, Washington. You want the East Bank Trail. Find Ross lake on a Map of the North Cascades. See the southeastern-most tip of the lake? A good map will identify this section of Ross Lake as "Ruby Arm." There's a trail head on the tip of the Ruby Arm. You access the trail from the park's main east-west road, Highway 20. If you have a trail map, you will notice the Panther Creek Trail comes up from the south and T-bones the East Bank Trail and State Highway 20. This is where you wanna start your hike.
What's so special about it?
The campsite.
The hike: As hikes go, it's nice, but not spectacular. From the trail-head, you drop down immediately to a footbridge that crosses Ruby Creek. Then you spend the next couple of hours, about 3.5 miles, climbing the well maintained trail, along the north bank of Ruby Creek. The grade is gradual, but persistent, more strenuous than you might expect from a creek-side trail. You will often be separated from the water (in spring and early summer it's more like a river,) by a thick wall of Pines and Aspen and a hundred foot drop off. For much of the trail, you may hear water, but not see it. You will pass over several creeks. On my early July hike, they provided ample water sources. The thick forest obscures the hiker's view of the mountains, but don't despair, your patience and your climb will payoff. Your view will be at the campsite. Hit the trail at least four hours before dark; you'll want to savor the view for a couple of hours, and might luck into a nice sunset over Ross Lake.
After 3.4 miles, you'll hit trail junctions. There should be a a sign with arrows on it, unless black bears have used it as a scratching post since my visit in 2008. There's 3 choices. You have a chance to climb Jack Mountain Trail by turning to your right. It's 4.5 miles to the end of that trail, 4.5 miles back, and the space between the lines on my topo map are barely discernible. If you're hardcore, do it the next day when you break the camp I'm about to tell you about.
You also have the chance to hike due north to Roland Creek. I don't know what's up that way, but the map indicates it'll be four more miles of hiking up Hidden Hand Pass before you get to hug Ross Lake. Again, do it the next day if so inclined (get it? inclined?) But you want to get to Ross Lake now. Why wait? You could have a heart attack during the next 4 miles if you choose one of the other options. Go my way, and take a chance of falling off a cliff instead. It's a much better way to go.
You'll bear left at these junctions, toward a designated campsite, Hidden Hand. It sucks, don't stop there. Keep going a little further. Hidden Hand camp is like going to Vegas and staying in your hotel room. What's the point? Walk a few city blocks further on the frequently-traveled extension of the marked trail. If your girlfriend is nagging you about how you're gonna get her lost, just like the time you ended up in South Central that night after the Lakers game, explain to her that this is different. You have a big-ass mountain on your right, and a big-ass lake on you left. Short of jumping into the lake or accidentally climbing a mountain, there's no way to get lost. Provided you don't step out of your tent and off a cliff at one of the non-designated campsites you'll soon encounter, you'll easily find your way back to the marked trail the next day.
As you approach the cliffs overlooking Ross Lake, don't be to eager to sink your tent stakes into a sweet spot. Keep climbing and cliff hoping until you reach your dream spot. You can perch your tent on a cliff, 60 feet above Ross Lake, unless you see a blue Sierra Designs tent already there and a good looking man with a blue backpack. In which case, say hi, over me a spot of tea, then piss off. If you need water, or want to try and catch minnows with your hand, there's several relatively easy routes to scramble down to the Lake.
Caution: Seriously, pay very close attention to your footing. Your feet can be on perfectly solid ground one moment. Take one step backward, and you'll do a gainer and smash your head open on the rocks below and ruin your partner's hike. Do not mess around on the cliffs after nightfall. Watch every step you take at this camp. Wear a headlamp
. If you get up to whizz in the middle of the night, don't forget you don't have your usual room to crawl out of your tent. If you're not sure you can handle all this, camp away from the cliffs. I put my tent literally 3 feet from the edge of a cliff. But that's me. You don't have to be me, although it's pretty good to be...
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