08-23-25
Gary,
John, and I did a wonderful four day backpacking trip in 2019
to Meadow Mountain. It was in late July and we had great flowers along
with terrific mountain views. Our first night camp at Owl Creek was
pretty crowded. Gary has been looking forward to a return trip ever
since then. Covid immediately got in the way and fire smoke and
schedules also interfered. Back in 2007
the whole area was cut off by the big 2003 floods that took out the
White Chuck Road and Trail. Kim and I did a one way loop over Meadow
Mountain of 40 miles with trail and road major damage. On that trip the
new trail from Crystal Lake to Circle Peak was just finished a few days
before our trip. We came up the overgrown Crystal Creek Trail, climbed
up Circle Peak via the new trail and then climbed a way trail from
Crystal to Meadow Lakes to continue on our loop trip. The White Chuck
Road is out once again and the easier way to get to Meadow Mountain is
via the Circle Peak Trail to Crystal Lake and then over the ridge to
Meadow Lake. That was our plan. Gwen did the trip a few weeks earlier
so we knew the route was rough but hikeable. We hoped that the tough
climb between lakes would minimize the people on Meadow Mountain. For
our three day trip nearby Darrington had a forecast of 97, 95, and 92
degrees. We would be 4000' to 5000' higher. I hoped it would not be too
hot for me. I took my chrome dome umbrella and I used it.
We met in Edmonds at 6:25 am on Saturday. It was my turn to drive. We headed north and east to Darrington and then up the Suiattle River Road. The road up to the Circle Peak Trailhead is narrow with few pullouts but it was in better than expected shape. I was glad to have 4WD in a few places though it probably was not necessary. We arrived at the trailhead at 8:45 am. There were two other cars parked at the wide spot in the road. The trail started a short walk back down the road. We were packed and on our way at 8:51 am. The start is steep and short up to the Circle Peak-Crystal Lake Trail. We turned right and headed for the lake. This roughly 2 mile long trail has ups and downs but traverses in a fairly narrow elevation band. After no backpacking trips last year this was my second this year. Gary and John were up to their third trips. With about 28 lbs for three days by back was heavy by recent norms but much lighter than when I started backpacking. Technology marches on as now that I use a cell phone camera I need to carry a portable battery that can recharge my phone several times. That is weight I never had previously.
We reached Crystal Lake at 9:50 am. There were no tents or people seen. It was shaded on the trail but already quite warm out in the sunshine at the lake. We took a break and then headed around to the back of the lake. In 2007 Kim and I hunted around before finding a faint path straight uphill. It all looked different 18 years later. The faint path around the lake just angled up into the forest. The route was muddy at first and very steep in many places. We went slowly as we worked to avoid any slips. All the huge logs that Kim and I crawled over and under were no longer there. How do you remove an 80' tall tree across the trail with no remains? Either the trail has been rerouted around them or I don't know what. I do know that having only a few small logs to get over was great. It is about a vertical 700' up and 400' down the other side. Going down there is one big log across the trail. We slid under and dropped packs down. On the way up we were able to climb over the log. The trail on that side has switchbacks and is much easier to hike up and down.
We reached the valley below at 11:20 am. It took us 59 minutes to cross the ridge. We had a short hike up the valley of the outlet creek to reach Meadow Lake. It was time for a lunch break. There were no people and Meadow Lake. The break was nice but it was only getting hotter as we waited. At 11:45 am we headed on. The trail climbs to a junction with the Meadow Mountain Trail in .70 miles. We spent a night at Meadow Lake in 2019 so this trail was fresher in our minds. There were ripe blueberries at Crystal Lake but they became more numerous as we continued. I was really sweating now us we climbed to the junction. We continued on and mostly up it seemed. Some forest was much cooler but the hot meadows did provide more than ample supplies of ripe berries. From Meadow Lake on we found adequate running water only at Owl Creek. I had two quarts and used it all on the hike in. At a large meadow we all recalled from the earlier trip, we med two day hikers coming down. One of them recognized my from NWHikers. I am not often recognized. He is an occasional contributer to the site and I did recall his moniker, Stetattle Boy. We were both at the Green Mountain Lookout when the road was reopened and a bunch of NWHikers members had a semi-social there to commemorate the reopening. After a short conversation they headed back and we headed on. They were the only people we saw for more than another 24 hours.
The trail has a final climb from 5400' to about 5800' top a ridge top before a quick descent to Owl Creek. The climb was really hot and I was glad to reach the creek. We arrived at 2:53 pm. We had our pick of sites as there was nobody there. On our earlier trip, we explored around and found a good spot with water above the creek. We decided to head up without our packs in case there was no running water there. That was a good decision. It had lots of flat ground but no running water. We added a little distance and elevation gain to our day's total. We set up camp, filled two water containers, and rested. Sunset was just after 8:00 pm and we explored around the basin to pass time. A big slanted rock was where we had breakfast in 2019 as it had morning light before our campsite. The rock was still warm well after shade arrived. There are a lot of pikas in the basin. we heard and saw them from camp and from our spot on the big rock.
