Leavenworth, Washington
Just about when I had decided on the latter, I found the trail (1405). It wasn't hard to follow once on it, and there is the occasional flagging tape as well. I saw some fresh bear tracks, which was neat. I set up camp at the site right before where the trail starts climbing up to Ice Lakes. Another late start the following morning, there seems.
20 Miles Total - 7600 ft gain - Out-and-Back Trail
Originally added by Addison Klinke
Explore some of the most remote wilderness in Washington State and catch views of Glacier Peak, a 10,500 foot, snow capped volcano. This expansive basin has 2 lakes plus a waterfall, unparalled solitude, and makes for a great practice for off-trail navigation
Begin your adventure at the Phelps Creek Trailhead, roughly a 4 hour drive from Seattle. Make sure your car has good clearance and traction because the last section of the forest service road gets a little rough.
Only a few minutes after starting down the trail, you will reach a split that heads up to your right (labeled for Carne Mountain, trail #1508). This trail is well-maintained and I would recommend following it all the way to the summit of Carne Mountain. From here you have a good vantage point to take in the rest of the route (see the yellow markings on the photo). Ice Lakes basin, your final destination, is located just southeast of Mount Maude. In general, the route traverses the west side of the ridgeline containing Ice Box Peak and Freezer Peak. For those who are uncomfortable with the cross-country navigation required later on this adventure, Carne Mountain makes a fine day hike.
If you elect to continue, you will need to descend down the east side of Carne Mountain and begin making your way north towards Mount Maude. The trail will become a little harder to follow, but it does continue for most of the traverse. If you can stay with it, you will make much quicker progress, but if not, just make sure you remain aware of your location relative to Mount Maude. I would recommend reading as many different trip reports as you can find. Searching online for “Carne Mountain High Route” should get you some adiditional reports by experienced hikers on websites like NWhikers.net and WTA.org (Washington Trails Association). The better sense you have for the key landmarks on this stretch of the trail, the easier you will be able to navigate and the more enjoyable your trip will be. Printing out our own topographic maps from caltopo.com and marking key locations to check your bearings may also be helpful. To most effectively locate your area of interest, use the module on the right side of the screen to toggle between the Google maps and US Forest Service layers.
Eventually, you will want to cross over to the east side of the ridgeline you have been traversing and drop down into Ice Lakes Basin. One point that all of the trip reports agree on is to ensure that this maneuver is done north of Freezer Peak (point 8017 on US Forest Service topo maps).
To reach the saddle between Freezer Peak and Mount Maude, you will need to circle around the west side of point 7425 before beginning your climb (Note: this extra step is well worth your effort since trying to ascend early by going east of point 7425 will leave you with a much riskier ascent up the north slope of Freezer Peak). Once you’ve reached the proper saddle, descending the basin is not difficult, especially once the snow is melted out.
Now you’ve reached your final destination! Sit back, relax, and take in the views of Mount Maude from Upper Ice Lake, or venture a little further east to check out the waterfall that flows into Lower Ice Lake. For the more adventurous, it is possible to tag a few of the notable summits in the surrounding area. Just make sure to read up on routes and summit guides before you go!
For the photographers among you, Mount Maude catches some nice alpenglow at sunrise and despite being a large body of water, Upper Ice Lake gives some nice reflections. Make sure you’re up early so you don’t miss the show! Lastly, being far away from major cities, you will have some great opportunities for star gazing or Milky Way photos if your camera can handle a long exposure.
Backpacking
Lake
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Stehekin, Washington
North Cascades Lodge at Stehekin
From $109/night
Hike Carne Mountain
Backpack Spider Gap to Buck Creek Pass
41 Miles Round Trip - 7900 ft gain
Hiking the Lyman Lakes
21 Miles Round Trip - 2775 ft gain
Scramble Fortress Mountain
22 Miles Round Trip - 6000 ft gain
- Seattle, Washington
North Cascades Mountaineering
$3,945/person - 17 days
We are mostly sedentary, 45-50 years old, relatively unhealthy, and live at about 700 ft elevation. It took us 11 hours to ice lake, island lake, and back. We struggled to breathe a lot but found the inclines and the hikes to be pretty easy. The entire hike had always rewarded us with amazing views, and we got two lakes for the price of one.
It took us only 20 minutes to island lake from ice lake (go right and cross a stream). There was a constant threat of storms, but we weren’t turning around. There were campers at ice lake and island lake. I’m afraid of heights, and I was scared once on the ice lake trail and twice on the island lake trail.nothing too bad though. We saw many wildflowers going to ice lake and many marmots going to island lake. There were places to use the bathroom along the trail, at ice lake (behind boulders), and island lake (boulders). The park and trails are well maintained.
Trekking poles were helpful.Finding the trail head from the parking lot was easy. There was plenty of parking at 9:30 am. People parked around the perimeter of the parking lot and the side of the road. There was a restroom in the parking lot. The trail is obvious, although not always marked. There are tons of people that hike it at all hours.
Side trails are 2 ft wide. The main trail is 4 ft wide. Tips: bring water, snacks, rain gear, trekking poles, a light. Also, travel light. In conclusion, we handled ice lakes well probably due to having adjusted to the altitude, using oxygen canisters, inhalers, and traveling with light day packs. We weren’t that sore afterward either.
