1982: The Pasaytan Loop, page 5

Approaching Rock Pass.

September 13, 1982.  6 PM.
36°. Hopkins Lake.

Oh my God I can't believe it! It's not raining. We are here at lovely Hopkins Lake, which is situated in a dramatic rock bowl just below the Devils Staircase.

The section of trail from Holman Pass to here is awesome. You go by Rock Pass and then Woody Pass, then along Lakeview Ridge. The clouds were beginning to lift and the views were amazing. I remember this section from four years ago when Mel and I hiked from Canada to Rainy Pass. We had bright sunshine and hot days. This experience is certainly different, but even though it's wet and cool it's still a spectacular section of country.

It rained heavily throughout the night and we left Holman Pass early this morning in steady drizzle. Getting out of that warm and relatively dry sleeping bag was so hard.  There are few things more miserable than putting on the wet clothes, socks, and boots that you wore the day before. Except maybe rolling up the dripping tent and trying to cram it into the equally wet stuff sack. My hands were white and I had no feeling in my fingertips by the time I finished.

Near Shaw Creek.

We walked through hail and sleet and a tiny bit of snow. There was about 2-4 inches accumulated on Lakeview Ridge. As we continued on, the rain stopped and the day turned out to be halfway decent… by Cascade standards.

Past Lakeview Ridge, we headed down several switchbacks via the Devil Staircase to the lake, which sits at 6161’.  Oh, it's every bit as pretty as I remembered!  It is a nearly circular shape, shallow and very clean. You can see the rocks at the bottom quite clearly. 

Clear waters of Hopkins Lake.

I set up camp on a nice sheltered spot in a group of trees immediately above the shore. And I mean to tell you, it sure beats the hell out of that wet pit we were in last night!

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