way out of reach as well.
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Turquoise Peak South Ridge to Camp One
I checked out the broken south ridge and knew I needed to bypass the top. So from the west, I worked through several slab gullies plus more krummholz. Then at 5600, I went back onto the crest by the cliffs above Hinter Lake Basin.
From the saddle, I continued south as the daylight slowly dwindled. Then shortly before dark, a series of cliffs above Lake Malachite stopped me in my tracks. So I called it a day and bivvied in the east meadow below Point 5812.
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Day 2
Camp Robber Peak + Tourmaline Peak + Wild Goat Peak
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4
Resuming the Alpine Lake High Route
The following day, I poked around the cliffs and found my way down, you guessed it, more krummholz. But during this, I encountered an awkwardly tall step that forced me to take off my pack first.
But as I lowered the pack onto the platform below me, it tipped over and started rolling down the ledges. “Crap,” I thought as I watched the bag tumble onto the rock field a hundred feet below. So I quickly downclimbed and recovered it from the talus.
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Alpine Lake High Route: Camp Robber Peak
Amazingly, the only thing that smashed was the sunglasses; everything else stayed intact. So grateful! Soon, I continued southbound over the top of Malachite Lake and saw a lone tent by the outlet. From here, Malachite Peak looked even more striking.
I stayed below east of the broken crest between 5200′ and 5400′. Then just beyond the ridge between Lake Malachite and Copper Lake were more cliffs to bypass. Again, I was able to continue with the help of krummholz.
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From Scree to Granite Rocks
As I neared the top of Little Heart Lake, the big rocks slowly turned into granite slabs. The small ponds and the slabs reminded me of the Robin Lakes area. It was the most enjoyable part of the traverse.
Over Big Heart Lake’s west shore was the last group of cliffs. I went above it via a ramp by the headwall until I reached the grassy area. Above the heather was a broad rock field that took a while to hop through before the rocky summit.
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Camp Robber Peak Summit Views
Wow, it was a long way from Turquoise Peak! But the views had certainly offset the tedious traverse. The last time I saw the stunning Summit Chief Mountain and Chimney Rock was through the wildfire smoke. But I was able to appreciate their sheer beauty on this clear day.
There’s a reason why the wilderness got its name Alpine Lakes. So far, I’ve seen at least three lakes from the summits I’ve visited. And that didn’t even include the tiny ones west of here in Camp Robber Valley. So glad for the decent weather.
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Alpine Lake High Route: Tourmaline Peak
The way to my next goal, Tourmaline Peak, was pretty straightforward. Like Camp Robber Peak, I only had to contend with the massive boulders below the top. But I’ll take those rocks over the scree to the north any day.
Going down required me to hop through steep boulders. Then at 5800′, I hugged the headwall up to the northwest saddle and went through krummholz on the northwest ridge. A dirt ramp on the west also would’ve worked.
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Tourmaline Peak Summit Views
The top also had an open view of three big lakes–Big Heart Lake, Angeline Lake, and Chetwoot Lake. Like the other summits, I limited my visit to half an hour. But that wasn’t enough time to savor the scenery.
Today’s final stop, Wild Goat Peak, shared a pass with Tourmaline Peak, but it looked farther than it was. Again, Mount Hinman still looked untouchable. I wasn’t sure If I could get to it on this trip, so I had to play it by ear.
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Alpine Lake High Route: Wild Goat Peak
Somehow I thought Chetwoot Lake had a trail along the north shore. So I dropped 500′ straight to the water through the dense forest. But it soon dawned on me that there wasn’t much room by the lake to walk continuously.
So I went back into the trees and headed to Chetwoot Pass through the light brush. Views here weren’t all that great, but it’s still an ideal place to avoid the crowds. Soon, I climbed up through a massive talus to the east notch.
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Wild Goat Peak Summit Views
From the pass, it’s only a short way west to reach the broad summit. Sunset was just an hour away, so the evening colors had grown more vibrant. Wild Goat Peak was the first one I’ve been on that had an open south view.
Across the valley was Big Snow Mountain, which I’d like to visit at some point. In my option, the area from Chikamin Peak to Bears Breast Mountain holds the most stunning landscape. But it’s still on my laundry list.