We were just tired. Also, There are no pages in the trail register.
We saw people hiking even around dark though. We are from Texas and we’re hot the entire time. The creek crossings weren’t bad enough to need water shoes unless it’s raining. The water is ice cold. You must do island lake.
If you can’t camp at South Mineral then stay in Silverton. Wildflowers and beautiful views! The waterfall was magnificent as well as the avalanche debri. I would do this hike over and over. Dogs are allowed, so we ran into heavy foot traffic with lots of doggies!On the map at the trailhead, it states that it is 3.79 miles to Ice Lake from the trailhead. That is one way.
We saw a lot of unprepared hikers with no water and it is a steep hike with serious elevation gain. We had to contact SAR for a woman who had hurt herself on the trail coming down from Island Lakes Trail- she had been there for five hours. It was my first backpacking trip and we helped rescue someone so that was an experience! I did not get to see the lakes unfortunately after the long journey, I will try again! By far the best hike I’ve ever done.
The views were insane once you made it to the top. Lots of areas to cross over water, be prepared. Definitely would also suggest walking sticks - did not have them and wish I did. My recommendation is to hike ice lake then do the extra 1/2 mile to island lake. Totally different color and less crowded.
Then, head down via island lake rather than backtracking to Ice lakes trail. It’s the black route on AllTrails that connects back to the same trail down to the trailhead. The wildflowers are unbelievable right now. Get there soon! Can’t wait to make it back someday. Absolutely spectacular hike, my husband said it's his favorite we've done in Colorado so far (been living/hiking here for 3 years now).
The junctions of this trail are not marked at all, so do your homework ahead of time so you know where you want to go. Also, be sure you have enough water and can do the amount of elevation required for this hike - we saw a lot of people struggling up late in the day without enough water. Also, some people have noted needing water shoes/etc to cross creeks, when we hiked on 8/16 this was not necessary at all, scout up and down the steam a little to find a good crossing where you can hop on rocks, and you should be fine in standard hiking boots - we didn't have wet feet.We took a left at the junction in the lower basin meadow to get to Ice Lake first, then you'll see a trail leading up an incline that takes you to Island Lake, about 0.5 miles away I believe. You can make a loop from there that I think is a bit shorter, but we decided to come back that way we came as I was unsure since nothing was marked and our hike up was so beautiful.
The section from Ice Lake to Island Lake is short, but one section along a shelf was definitely outside of my comfort zone as a hiker. Required very careful footing on loose/slanted ground, and some slight climbing over rock. It was a short section so I did it, but I didn't like it! Island Lake is TOTALLY worth it if you feel you can/want to do that slightly frightening sloped section.Particularly loved this hike as not only is the destination (lakes) beautiful, the entire hike is gorgeous, particularly the meadow section and then looking back down on the valley as you climb up.
Absolutely stunning. Just stunning! The whole hike is breathtaking.hands down the most beautiful hike I’ve ever done. From waterfalls to rivers, valleys of wildflowers, snow capped mountains, you name it, this hike has it all!
The elevation gain is pretty brutal, especially if you’re not accustomed to the thinner air (we’re from Georgia), so make sure to pace yourself and bring plenty of water and snacks (and bugspray!!!). I went through over a liter and a half of water and still ran out. Took us about 2.5 hrs to reach the first lake. Make sure to budget time to relax at the lakes! After going up to island lake and all the way back to trailhead, my watch marked 9.4 miles.
Sunday, 7/28/19. We did the loop starting on the road to Clear Lake. The waterfall crossing was a little sketchy, you’ll want poles and gaiters. I’d brought keens for the river crossing in the basin but didn’t think I needed them here.
I was wrong, water filled the boot closest to the fall. As mentioned by others the water in the valley below Ice Lake is flowing heavily, beautiful, but the river is high so be prepared.We reached Ice Lake in about 2 hours and then headed up to Island Lake. We’ve never made it up there before as we’re usually chased off by thunderstorms. It is stunning! Today there were snow patches, but easily managed. Flowers along the entire trail were beautiful.
We came down from the back of Island Lake-much preferred to the out & back to Ice Lake we’ve typically do. Do this hike, you’ll be rewarded with some of the most incredible scenery anywhere! Breathtaking views the entire way up. A few stream/river crossings with the deepest one being about 10 inches, so be prepared to hike to wet boots or bring a back up. Took 2.5 hours from trailhead to Ice Lake and then another 20 minutes over to Island Lake. Both lakes are still frozen but are starting to thaw around the edges. I think they will both be fully thawed by late August.
There are a few snow fields at the top but totally doable without poles. I wore hiking boots and had zero issues. This hike is the most beautiful one I have ever done with endless wildflowers, waterfalls and stunning views. I would highly recommend. Was a really nice hike with lots of inclines.
I’d recommend camping at the bottom and doing it as a day hike just make sure to get an early start. We camped at the top but there was snow everywhere and it hailed on us. Did not make it to either of the lakes as the trail became impassable due to snow at the very end of the trail and the hail made us less adventurous than normal.
There is a section where you have to cross the avalanche damage just go slow and be careful with your footing. There is a rewarding waterfall off to the right immediately after.