August 31, 2013 Maple Loop Trail, North Cascades, Washington

The Maple Loop trail goes up to the ridge above Ann lake and circles around the top of the cirque, comes back down the ridge between Lake Ann and Rainy lake, with a few other lake views along the way.  We hiked 9.45 miles and 2,900 vertical. It was a lovely warm sunny day. It is a very popular trail and it is Labor Day weekend so there were lots of other people hiking too.

Two views of Lake Ann.

The ridge is the boundary of the North Cascades National Park. A distant view of some of the 300 glaciers in the park.  That is not snow, just the glaciers.

The trail along the top of the ridge and a view looking back down toward Lake Ann from the top.

Looking the other direction from the above view is the trail headed down and a small glacial tarn below Lyndal Glacier.

John on the trail down. We walked the ridge with Lake Ann on one side and Rainy Lake on the other. There is a waterfall going into Rainy lake in the shadow at the end of it.

We got some bonus miles at the bottom, on this paved handicap accessible trail to Rainy lake. Another mile each way.  Rainy lake is another turquoise glacial lake.

The clear water in Rainy lake.

Flowers and a cauliflower funges.

grass seed head, blue gentian, heather, red mushrooms, white alpine flower, seed heades and a green juniper looking alpine plant.

A coral fungus, other assorted mushrooms, red alder berries and ferns.

A warty mushroom, a wavey mushroom , herd of tiny little white mushrooms, brown ones that look like a cow pie, a right angle mushroom, seeds on a green plant and white and black mushrooms.

It is one of the wettest places in the US in the pacific northwest, so there are mushrooms everywhere.