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Wild Goat Peak East Ridge to Camp Two
The initial plan was to camp by Chetwoot Lake’s outlet like we did the last time. But after seeing how annoying it was to go around the shore, I decided not to go back that way. So back at the notch, I continued on the ridge through the east peak.
Beyond the peak, a short stretch of krummholz forced me to bypass from the south. Then terrain expanded down through the bouldered ridgeline. Later the ridge narrowed before Point 5821 by the rock arête, where I scooched across as the sky darkened.
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A Night Above Chetwoot Lake and Crawford Lake
Going around Point 5880 was a little tricky, especially in the dark. Twice, after going through more krummholz, I headed back west. WTF?! So instead, I bypassed the dense forest from the east and reached the slabbed ridge shortly.
Thanks to Outside & Stuff for noting the small pond on the ridge. But because of our warm summer, I wasn’t sure if there’d still be water there. And there was! After dinner, I watched some Britney vs. Spears and slept as the clouds slowly rolled in.
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Day 3
Iron Cap Mountain + Otter Point + La Bohn Peak
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4
Point 5760
It rained overnight, and it continued to drizzle into the early morning. So I waited around for the weather to improve. As the rain subsided, the clouds remained. But I wanted to start moving to reach Necklace Valley at a decent hour.
In the mist, I went to the top of Point 5760, which ended above the cliffs. So I backtracked a bit and bypassed them from the steep south side. I got a glimpse of Crawford Lake that I had hoped to see from the camp.
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Alpine Lake High Route: Iron Cap Mountain
Since I had been to Iron Cap Mountain, I wanted to skip it this time. But dropping into the basin from Point 6077 would eat up more time. So I bit the bullet and continued on the ridge to save time route-finding.
I stayed on the crest but moved to the north of the ridge before Point 6077. The broken ridgeline had steered me away from the south. Soon, a defined boot path showed up and took me the rest of the way to the top.
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Iron Cap Mountain Summit Minus the Views
The clouds haven’t left the area since the crack of dawn. By the time I reached the top, visibility was virtually none. At least when we were here before, we had smokey views of the entire area. I signed the register and then left the summit.
Cliffs spanning the east ridge had kept me from going straight down to Iron Cap Gap. Otherwise, it would’ve saved some time without detouring from the north. But I didn’t have any other options in this crappy weather.
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Iron Cap Gap to Tank Lakes
I made my way north and got a glimpse of Otter Lake. Then at 5800′, I followed the cairns east and dropped onto the talus below through a path in the bushes. Then I lost another 200′ as I contoured southeast in the broad basin to Iron Cap Gap.
Judging by the influx of photos on social media, I expected to start seeing people in the area. But a runner was the only one I saw en route to Tank Lakes. Meanwhile, lingering clouds continued to obscure the dramatic views of the southern peaks.
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Alpine Lake High Route: Otter Point
Later I stashed my pack at the bottom of Otter Point’s extensive ridgeline and made my way toward Tahl Take. But before I went too far, I saw the massive talus spanning the east. So I went to check out the ridge instead.
At the start, the narrowed, bouldered ridgeline had a few cairns leading the way. I went through the big rocks on the crest until they dwindled. Shortly, I strolled along the meadow and went up to the false peak from the west.
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Otter Point Summit Views
It took only minutes to reach the actual high point. Right away, Otter Lake, Azurite Lake, Locket Lake, and Tahl Lake stood out as they glistened in the afternoon sun. But what felt more surreal was seeing the first part of the Alpine Lakes High Route.
Silver Eagle Peak and Bald Eagle Peak made up the dramatic landscape to the north. Then on the other side of Necklace Valley were my following two goals–La Bohn Peak and Mount Hinman. But I needed to make my way over to La Bohn Gap first.
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Alpine Lakes High Route: La Bohn Peak
With a late start this morning, climbing La Bohn Peak and Mount Hinman was out of the question. I took the moraine to the north of La Bohn Peak, then the tedious 700′ climb to La Bohn Gap. En route, I spotted two people and a dog coming down from La Bohn Lakes.
This place had no shortage of boulders! I dropped off my gear at the gap and made my way west uphill 30 minutes before sunset. The lower ridge had a defined path and cairns. Then higher up, I scrambled through more boulders up to the top at sundown. Yaaaaaas!
