Erica's Travels in the PNW and Beyond: Heather-Maple Pass Loop Highway 20 Washington

August 6, 2017- It's a long drive from Seattle to get to the Maple Pass trailhead at the Rainy Pass Picnic Area on HWY 20, but well worth it. We weren't sure about doing the hike because the smoke from the wildfires was so thick lower down, but once we got into the higher elevations it wasn't as bad. The smoke still did hinder our views. If you want to go for the views, wait until the smoke clears. We decided to hike counter-clockwise due to the trail description in our hike book. It was a beautiful hike up to the pass. Lots of wildflowers and changing terrain. Going up this side is a little less steep. You hike 2000 feet of elevation in 4 miles as opposed to 2000 in 3 miles coming up the other way. We had lunch at an overlook on the trail halfway between Heather Pass and Maple Pass. Then we had another steep incline to get up to Maple Pass. Once up there, we got views of Corteo Peak and the surrounding close in peaks, but couldn't see much past the valley. The hike down was pretty steep. If it had been in the 90's like last week, we would have been pretty miserable on the exposed hillsides. We made it back to the car about 2 pm and headed back to Seattle with the agreement that we would definitely do this hike again when we can see the views. I'm sure they are magnificent.