"Hike up Wright Mtn. I'm now out of shape, but in a few days after this, I'll be in better shape! The views from the top are spectacular in all directions. Nice view north to Glacier Peak. Lots of people on the trail to Gem Lake. If you're going to Gem, you might as well ascend the extra 400 ft to get this view! 3050 ft gain, 11 miles, 8:20 hours" — markgarrett • Aug 26, 2020

"Decided to celebrate Independence Day with a trip in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Seeing recent trip reports to Snow Lake, I opted for Lakes and some mountains today, to experience and capture some of the snow and ice conditions and find some amazing blue ice in the lakes. The trail descending the ridge to Snow Lake is about 3/4 covered in snow. The snow is hard-packed, but I would highly recommend poles and advise good spikes. There were many people ascending the ridge, back from the lake mid-morning and it was often difficult to pass. Most people were in sneakers, and I'm surprised people were not slipping and knocking others off the trail. Once you pass the second-day use and lake access area and head towards Gem lake, people were far and few between. Beware of some of the snow bridges and rock wells, as the snow melts, areas are exposed below and can collapse, leading to injury. Once past the junction to the MF Snoqualmie river/trail, the trail is muddy from snowmelt, and there are increasingly more patches of snow. Past the log bridge, and about a half-mile up, the trail becomes completely snow-covered. Poles and spikes will make the trek up to Gem Lake more manage..." — markhadland • Jul 4, 2020

"From the boys' WTA Trip Report: We are the Mountain Goats and today we headed up to the Snoqualmie Pass area. Our original plan was to try and climb Mount Roosevelt, as we started to head up the Snow Lake trail in cloudy weather. It was pretty easy going up to Snow Lake and got a bit crowded as we descended from the pass towards the lake. The recent snow and slush had frozen over and was pretty slippery. Especially for people with sneakers and no poles. Many people were stopping here as we cruised around the lake on our way towards Gem Lake. On the trail up to Gem Lake we started getting some really nice views into the Central Cascades jagged peaks. We saw Lemah, Thomson, Big Snow, Burnt Boot, Avalanche, Hinman, Overcoat, and may others we couldn't immediately identify. Really cool views from this angle. The meadows near Gem Lake are beautiful and we passed lots of tarns that are filling back up with the recent rain and snow. Fall colors are out, too. Soon we hit Gem Lake and what appeared to be the split to the climbing trail to Roosevelt. Because of the dusting of snow, concern about it possibly raining, and knowing that the climb to Roosevelt is steep and expose..." — BryHong8 • Oct 7, 2018

"Finally made the trek up to Snow Lake on this wilderness superhighway. Amazed to see 80 or so cars at the TH parking lot on this Wed am... with more rolling in all the time. Never underestimate how seriously Washingtonians take this stuff! Completely socked in on the ascent; finally started to burn off as we made it to Gem Lake. Contemplated heading over to Mt Roosevelt but only had a 4 hr window so opted for Wright. Found the path very easily up from Gem Lake, an easy route past several tarns and up over some talus. Great summit perch with exceptional views in all directions. Would love to explore deeper into this limitless wilderness in the future." — scott • Aug 20, 2014

"I spent last weekend backpacking with some friends above Snow Lake. The plan was to visit 4 peaks and at least 5 alpine lakes in a single weekend. Along the way we would encounter mountain goats, ice shelf collapse and even an explosion. We had stellar weather with temperatures up to the high 70's and sunny skies the entire trip. On Friday night I hiked in after work with Colin and set up camp on the north end of Gem Lake just as the Sun set, then we made the short trip up Wright Mountain by headlamp. A nearly full moon made for less than brilliant starry skies, but the surrounding peaks were so brightly lit that they could be distinguished from miles away. After a quick dinner we hit the hay to prepare for an early start on a long day. Saturday - Wildcat Lakes, Lake Caroline, Caroline Peak, and Wild Dare Peak Just before 8 o'clock we continued West on the High Lakes Trail, losing around 1000 feet over 2 miles to reach Lower Wildcat Lake where the official trail ends. A short overgrown bootpath took us to Upper Wildcat Lake, where we had a beautiful view of or planned destinations for the day - Caroline Peak and Wild Dare Peak. We watched some fish jump and discussed the..." — Jeb • Jul 19, 2013

"Hiked to the summit on the 2nd day of a 3 day camp trip at Gem Lake. The trail is steep and rough and the last couple hundred feet is more of a scramble up a talus/scree slope. The weather was warm and sunny which afforded excellent views. There were bugs all over the summit but at 2nd glance they turned out to be lady bugs." — mtnhiker • Sep 23, 2009