[simage=3861,200,n,left,] Stunning weather forecast for Saturday. Rain forecast for Sunday. We decided to head up to Egypt Lake for the weekend anyway, knowing we have a fantastic early Fall evening in the mountains (no bugs!).
We hiked up Healy Creek from Sunshine Ski Area. It’s a really easy trail through pleasant forest. After about 6-7 km we started to emerge into meadow clearings and eventually up to the gentle slopes of Healy Pass Pass. The views form Healy Pass are great, especially the Pharoh Peaks and Scarob Peak to the northeast, above the forested valley where Egypt Lake lies.
We dropped down from Healy Pass and turned north the short distance to Egypt Lake campground, which is not actually that close to the lake. The hike had taken only four hours, so we pitched the tent and then headed up to Whistling Pass, which is a much more dramatic and wild place than Healy Pass – definitely worth the one hour climb from the campground. It was getting a bit late a windy as we arrived at Whistling Pass, so we dropped back to the campground for a nice meal as dusk fell.
The following morning was wet as promised. We broke camp early and hiked out in about three hours. The weather brightened up, and being the first on the trail meant we saw some wildlife at Healy Pass. Initially we thought it was maybe a wolf, but after checking a blurry photo and our Audubon guide it was a coyote (we were suprised coyotes would this high in the mountains, but apparently they are found in this area).
Egypt Lake is worth a weekend trip (although we never went to the mediocre lake itself). There are other more spectacular hikes, but this is so accessible you can start late and still have a good weekend in the mountains.
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