VTrail

Distance:	3.5 miles one way
Hiking Time:	3 hours
Trailhead Elevation:	1050 ft
Elevation Gain:	2700 ft
Season:	June - October
Difficulty:	Strenuous
Rating:	Best - Very Good - Good - Fair
Use:	Light
Users:	Hikers
Region:	North Bend Ranger District
Maps:	USGS Lake Philippa North Bend Ranger District Map Printable Topo Map	Buy Maps Online
Permits:	Northwest Forest Pass is required Alpine Lakes Wilderness Regulations

Driving Directions:

From Seattle take I-90 East to Exit 34. Turn left at the Stop. In 0.6 mile turn right onto SE Middle Fork Road (#56). Continue for 11.6 miles (gravel road starts in 2.5 miles) to the trailhead on the right side of the road.

Trailhead:

Big parking, water available at the river, toilets available.

Trail:

July 1, 2000
Decided this was the weekend to knock Rainy Lake off my list for the summer. For kicks, we threw another nearby lake in to the equation to make for a very memorable loop. We'd been in this position before, so when we pulled into the MF parking lot about 8 AM on Saturday we quickly through our gear on and were off down the trail.

The trail starts on the east side of the river; take a right after crossing the bridge. At about .4 miles we crossed Rainy Creek on a convenient log, wait a couple weeks and the creek will be a simple rock hop just about anywhere. After the creek crossing, we followed the trail along Rainy Creek until about the 2 mile mark, at which point the two veer away from each other. The sounds of the creek soon became distant and faint until they were gone all together. We continued up the trail a bit until the sounds of another creek could be heard, at this point we knew we were getting close to where we needed to make an easterly ascent to the lake, trail or no trail. Rumor had it there was a "trail" coming down from the lake that intersected the main trail we were following, but we weren't counting on finding it as it seems very few hikers do, at least on the way up. Another 10 minutes of following the small creek found us ready to start heading east and up. As we looked for a place to cross over, we came upon a heavily flagged group of trees. We looked about for a moment and noticed a faint tread on the other side of the creek heading in the direction we needed to go, as good a place to cross as any we thought. Cautiously, we stuck to the tread making sure we headed in the direction we needed maintain. However, after 15 minutes or so it became quite clear where it was taking us, up, strait up in places, to Rainy Lake. The trail stops all together about 150' up on the steep slopes above the NW corner of the lake, from here we slid our way down the wet thickets to the lake shore, elevation 3764', 2 hours 45 minutes from the car.

Rainy Lake

is completely thawed, and I found only one small patch of snow along its shores. We found the lone campsite along the NW corner of the lake and used it to take a few pictures and get a quick bite to eat. I then proceeded to mosey around the west side of the lake while my partner stayed behind and headed for the outlet. The west and south shores of the lake are lined with large rocks that like to shift and move on ya when you step on them, I'd recommend using the east side of the lake for easier travel. Once on the south shores, I broke out the food bag and treated myself to a large lunch while a couple Dippers hopped about protesting my arrival. They soon relaxed and went about their business, but after about 45 minutes it was time for me get going, so I headed for the outlet where my partner was anxiously waiting.

We met up along the NE side of the lake and proceeded to climb to the 4000' level, ~250' above the lake. From a small group of rocks along the ridge we looked to the NE and found the landmark we needed to aim for to make our next destination. So, we began the high angle traverse along the ridge, which wasn't bad at first. The brush got thick in a couple places, but there was also open forest to make the going relatively quick. All things came to halt about half way along the traverse when we began to run into the East Fork of Rainy Creek. Actually, 4 or 5 different creeks separated by 200-300 yards, cascading down the steep slopes of the ridge. Crossing each one of these presented unique problems, including a couple places with some nasty exposure, something neither my partner nor I were too thrilled about. Yet, it all worked out in the end and we made it to the saddle above Nine Hour 3.5 hours after leaving Rainy Lake. Note: This was a nasty and at times dangerous x-country, I would NOT recommend it to anyone who doesn't know what they're doing and exactly where they need to go!

We descended the saddle amongst thick brush into the lake basin, elevation 3931'. Nine Hour Lake

is completely thawed with a few patches of snow lingering about the shores. We made our way counterclockwise around the lake past the outlet to the north side of the lake. We noticed two old fire pits, but other than that no signs of other visitors.

We exited the basin up and over the saddle to the NW. The next mile was a brush bash of epic proportions, strait down the mountain 1900' to Rainy Creek. We picked our way down between bands of cliffs and through brush up to 7 ft tall until we came to Rainy Creek, almost 2 hours after leaving the saddle. We crossed the creek and found the trail waiting for us on the other side, a welcome relief. Another 1.5 hours of trail walking found us safely back in the parking lot, 12.5 hours after we started.

Contributed by Randy Busch