[Tom]

Almost 20 years ago I headed up to Alaska Lake via Gold Creek valley in the late October. I though I'd share a map and a few pictures from that trip for reference:

Earlier this week I was looking for a day trip to test my conditioning level and thought it would be fun to hike in from above via the PCT. Left the house around 9 AM, made it to the Hyak exit by 10 AM, biked the road to Barbie's boyfriend(s) by noon, joined the crowds on the PCT by 12:30, Katwalk by 1:30, and the XC junction to Alaska by 2 PM. The boot path was well defined until it reached the outcropping at the SE end of the ridge. I opted to head down early on slabs rather than fight the outcropping. Wouldn't recommend this as it pushed me too far below the ridgeline, which I eventually regained. The boot path pretty much follows the ridge the entire way and is much easier travel. It was easier to find on the way up. Made it to the lake a little after 3 PM, had lunch and inflated the raft for a circumnavigation before heading back around 5 PM, just enough time to make it back to the car before dark.

Rummy anyone?

FS 9090 Bridge Washout

Boyfriend 1

Flowers

Boyfriend 2

Joining PCT

Chair and Snoqualmie

Snoqualmie, Lundin and Red

Stone Kingdom from Katwalk

Katwalk

Three Queens, Alta and Humpty Dumpty Rock

Junction

Southeast Ridge Above Alaska

First Views of Alaska

Arriving at Alaska

Grassy Inlet Area

Alaska Lake

Bon Voyage!

Alta from Alaska

Alaska Lake from Raft

Alaska Lake from Raft along North Shore

East Alta

Looking up to PCT from Alaska Lake

Avoiding Low Talus below top of Ridge

Traversing High Talus

Back to Boyfriend 1

[Gil]

Nice reminiscence.

[Ski]

[carlb328]

Did you see any fish? That lake is on my to do list for when I move back.

[puzzlr]

Nice. It took me a bit to get the "boyfriend" reference . That slope from the PCT down to Alaska Lake has always looked steep to me in person and in your photos. But I've never scouted it to see if there is a reasonable route. How did that part go?

[Bowregard]

I agree with puzzlr - over 1000ft drop from PCT to Alaska Lake without any obvious switchbacks has always looked daunting to me too and once I found there was another approach I figured there was no good direct path from the PCT. Nice looking exposures on the old photos. Scanned film?

[Tom]

Those were shot with a spiffy new Canon G2 back in 2001. I was an early adopter for digital (picked up my first camera back in 1999 or so). There were fish rising / jumping but I didn't catch any. I only fished for about 15 minutes from the raft and shore while waiting for the raft to dry off. I had a hard deadline to leave by 5 PM as I didn't want to be riding my bike down in the dark. The ridge route down from the PCT is fairly straight forward cross country. Would not be recommended if you prefer switchbacks. I think the standard route via Gold Creek would be easier overall, assuming it's not overgrown. I had no problems finding the route 20 years ago in snow cover. Unlike Joe, I think Alaska is still fairly well visited from Gold Creek.

[Bowregard]

Wow. I knew they had digital cameras back then (my dad bought a Mavica FD91 but the images from that were less than 1MP) but I did not realize Canon had PowerShot cameras out with that much resolution.

[RichP]

I just saw this report from yesterday on WTA. You can see how the tree has grown around the sign in 20 years. https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report-2021-08-26-8315709555

[Backpacker Joe]

Nice trip Tom. Thanks for posting.

[rstoddard24]

nice TR! The "joe lake loop" is a popular one among runners. the off trail section between joe lake and PCT is shorter than the alaska-PCT section and it is just ~4mi to complete the loop on the hyak road. doing this loop with my wife after the first snowfall autumn 2018 was one of my favorite day trips ever

[Tom]

I did Joe as a day hike back in 2109. That was a lot of fun too. https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8030546 Coolest thing at Joe was the Blue Heron that patrols the valley from Gold Creek. Was wondering if I'd see him at Alaska but perhaps less ideal Heron fishing habitat due to the terrain. I thought Alaska was a bit easier than Joe, even with the extra elevation loss and slightly longer XC travel. Having done the section beyond Alaska many times, I looked forward to leaving the PCT and heading down soon after the Katwalk. Not sure why, it's not necessarily the crowds. While scenic, I think it's the exposure to the sun without any shade, especially in sections where trail is bedrock. Just feels like a bit of a slog, especially coming back.

[Nedjones]

Went up to Alaska via Gold Creek with the Hi-Lakers this weekend. Tons of fish. I'm a novice and only caught 7 from my raft, but one of the other guys caught 17!