Hiking Jade Lake & Dip Top Gap

Difficulty Level: Strenuous, some technical skills required to Dip Top Gap
Highest Point: 6,900 ft
Dog Friendly: Yes (but keep in mind the difficulty level)
Recreation Pass: Northwest Forest Pass
On September 7th, my friend and I hiked up to Jade Lake and then climbed up to Dip Top Gap. We left Seattle at 4 AM and started our hike a little after 6:45 AM. This has been on my hiking To-Do list for 2 years now and it exceeded 2 years of built up expectations. The entire trail was beautiful, passing by countless lakes and meadows with new fall colors. We had lunch at Marmot Lake, and then made our way around the lake and up a large boulder field before making it to Jade. Jade Lake is absolutely unbelievable and looks like something out of a cartoon (or blue Gatorade)!
From Jade Lake to Dip Top Gap, we made the mistake of staying high to the left instead of going up the gully. We ended up having to scramble up and across some very loose rock and then down climb all the way down to the basin. Don’t make this same mistake! It could have been very dangerous, as we did trigger some rock falls.
Luckily, since it’s September and the glacier was pretty small, our route up to the Gap was pretty mild (for glacier travel). We hiked up on the sides of the glacier. Anything else seemed too slick (there is ice hidden under almost all the dirt and gravel). We did bring microspikes but did not end up using them, although in hindsight, it definitely would have prevented me from falling going back down. This portion of the trail is not maintained and there really isn’t a clear trail up to the Gap. My only advice is to follow the path that is most comfortable for you. We hiked past a few crevasses on the glacier that were easy to avoid.
It was an incredible experience to get up to Dip Top Gap and see a new angle of Pea Soup Lake and Mount Daniel (the mountain I had just climbed a week prior). Once we got to the Gap, we only saw 2 other people for about an hour.
It is a pretty easy to follow trail, although on the way down, we did have to use our GPS a few times. This was probably one of the most beautiful hiking trips I have had. I see why so many people love to backpack there, because I didn’t want to leave. 12 hours was not enough, I will be back!
Trail info:
www.alltrails....
Music:
www.hooksounds...

[@nosam91]

Amazing edits! 👏🏾👏🏾

[@chanelleariel8947]

Love u ❤️

[@Amber-yo3lq]

Thanks for sharing! I think 12 hrs round trip is unrealistic for normal ppl like me...I might need to camp there.

[@mickto8372]

You think this is doable in early November?

[@chanelleariel8947]

I would say no. Especially with the early snow we got.

[@natisolaligue9091]

How long did it took you to hike to the lake ??

[@chanelleariel8947]

Which one?

[@1eyera]

ChanelleAriel jade lake