[Downhill]

This is a story about two old-timers, my Aussie Shepherd-Border Collie "Maui" and me. At 10 years old, Maui is now my elder in dog years, but he still has me beat in energy level and speed. Maui's first overnight hike 9 years ago was to Lake Victoria, so it was fun to have him along, returning to the area, the headwaters of Victoria Creek, Lake Cara (Kara to some). Cara and Ruth lakes were on my wishlist for this summer and I had been considering which route I would use to reach these lakes. I'd read the TR for a direct assault up Doctor Cr from the old logging roads - good god no! I had a reputation in my 20s and 30s for my ability to cut swaths through steep vine maple, slide alder and devils club lugging heavy packs stuffed with climbing hardware, but that was 35 years ago and I have neither the strength or desire for that now. These days, my perfect trip includes zero bushwhacking. Living in the area, I have been skiing in the Doctor Cr drainage for many years and know just how overgrown those roads have become and what lies above them. Alternatively, I was compelled by the route that starts at the Eightmile Lk trail, then to Windy Pass, up and down a few ridges, passing Windy Pass Tarn and eventually coming down into the Doctor Cr valley from its head. This route would boast fantastic views and zero bushwhacking! The hitch in my plan came when I was unable to have Maui stay with a family member and the Eightmile/Caroline Lks trails are closed to canines. After some research on Caltopo and Google Earth, I decided to approach Windy Pass Tarn (WPT) from the west, first hiking the Trout Lake trail (#1555), then to the Eightmile-Trout trail (#1554) up toward Windy Pass from the opposite side, using trails legal for Maui. My plan to get an alpine start went bust when I overslept and thus hit the trailhead just before 8:00. The first 1.5 miles is along the Jack Creek trail, a popular horse packing route and is just as you'd expect, heavily worn and peppered with "landmines". The next 3.7 miles was on the Trout Lk trail which is also open to horses but appears to have seen less hoof travel. Nothing special about this trail, not very scenic, but efficient and has the advantage of remaining almost entirely in the shade. About 0.5 mi before reaching Trout Lake, I turned off on what the USFS sign calls the "Eightmile-Trout" trail, the route that continues up to Windy Pass. Both of these trails had seen work crews in recent weeks and were completely cleared of deadfall, including some logs in the 20-30" range - thank you trail crews!! Another pleasant surprise was the mysterious lack of bugs - no black flies or skeeters, even along Trout Creek and near the lake. Based on my Caltopo/Google recon, I left the trail before reaching Windy Pass at a point where the trail crosses the 6200' contour on the topo. My plan was to follow the WPT drainage from here up and east until I reached the tarn, but I expected the drainage would be brushy at this elevation so I began my ascent about 150 yards before (north) the point where the trail intersects the creek. I connected open glades between stands of sparse conifers gradually contouring up and toward the drainage which I joined higher above the brushline. There are actually 2 drainages in this valley and we used the left (north) of the two as it was more gently sloping and open than the creek coming directly from WPT. Wow, what pleasant hiking this was! Gorgeous meadows choked with dozens of species of wildflowers, great views in all directions, a moderate grade, no bugs, lots of pika and marmots, abundant water for Maui - and zero bushwhacking! I arrived at WPT in less time than I'd expected and found it to be larger and more scenic than I thought it would be. There were also numerous fish jumping and cruising the shoreline.

"Windy Pass" Lake and Mt Cashmere Personally, I don't think "Windy Pass Tarn" is a fitting name for a couple of reasons. First, I believe it's a lake, not a tarn IMO (Pluto is a planet) - it's large enough to be considered a lake and the water is quite clear. The water is not stagnant, there was a decent volume flowing from its outlet. Secondly, you can't see this lake from Windy Pass and it's really not even near the pass, it's in an entirely different basin. Lastly, this beautiful lake deserves a fitting name that exalts its beauty. Even Lake Cashmere would be more appropriate. Anyway, I digress. From the lake, I continued to the NE up to an actual tarn at 7200', the source of the drainage that I had followed after exiting the trail. From the tarn, we climbed the ridge to the north passing a subdivision of goat beds (but no goats) and crested the ridge at 7480'. From here I was looking directly down at the Doctor Cr valley and an easy 500' descent along several streamlets had us at the headwater of Doctor Creek, a pretty waterfall below snowfields on Mt Cashmere's north slope. Strolling along this beautiful basin without any signs of human impact I thought of the cattle trails throughout the "Core Zone" and was grateful for the experience of being in true wilderness and solitude. Cara was an easy jog through a boulder notch east of Doctor Cr. I have skied over Ruth Lake in the winter but I'd never been to Cara and I was excited to see it and to see Victoria 1200 feet below Cara's outlet. Cara didn't disappoint. The lake feels almost suspended on the craggy face of Mt Cashmere, sharp ridges, towers, gendarmes and perched blocks in a all directions. I was surprised to see no evidence of any fish having ever lived in Cara. No activity on the surface, no fish cruising the shore and no response to every fly and lure I offered.

