RHH's photos with the keyword: maple pass

These photos are all from one of our favorite hikes in the North Cascades, the Heather Pass and Maple Pass loop. The lake is Lake Ann and the hike follows the rim of the bowl in which Lake Ann lies. We also do a side hike to the lake as well and the other two photos were taken from what is the far side of the lake in this photo. Our trail is just visible on the left. When the photo was taken in October of 2018 we had come to see the larches in their autumn color but they were nearly finished. The other two photos were taken on the same hike in 2016.

This was an autumn morning on the shore of Lake Ann, an alpine lake in the North Cascades and one of our favorite destinations. We usually hike to the lake and then through the mountains and passes around the lake.

This was an early autumn morning at Lake Ann, an alpine lake in the North Cascades. After leaving the lake we hiked through the mountains above the lake, through Heather Pass (on the right) and Maple Pass (on the left) and circled the lake before returning to our vehicle. The hike is 7-8 miles and not overly strenuous.

When this photo was taken we had almost finished our hike through Heather and Maple Passes and were on our way down to the trailhead. The photo looks back to Lae Ann with Mount Benzarino and Corteo Peak in the background and the other end of the trail visible on the right.

These photos were taken in the North Cascades on a September 2016 hike, but I never had a chance to post the photos from that hike. The hike circles Lake Ann which is visible in one of the insets and is a bit like following the uneven rim of a bowl and takes one through Heather and Maple Passes. In this photo, taken from Maple Pass the Liberty Bell group of peaks are visible on the left with Kangaroo Ridge behind them. We hike this area nearly every year in the autumn to see the larches (shown in one of the insets) but were a little early in 2016.

This is another photo from 2016 autumn hike in the North Cascades to see the larches in color. We were a little early but did see some color as is evident from this photo, taken from Heather Pass.

Last October we did our final hike of the year (not counting snowshoeing) and went to see the larches at Heather and Maple Passes. The larches were well past their peak, but it was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time hiking. Heather Pass and Maple Pass are in the North Cascades east of North Cascades National Park. Hiking the passes takes one on a 7-8 mile loop around Lake Ann, the lake in the photo, up the shoulder of Black Mountain and along an alpine ridge. The hike is one of the best places to see the larches in the autumn, but is a grand hike at any time of the year. The larches there are the subalpine larches, Larrix lyallii, and a disjunct population. They are native to the Pacific Northwest from Idaho to Alberta.

This photo was taken in the North Cascades of Washington while hiking the Heather Pass - Maple Pass trail. We had gone last autumn to see the larches in color but found them well past their peak.

Maple Pass is on a seven to eight mile loop hike in the North Cascades near the national park of that name. We had gone there last autumn to see the larches in color but found them well past their peak.

This is where we were today - we went to see the larches at Heather and Maple Passes in the North Cascades. They were past their peak but still beautiful. We hiked a nine mile loop with 2500 elevation gain as well as a side trail to Lake Ann, visible on the right side of the photo.

The Heather and Maple Pass Loop is one of our favorite autumn hikes and we were hiking there in September when this was taken. We had first hiked to the lake and then back and up the trail to the left of the lake in the photo and had to do one more pass and the trail back down and around the other side of the lake. The peak on the left of the photo is Black Mountain and the sharply pointed mountain in the distance is Cutthroat Peak.

This is another photo from our Heather Pass hike last autumn. We hiked a loop through Heather Pass and Maple Pass, but took a side trail to the shore of this small alpine lake. The sun was just coming up over the ridge and the combination of sunlight and autumn color was stunning. This small island is on the far side of Lake Ann with the ridge we hiked behind it. The island, as far as I know, is unnamed, and is not visible in the inset, which shows the lake from Heather Pass.

Here is an autumn photo from Heather Pass in the North Cascades.The photo was taken looking back down the trail and to the northeast. Among the peaks visible in the distance is Liberty Bell. North Cascades Highway runs just below the Liberty Bell group of peaks.

When this was taken we were descending from Maple Pass. It was early autumn in the mountains and the larches were beginning to change color. They are the Alpine Larches, Larix lyallii, found only in the Pacific Northwest.

An autumn hike at Heather and Maple Passes is one of the best hikes for color in the North Cascades and the hike has, for that reason, become one of our favorites. The trail eventually leads across the top of the distant ridge and then down again.

My wife and I have found a mutual interest in hiking and photography as the children married and moved out and as retirement looms. This is her on the Heather and Maple Pass loop.

The Heather Pass and Maple Pass trail takes one on a seven mile loop through two passes around Lake Ann, the lake in the picture. At this point we were descending from Maple Pass and nearing the end of our hike. The trail we followed up to Heather Pass is visible on the middle right of the photo with Black Peak in the distance and again at the far left of the photo and a little higher where it reaches Heather Pass and where we had our lunch.

This was taken over a year ago while hiking the Maple Pass - Heather Pass trail with my wife. This was almost the only snow we had last winter both in the mountains and at lower elevations, but we are getting snow now and that's why I've posted this. Where we live the weather has been windy, cold and rainy, but in the mountains they have already gotten more snow than all last winter. The Mount Baker ski area already has nearly five feet at the top with more predicted over the next few days with the ski area opening for business on Thursday. The road beyond the ski area is closed for the winter and so is the North Cascades Highway. It is wonderful to see some real winter in the mountains again, though I prefer it up there and not down here. If the weather is decent on Friday I plan to go snowshoeing at Mount Baker.