We managed to stay up until 8:30 pm as darkness neared. For the day we hiked 7 miles with 2770' of gain. That is not much mileage but with the steep boot path over the ridge between lakes and the heat I was plenty worn out. This day was about getting to the high country. All the ripe berries were an unexpected bonus. The next day would be about big meadows and fantastic views of many North Cascade peaks.
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Day 2
Trips - 2025
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We met in Edmonds at 6:25 am on Saturday. It was my turn to drive. We headed north and east to Darrington and then up the Suiattle River Road. The road up to the Circle Peak Trailhead is narrow with few pullouts but it was in better than expected shape. I was glad to have 4WD in a few places though it probably was not necessary. We arrived at the trailhead at 8:45 am. There were two other cars parked at the wide spot in the road. The trail started a short walk back down the road. We were packed and on our way at 8:51 am. The start is steep and short up to the Circle Peak-Crystal Lake Trail. We turned right and headed for the lake. This roughly 2 mile long trail has ups and downs but traverses in a fairly narrow elevation band. After no backpacking trips last year this was my second this year. Gary and John were up to their third trips. With about 28 lbs for three days by back was heavy by recent norms but much lighter than when I started backpacking. Technology marches on as now that I use a cell phone camera I need to carry a portable battery that can recharge my phone several times. That is weight I never had previously.
We reached Crystal Lake at 9:50 am. There were no tents or people seen. It was shaded on the trail but already quite warm out in the sunshine at the lake. We took a break and then headed around to the back of the lake. In 2007 Kim and I hunted around before finding a faint path straight uphill. It all looked different 18 years later. The faint path around the lake just angled up into the forest. The route was muddy at first and very steep in many places. We went slowly as we worked to avoid any slips. All the huge logs that Kim and I crawled over and under were no longer there. How do you remove an 80' tall tree across the trail with no remains? Either the trail has been rerouted around them or I don't know what. I do know that having only a few small logs to get over was great. It is about a vertical 700' up and 400' down the other side. Going down there is one big log across the trail. We slid under and dropped packs down. On the way up we were able to climb over the log. The trail on that side has switchbacks and is much easier to hike up and down.
We reached the valley below at 11:20 am. It took us 59 minutes to cross the ridge. We had a short hike up the valley of the outlet creek to reach Meadow Lake. It was time for a lunch break. There were no people and Meadow Lake. The break was nice but it was only getting hotter as we waited. At 11:45 am we headed on. The trail climbs to a junction with the Meadow Mountain Trail in .70 miles. We spent a night at Meadow Lake in 2019 so this trail was fresher in our minds. There were ripe blueberries at Crystal Lake but they became more numerous as we continued. I was really sweating now us we climbed to the junction. We continued on and mostly up it seemed. Some forest was much cooler but the hot meadows did provide more than ample supplies of ripe berries. From Meadow Lake on we found adequate running water only at Owl Creek. I had two quarts and used it all on the hike in. At a large meadow we all recalled from the earlier trip, we med two day hikers coming down. One of them recognized my from NWHikers. I am not often recognized. He is an occasional contributer to the site and I did recall his moniker, Stetattle Boy. We were both at the Green Mountain Lookout when the road was reopened and a bunch of NWHikers members had a semi-social there to commemorate the reopening. After a short conversation they headed back and we headed on. They were the only people we saw for more than another 24 hours.
The trail has a final climb from 5400' to about 5800' top a ridge top before a quick descent to Owl Creek. The climb was really hot and I was glad to reach the creek. We arrived at 2:53 pm. We had our pick of sites as there was nobody there. On our earlier trip, we explored around and found a good spot with water above the creek. We decided to head up without our packs in case there was no running water there. That was a good decision. It had lots of flat ground but no running water. We added a little distance and elevation gain to our day's total. We set up camp, filled two water containers, and rested. Sunset was just after 8:00 pm and we explored around the basin to pass time. A big slanted rock was where we had breakfast in 2019 as it had morning light before our campsite. The rock was still warm well after shade arrived. There are a lot of pikas in the basin. we heard and saw them from camp and from our spot on the big rock.
We managed to stay up until 8:30 pm as darkness neared. For the day we hiked 7 miles with 2770' of gain. That is not much mileage but with the steep boot path over the ridge between lakes and the heat I was plenty worn out. This day was about getting to the high country. All the ripe berries were an unexpected bonus. The next day would be about big meadows and fantastic views of many North Cascade peaks.
 Trailhead Sign |
 Big Trees Along Trail |
 Very Green Trail |
 Crystal Lake |
 End Of The Lake |
 On Boot Path Over Ridge |
 Still On Route |
 Meadow Near Ridge Top |
 Meadow Creek Valley |
 Gary At Meadow Lake |
 Leaving Meadow Lake |
 Aster |
 Green Mountain |
 Narrow Trail |
 Mt. Shuksan |
 White Chuck Mountain |
 Peaks To Northwest |
 Lupine |
 Black Mountain |
 Mt. Pugh |
 Brightly Lit Leaves |
 Three Fingers Mountain |
 Hello Glacier Peak |
 Glacier Peak Close Up |
 Glacier Peak Wilderness |
 Meadow To Ridge Top |
 Above Owl Creek Basin |
 Entering Basin |
 Kitchen Rock |
 Campsite |
 Neat Clouds |
 Colorful Clouds |
Day 2
Trips - 2025
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