Rainbow Lake
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Rainbow Lake lies deep within the North Cascades, guarded by thick forests full of pesky insects. The day that my brother and I set out to stay two nights at this lake with such an enticing name, it was nearly ninety degrees. We bathed in sweat, and sometimes cold water from Bridge Creek, as we knocked down double-digit mileage in a single afternoon to get there. By evening, we needed strong liquor to keep us going. We spent an hour hiking by headlamp in the woods only to see the dark U-shape of Rainbow Pass still looming ahead in the night, impossible to conquer until morning.
View from Rainbow Pass. A few thousand feet down, a rotten log offers passage for hikers on Bridge Creek.
Middle Rainbow Lake and Bowan Mountain rising from Rainbow Pass.
A moraine left by a long-gone glacier at the head of Middle Rainbow Lake.
Summits of Chelan-Sawtooth country peeking over Rainbow Ridge.
Gigantic cliffs like hardened muscles on the torso of Bowan Mountain soar above Rainbow Lake.
Late light on Middle Rainbow Lake.
Sunset brought on a rainbow of colors.
Rainbow lake viewed from Rainbow Pass.
