John Guilford's Hikes

Maple Pass on 2026-10-02

Date: 2026-10-02

Location: Maple Pass

People: (including myself): Happy Hikers

				Alt.	Miles
Trailhead:		8:50	4860	0
Lake Ann Trail:		9:30	5450	1.6
Lake Ann:		9:45	5477	2.2
Maple Pass Trail	10:00	5450	2.8
Heather Pass:		10:40	6086	3.9
Maple Pass:			6621	4.9
Lunch:			11:55
Leave:			12:15
High Point:		12:30	7000	5.8
Rainy Lake Trail:	2:15	4850	8.2
Rainy Lake:		2:30	4800	8.8
Trailhead:		3:00	4860	9.8

I had to get up at 4:30 for an early start. We hoped to get to the trailhead early enough to find parking. Not even close. When we got there, the lot was full with cars along highway 20 in both directions.

We ran into some brief light rain showers on the drive up, but at the trailhead it was just cloudy. It remained mostly cloudy with sun breaks most of the day, but it was starting to clear a little bit in the afternoon. It was upper 40s to low 50s most of the day, warming to the upper 50s by the end of the hike.

This is a popular trail, and at this time of the year it is Larch Madness, when the larch trees (a deciduous conifer) turn a beautiful golden yellow color. We had plenty of company on the trail.

The Maple Pass trail leads up to Maple Pass without crossing over it. The trail forms a large loop around Lake Ann. Most people do the trail counterclockwise as we did, though some choose to go the other direction.

About a mile and a half in, a side trail leads off to Lake Ann. We took that scenic detour before continuing the main trail. The trail is very nice with only a few more rugged sections.

As you ascend, you leave the trees behind getting into more open terrain with views all around. At about 6000' a short side trail leads out to Heather Pass with pretty views.

The trail finally reaches the ridgeline above Lake Ann at Maple Pass. Instead of crossing the pass, the trail continues up along the ridge. Along the trail there were numerous places where sections were roped off to give those areas a break from hikers to let them recover.

It was cooler up on the ridge. From the ridge there are amazing views all around, including down towards Lake Ann. We stopped for lunch before the final ascent to the high point of the hike. It felt chilly there, even after we donned more layers, so we kept lunch reasonably brief.

On the final climb we were feeling the altitude, almost 7000' where there is only a bit more than 3/4 of the air as at sea level. When we got to the high point of the trail, we found we weren't that far below 7000' elevation, so we took a short side trip higher up to gain the 7000' level.

Continuing the CCW loop, the trail descends along the ridge between Lake Ann and Rainy Lake before finally switchbacking down the end of the ridge towards highway 20. At the botton, the trail joins a flat, paved trail to Rainy Lake, a detour we opted to take. At Rainy Lake, we got some nice views and some excellent reflection photos.

The trail stays mostly outside of North Cascades National Park (being in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest) though along the ridge it does veer a bit into the national park at times.