Was there anything to see
this trip?
Decide for yourself.
Back in 2013, I needed an extra day of exploration just to find little, obscure Wince Lake. But once I found it, I knew immediately that this was a place worth revisiting. It is unimposing, isolated, comfortable. It barely deserves a name, considering the larger, more impressive, unnamed lakes present in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. But Wince has some unusual features, some accidental, some historical.
It is accessible along remnants of an abandoned trail that was once a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. Maps forgot about it many decades ago, after the Deep Lake to Cathedral Pass and Cathedral Pass to Deception Pass sections were built to bypass the busy Cle Elum River area.
There are some small camp spots nearby, plenty of space for camping a short distance back from the lake.
In the appropriate season, it is pleasantly "swimable," with access along the east shore.
It is located just a couple hundred feet below the gentle top of Cathedral Ridge, serving as a useful launch point for ridgetop explorations.
There are some special challenges too. Like finding it. I did say obscure, right?
To reach it, you start from the Cathedral Pass Trailhead, near the head of the Cle Elum River. Finding parking at the trailhead is in itself no simple feat, particularly on weekends. Most of the foot traffic is going 3.0 miles to Squaw Lake. Most everybody else continues on to join up with the Pacific Crest Trail, and to follow it down to Deep Lake. Very few follow the quiet Trail Creek trail.