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La Bohn Peak Summit Plus Camp Three
By now, clouds have sunk into the valley to show only the top of the nearby peaks. The jagged southern peaks piercing through the beautiful inversion had dramatized the mood considerably. I finally had an even closer look at my next goal–Mount Hinman.
Despite the shorter daylight, I made it back to La Bohn Gap without the headlamp. Then I found a decent spot facing the southern peaks and turned in for the night. Oh, but a foot massage sounded great right about now.
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Day 4
Mount Hinman + Saint Agnes Ridge + Atrium Peak
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4
Alpine Lakes High Route: Mount Hinman
It’s my final day here, but it would end up being the longest. Clouds had cleared during the night, and it looked like another beautiful day ahead. After breakfast with Bears Breast Mountain, I headed east toward Mount Hinman.
Cairns showed up past La Bohn Lakes, where the path allowed me more time to savor the views. Traverse to Mount Hinman had the best scenery of the places visited in the past few days. But it also harbored the most boulders and slabs.
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Mount Hinman Summit Views
Later I looked at the summit from the southeast ridge, where the cairns stopped. From there, I went around to the north side above Hinman Glacier. Then a short, southeast traverse below the pinnacles put me on the windy summit.
I didn’t know where to begin with the views, but I had been waiting to see Mount Daniel. Next to it was the familiar sight of Dip Top Peak and Lynch Peak above Pea Soup Lake. But seeing the eight peaks from the last few days was the most exciting part!
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Alpine Lakes High Route: Back to West Fork Foss River Valley
After a short visit on top, then came the part I had been dreading. Now I needed to go back through Iron Cap Gap and find my way to Saint Agnes Ridge. But the only route descriptions I had were from Cascade Alpine Guide, which was no help.
Back at camp, I packed up and quickly made my way back to Necklace Valley. During this, I spotted two people on the ridge as I slowly walked up through the moraine. But it was all downhill from Tank Lakes as I marveled at the dramatic landscape.
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Alpine Lakes High Route: Saint Agnes Ridge
From Iron Cap Gap, I took the lower trail and went north toward Otter Lake. But the path faded after just a few hundred feet. Then I continued in the narrow valley and went around Iron Cap Mountain’s north side.
At 4400′, I walked across a meadow that led me to a talus field with a couple of cairns. Then I went back into the forest and scrambled up to Azurite Lake. Then from the outlet, I climbed up the southeast ridge through a series of outcrops to the 5050′ meadow.
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Saint Agnes Ridge Summit Views Plus Outro
From the meadow, I continued west and, meanwhile, avoided the cliffs on the south side. Then I went through 300′ of talus to reach the woodsy ridgetop. A quick walk north put me on the actual high point among krummholz of all places.
I left the top at sunset and looked for the northwest ridge trail mentioned in several reports. But I only found it later at 5200′ by a large cairn. The steep path took me to Angeline Lake’s outlet, where the water ran under the rocks.
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Alpine Lakes High Route: Atrium Peak
On the other side of the creek, I fumbled my way through the cliffs in the dark. Then I found the path above the headwall and continued through the light brush. Interestingly, I never saw another cairn after crossing the outlet.
I had somehow missed the fork to Big Heart Lake. By the time I realized it, I was on the ridgetop below Atrium Peak. Earlier I decided to forego the peak because of the long day. But since I was here, it would be a pity not to pay a quick visit.
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Atrium Peak Summit After Dark
It’s been a while since I went up a summit after dark, and it isn’t something I enjoy doing. The woodsy crest had taken longer to reach the bouldered top at night. Too bad I couldn’t see the lake or the ridge across the water.
Back on the trail, I went down to the junction 400′ below. Then I hiked out to Big Heart Lake’s outlet, now under raging water. So I hopped through the log jam to reach the other side and continued. By now, my eyes were heavy with sleep.
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Alpine Lakes High Route: Over and Out
Exiting in the dark was uneventful as I walked the rest six miles back to the trailhead. It’s a Monday and late season, so I didn’t expect to see any campers. During this, I took a break by Copper Lake before finishing the rest of the trip.
As it turned out, it was the only weekend in October with decent weather. What timing!
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