Maui, a long way from his namesake, checking out the real tarn below Cashmere

View of Windy Pass Lake with Stuart peeking over Windy Pass, from 7480 ridge

At 7480 looking NE at Doctor Creek valley, Icicle Ridge, Big Lou, Ida and Big Slide creeks. Cara is up and right from the end of the meadow, Ruth is left and below

Waterfall off Cashmere snowfield - head of Doctor Creek

Maui checking out Cara

Celebrating arrival and pack removal with a good roll in the soft grass

Lake Victoria After setting up camp in the notch between Cara and Doctor Cr and a brief rest, Maui and I headed down the creek to Ruth Lake for an evening fish. A little brush (0.1 on the scale) and boulder travel down to a lake that is starkly different from its neighbor less than half a mile away. While Cara is set in a rocky, craggy, exposed alpine setting, Ruth's shores are almost entirely forested. Cara's water is deep and blue and Ruth seems more shallow and green. Both beautiful in contrast. Another difference was the fish, Ruth is chocked full of very active trout! At times it seemed I was catching a fish on every cast. It was getting late and Maui was bored with my fishing so we headed back to camp to eat and I enjoyed after-dinner bourbon in fading light along the shore of Cara. The only unfortunate thing on the trip was my cell phone betrayed me. I checked my battery level when we first arrived at Cara and I had 40% charge. 5 minutes later, with no apps running my level was 17% and another 5 minutes later it was 0%, dead. I had been running Gaia all day and occasionally testing the Caltopo beta for comparison. I didn't bring a camera so I was unable to get any photos of Ruth or any pics on my hike out the following day when the early morning lighting, whispy low clouds, and colored skies were spectacular! A tough lesson learned. Maui and I shared a restless night in the tent, battered by gusty winds. Maui awoke with each gust, paced, spun and re-settled. I moved against the windward wall of the tent to keep him a bit calmer but this meant I was taking the brunt of the gusts. I planned to meet my daughter in Cle Elum that afternoon but without a working phone I had no way of telling time, so Maui and I rose at first light, packed while I brewed coffee and oatmeal. We headed out just as the sun lit an orange fire on the tips of Cashmere's highest crags. The hike out was beautiful and I was able to really enjoy the views without the distraction of route-finding from the day before. I really wanted to stop at "Windy Pass" Lake and fish but I was only able to estimate the time based on the angle of the sun and didn't know if we were behind or ahead of schedule (we got back early). I will definitely come back again to camp and fish at this lake. A few notes about the trip: Estimated elevation gain from TH to high point - 4680 (I'd hoped to get a good GPS track and stats on the trip out but alas no battery) Estimated distance to Cara: 10.5 mi (I tried to subtract for my wanderings) Number of humans encountered c2c: 0.0 Mosquito bites: 2 Black fly bites: 0

[HitTheTrail]

Thanks for the TR about one of my desired destinations. There is nothing particular special to me about the place other than the fact that I have been close four times and failed to get there for different reasons. As for the correct name, one of my main hiking buddies who grew up in Leavenworth hiking the area actually met and had a talk with Kara and her father (who named the lake after her) on a hiking trip in the area back in the 60’s. Her father is Herman Gross and is mentioned in a roster of the Mountaineers of that era. And according to my friend, there was once a trail sign with Kara's name on it at a junction. I have been to Ruth twice and the “Cashmere tarn” twice but never to Kara. Not that I really give a damn at this point in my life but I have a trip planned to go there when the larches turn. This is a good reminder that I still need to go there before I stop making bucket lists.

[Bootpathguy]

[FiveNines]

Fun report. Interesting to read your thoughts and choices about routing options. No easy access. I set my point and shoot camera to briefly display exif data, including timestamp, when I take pictures. I use this to tell time in the field. Hope you make it up there this fall HTT. One of your old WPT TRs turned me on to the area. Think you got turned around by Chiwaukum Creek fire smoke bombs in that one?

[Sculpin]

Thanks for the excellent beta, kinda in my back yard, been meaning to head up there for awhile. Some trivia on this route: it takes you through one of the largest assemblages of conifer species in the world! You see these gee-whiz facts about 100-tree-species-per-acre in the Amazon, but very few places have more than 15 conifers. Deep holes tucked under the north side of the Stuart Range host a west-side assemblage of western hemlock and western red cedar. Add these to the already-diverse forests of the east slopes, plus the subalpine species...its a heck of a lot of conifers.

[Downhill]

HTT - Thanks for the historical context. From now on I will refer to the lake as Lake Kara. You read my mind. Throughout my hike I was thinking, "man, I gotta come back here in October for the Larches!" BPG - Thank you. I knew this area holds good memories for you too! 5-9s - Yes, there are a few route options, none are exactly "easy". Next time I go here, I will use the same route. Sculpin - Thanks for adding your conifer expertise. I remember hiking the approach and being impressed with the variety of cones along the trail. I'm far from an expert but I did notice the breadth and diversity of cones and trees. At higher elevations, I was thinking "deciduous conifer" and an autumn return visit!

[HitTheTrail]

[Bootpathguy]

[Downhill]