Packers Pass - Zigadenus Lake - Myosotis - Deception Pass Trail hike

It was a nicely cool morning as we started up the road towards Temple Lodge. We kept a steady pace and soon reached Halfway Hut. After a short break we climbed up to Boulder Pass and were greeted by lovely views as we hiked along Ptarmigan Lake shoreline.

We soon reached Packers Pass and could look down towards Zigadenus Lake. The larches were near their best as we descended to the lake.

We had a leisurely lunch at the shoreline of Zigadenus and then wandered along the edge of the lake to where we had a view through the larches to Myosotis Lake.

We found the route down to Myosotis Lake and enjoyed the well-built trail along the lake.

. At Packers Pass we saw our first view of Zigadenus Lake and realized that the larches in the Zigadenus valley were near their best. We had leisurely drop down to the lake enjoying the colours. Our lunch stop at the shore was long and relaxing. We saw 11 mountain sheep in the distance in the meadow north of the lake. We wandered along the shoreline to where we could get a nice view of Myosotis Lake through the larches.

. In spite of the plethora of trails to various viewpoints we soon found the steep route down to Myosotis along the side of a cliff. The larches along the shoreline of Myosotis were also near their peak. .

Then came the big surprise, the chimney to climb down to the valley floor below Myosotis had collapsed! After searching for the entrance to the chimney and the big cairn that marks it, we finally realized that the chimney and part of the cliff edge near it were gone. The only feasible route down was to still use the narrow slot that the chimney used to go down. However, the lower part of the chimney old path was still there protected by a smaller chock block. The transition from the partly debris-filled upper part of the slot down to the lower original trail involved a drop of about 2-3 meters that was clearly now a scramble section. The lower part of the original trail is quite steep, so you would not want to slip getting down to it. We all managed to get down OK although some wanted to pass down their poles to have 2 hands available. It was a little sad to realize that the neat little chimney section is now gone after being there for a long time. (It was a well-constructed trail when I first went down it some 30 years ago).

Then we had the long slog up to Deception Pass, although there were nice views back towards Myosotis, Zigadenus and the small glaciers above them. At the pass there was a cool wind so we dropped down a short distance and found a nicely sheltered grassy area for a welcome snack and water break. Someone mentioned that it's best to be reclined to get the best of a rest stop, so we soon were all lying down looking at the clouds. The temperature was perfect in the sun, there was a nicely cooling breeze and there was a lovely view. Someone said it was tempting to linger for a while but then someone else said it's after 3:30 and we still have 11 kilometres to go. So we somewhat reluctantly headed back but still had the enjoyment of the route along Ptarmigan Lake and the larches below Boulder Pass as we dropped down to Halfway Hut.

The trip was 27.8 km with a vertical of 1058 m. We took over 9 hours which was almost an hour longer than planned, but was well worth the extra time to wander through the larches and to have the leisurely break at Deception Pass.

Participants: Douglas CSP, Patty, Cynthia photos, Urszula