Surprise Hike

Surprise Creek (to Surprise Lake)
8 miles, 2300 ft gain

I normally don’t hike alone for safety reasons, but this weekend I decided to throw safety to the wind to seek some solitude. At a yoga retreat I attended, one of the activities was to spend a few hours in the morning in silence, not speaking, gesturing, or making eye contact with anyone else. A lot of people found it to be weird, but I didn’t. This is my preference in groups of people, and I only feel the need to speak due to societal expectations. So spending a few hours in the woods without the pressure to speak was really refreshing for me.

Not that there weren’t challenges. My navigational incompetence came out even more when there wasn’t someone to assist. My original plan was to hike Blanca Lake, so I drove to Index to get on Index-Galena Road, only to discover 5 miles down that the road was closed. I had done a bit of research before, but not enough. One of the roads to the trailhead was repaired last year, but not this one. Oops. My phone was out of data range, so I picked another hike in my book and headed there. Surprise! (groan) I should also mention that on the way to Index, it started raining (real rain) around Gold Bar, and my mood instantly darkened. It was not in the forecast at all, and I thought about turning around, but fortunately, it stopped quickly. I missed the turn for the Surprise Lake trailhead – well, I actually saw it, but I saw signs that said “emergency parking only” and didn’t think it was a road – and the next place to legally turn around was at the Stevens Pass ski resort. So I ended up driving 8 miles up to the pass and briefly considered changing itineraries yet again to Lake Valhalla, since I was already there. But 11 miles sounded long, so I turned around and drove back down. It wasn’t an entire waste – there was a toilet at Stevens Pass and there wasn’t one at the trailhead, and the drives down Index-Galena Road and Stevens Pass were gorgeous. Pollyanna Nina sees the bright side!

The Surprise Creek trail is one of those mean ones that starts out pretty flat – really, the first two miles or so don’t seem to have much gain at all. The first mile isn’t that interesting unless you’re really into trees. Once the trail begins to follow the creek, though, there are lots of peek-a-boo views of beautiful little waterfalls. Then it switches from boardwalks and smooth dirt to rocks, roots, and switchbacks like no one’s business. Hungry Bear Nina was happy to see a few ripe blueberries still hanging around for mid-switchback snacking. After walking for awhile, I started to wonder if hiking alone was really the best idea. Although my book listed this trail as “Heavy” for use, traffic in October is really different from traffic in August. I only saw two people between the start of my hike and midway through my sandwich at the lake. Later on, more people made it to the lake and the early birds who had continued to Glacier Lake came back, but I still only saw about 10 people the whole day. It made things really peaceful, as long as I could keep away thoughts of being attacked by bears or murderers. It didn’t help that I had several lines from the “Bed Intruder” song stuck in my head… thanks, Internet!

The first thing you hit in the lake basin is a set of campsites. This is apparently a popular place in the summer because there are a ton of signs and ropes blocking off areas where people have started to make side trails, and the camping is really organized – there’s a map of all the sites near the lake. Despite this map very clearly pointing out where the lake was in relation to the campsites, I ended up finding a toilet and the PCT before returning to the map to find out where I’d gone wrong. Turns out I’d ignored a creek crossing, and to add insult to injury, right after the crossing, there was a moss-covered rock with a big arrow cut into it.       

The trail continues on one mile to Glacier Lake (or you can take the PCT up Trap Pass to Trap Lake), but I was content to stop at Surprise Lake. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and I didn’t see anyone else at the lake for the first half hour or so that I was there. Took a bunch of pictures, stuffed my face with tuna sandwich, then Lizard Nina removed boots, fashioned backpack pillow, and sprawled across a sunny rock to read for an hour. Doesn’t get much better than that… Occasional splash from hungry trout jumping for the few remaining mosquitoes.

I bumped into two parties were carrying big bags of mushrooms they’d foraged along the way (my guess is hedgehog mushrooms, but I didn’t ask or get a close look). Locavore Chef Nina was tempted to pick some mushrooms and consult with the internet on identity, but since I had no idea what to look for, I left it alone. Maybe next year. Roots and rocks were a little slick on the way down, and I had some close calls before I finally fell and hit my hip on a rock. Clumsy Idiot Nina managed to make it back to the car without any serious injuries, thankfully.

I really think this is the best season to hike when Angry Weather Man relents and throws in a sunny weekend. Temperatures are manageable, most of the bugs are gone, and most of the annoying people are, too. Blanca will probably have to wait for next year, but I’m hoping for one more sunny weekend this month to hike to Ingalls Lake and its golden larches.

~N