Hello everyone, I am doing the WTA Hike-a-Thon this summer and would love your support. Please consider sponsoring me or joining my team “Two More Switchbacks.” The money goes to the Washington Trails Association which does a great job maintaining our trails in addition to being a great resource.

On July 2, 2017 I returned to Colchuck Lake with my meetup friends. I think this is still my favorite Alpine lake that I have come across in Washington so far. It’s beautiful blue water is inviting and the mountains above provide great views.

Here are the stats per the WTA website:

8 miles round trip, 2280 ft. gain, high point 5580 ft.

This hike is in the Central Cascades/Leavenworth area. For directions and more info see: wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/colchuck-lake

To see my post from last year (it may have more pictures) go to Last Year at Colchuck

It was another hot day when we went on this hike this year. Last year I ran out of water and I had brought along 3 liters in my camelback. This year I brought an extra Nalgene with electrolyte powder to help keep my hydrated. This is a lot of H2O to carry, so you may consider bringing a water filter if you have one as there are a couple of water sources on the trail. The road was in okay shape. You can make it fine in a sedan. Keep in mind this trailhead fills up early, so if you want a good spot, try to get there as early.

You begin hiking on the Stuart lake trail, and you eventually turn left onto the Colchuck Lake trail, be careful not to miss this turn off sign as it is a bit high up and if you are not paying attention you may miss the turn. For more trail notes, please see my last posting and WTA for reference. Here are some photos from our trip this year. Enjoy!

So much water, the snow is rapidly melting