Dates hiked: 8/14/20-8/16/20

In August 2018, Alex and I visited the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and backpacked to the impossibly blue Jade Lake. Unfortunately, during our time in the area, smoke from nearby wildfires blew in overnight and completely shrouded all of the mountains in a dense haze. The views were still beautiful, but we knew that we would have to return one day to see the area without its cloak of smoke.

We decided to revisit the area in mid-August and add Tuck and Robin Lakes to the trip this time! Typically hikers choose one destination: Tuck and Robin Lakes or Jade Lake. However, we wanted to make the most of our long weekend and opted to link them together for a challenging, but rewarding three day trip.

Day 1: Deception Pass TH to Robin Lakes

7 miles, 3,400’ gain, 600’ loss

We got an early start on the first day to allow us plenty of time to complete the steep ascent up to Robin Lakes. The final mile to the lakes is on an unmaintained trail and we knew we might have some route-finding difficulties which can add quite a bit of time. The weekend was also forecast to be hot—Seattle was supposed to hit the high 90s!—and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky when we set out. The clear skies would allow for ideal conditions for night photography, but would also made for an extremely hot hike. We wanted to avoid hiking in the high noon heat if possible and hit the trail nice and early.

We made it to the turnoff for Tuck and Robin Lakes in no time and began the steep approach to Tuck Lake. This section of the trail wound its way up through the forest at a dizzying grade, but we quickly gained ground. We hiked in solitude and didn’t run into any other hikers until we reached Tuck Lake where we saw one group camped on a flat spot overlooking the lake.

From Tuck Lake the route-finding got trickier. We had downloaded the route on Gaia, but we made the mistake of following cairns instead of following the map. As we followed the cairns like breadcrumbs, we realized they seemed to be leading us farther away from our destination, instead of bringing us closer. I pulled up my Gaia map and saw that, sure enough, the arrow that indicated our place on the map was far from our intended route. Luckily, we caught the error early and ended up only adding 20 minutes to our hike. Once we were back on the right track it was a smooth, albeit very hot and steep, climb up to Robin Lakes.

After 4.5 hours, the twinkling Robin Lakes came into view. We skirted around the lower lake and headed up to a rocky bench between the lower and upper lakes to find a campsite. A few other hikers were already set up and they kindly pointed us to an empty established site near their tents. We thanked them for their recommendation and rushed to get our tent set up amid the swarm of mosquitoes that descended on us.

After we set up, Alex napped in the tent and I decided to go for a swim. The hike had been a real scorcher and an ice cold dip was just the refreshment I needed. The water was frigid so I didn’t linger long, but the few seconds I spent submerged felt like a jolt of energy and rejuvenation.

I headed back into the tent after drying off and rested while we waited for sunset.

Finally, the sun began to sink in the sky and the air cooled ever so slightly. We headed to a vantage point overlooking the lower lake to watch sunset. As we ate dinner the bugs feasted on us, but the views were too good to miss. Seeing Mt. Daniel change colors over the lower lake was a spectacular sight!

The Milky Way over Mt. Daniel and Robin Lakes

Day 2: Robin Lakes to Dip Top Gap

10 miles, 3,800’ of gain, 3,500’ of loss

We slept without the rain fly on. The clear sky and dry forecast made us feel confident that we would be safe going sans fly. Plus, we wanted to be able to watch the Perseids through our mesh tent wall. The Perseids happened to be peaking during our trip, and I woke up intermittently throughout the night and looked up at the blanket of stars above us. I managed to see a few meteors from the comfort of my sleeping bag!

The day dawned clear again, and the sunrise was beautiful. The Belt of Venus and Earth’s shadow were prominent behind Mt. Daniel and painted the sky in shades of blush and periwinkle.

Our second day was planned to be long, and we wanted an early start, so instead of heading back to the tent to sleep for another hour (which I would have loved), we decided to make breakfast and begin packing up.

The route back to Tuck Lake was much easier to find on the way down and it wasn’t long before we were back under the shelter of the cool forest. It was going to be another hot day!

While the gain to our camp spot at Dip Top Gap was ~3,800’ from Robin Lakes, the gain was spread out across five or six miles and so it felt relatively gradual all the way to Marmot Lake. From our previous trip to the area two years ago, we knew we would have some more route-finding to do around Marmot Lake and up a steep boulder field, but this time around we knew exactly what to expect and the hike up from Marmot to Jade went off without a hitch.

It wasn’t long until we saw the first glimpses of the brilliant Jade Lake through the trees. While I would have loved to spend some time at Jade Lake—relaxing and swimming—we still had at least an hour of hiking up a snowfield to complete, so we continued on.

There were no water sources at Dip Top Gap so we filled up our bladders and bottles from a stream at the base of the snowfield that lead to the gap. We knew we would need at least a couple liters for cooking and a couple liters to get us through the hottest part of the day (still ahead of us), so we filtered six liters of water for ourselves. I carried four of the liters in my pack and staggered under the weight. Luckily, we only had about 600 vertical feet to gain before we would reach camp!

A few groups passed us as we ascended the snowfield. They were day hiking from their camp spots at Jade Lake, and they flew by us with impressive speed. They were only carrying water bottles and the climb appeared to have no effect on them. We watched them turn into ants up on the snowfield. We ever so slowly trudged forward.

Finally, we took the final few steps to Dip Top Gap and the view we had been anticipating for so long came into view. In 2018 this view was completely covered in smoke. Mt. Daniel’s features were obscured by a yellowish haze, but this year the air was perfectly clear and Mt. Daniel and Pea Soup Lake stood out starkly against the backdrop of a clear bluebird day. I personally think this is one of the prettier views that I’ve seen in Washington! After enjoying the view in solitude (the other groups who passed us on the way up were already well on their way down), we set up camp at the small established spot on the gap.

Once again we stayed in the tent during the late afternoon and early evening hours to avoid the bugs, but as golden hour illuminated the sky we emerged from the tent to watch the show. Dip Top Gap ended up being the perfect place for both sunset and sunrise as it offered sprawling views in nearly all directions. We watched Glacier Peak light up in the distance and the mountain layers turn orange and purple—layers we had no idea even existed in 2018! We were in awe of how much we had missed on our previous trip and were so glad we were able to return on a clear weekend.

We slept with the rain fly off again. I did not happen to see any meteors from the tent, but I did enjoy looking up at the sparkling night sky throughout the night.

Day 3: Dip Top Gap to Deception Pass TH

12 miles, 1,800’ of gain, 4,900’ of loss

The third day was planned to be the longest! While most of the hike was downhill we still wanted to ensure an early start. After we watched a beautiful sunrise illuminate Mt. Daniel’s north face in a fiery glow we made breakfast and began to pack up. We were heading back toward the trailhead by 7:30am. We made our way down the snowfield to Jade Lake, and then down the boulder field to Marmot Lake. We were happy to be back on a maintained trail as we began the descent from Marmot Lake. Suddenly the miles began to fly by as we made our way up and over Deception Pass and then down, down, down the switchbacks to Hyas Lake and finally the trailhead!

This trip was incredible. We were fortunate with the weather; it may have been hot, but the clear skies paved the way for ideal stargazing conditions and beautiful sunrises and sunsets!

Alpine Lakes Wilderness Two in One Backpacking Trip