Heather Maple Loop and Cutthroat Pass

 Given the beautiful weather we've had recently, and the desire to be outside hiking, Kim took a personal day and Kim, Kelsey, and I headed to Winthrop, WA for a fun day of hiking! We left Sunday afternoon and spent the night at the North Cascades Mountain Hostel. It was very cute and within walking distance to the main street in Winthrop. Our plan was to go out for dinner, but with one restaurant closed, one that was standing room only in the bar area (and out of burgers and chicken) and one with a very long line, we opted to order pizza and eat it back at the hostel. 

Studying the menu

Cute little room...there were 6 bunks in our room

Delicious pizza!

After a terrible night of sleep (thanks to very loudly snoring roommate) we got up at 5:30, along with quite a few other people...we had no idea there were so many people staying at the hostel! Apparently we all had the same plan of getting an early start for the day.

The first trail we did was the Heather Maple Pass Loop, which is about 7.5 miles, with a gradual climb up to the ridge and then a steeper descent back to the trailhead. Our timing was perfect...the colors were amazing! The goal was to find Larches, a unique deciduous conifer tree whose needles turn yellow and fall off. We found a lot of them!!

Kim hiking down...that's our trail zigzagging down the mountainside!

It was beautiful no matter which direction  you looked!

Looking down on Lake Ann

We made it back to the car by 10, which meant we had time for another hike. But first we took a lunch break. 

The second trail was a 9 mile out-and-back trail up Cutthroat Pass. While it was longer, it wasn't as steep, but also had incredible views. The parking lot was overflowing, but we didn't encounter too many people, making for a lovely hike. 

By the end of the day, we'd hiked a total of 18 miles. We all had tired feet but it was a great day. And minus the snoring lady, we'd all do it again!