Heather Pass and Maple Pass Loop is a popular trail, which almost guarantees a full parking lot at 10 am on a weekend after Labor Day.  A National Forest Service pass is required and there is a drop box for a day pass at the trail head.  It can be hiked either direction, clockwise or counter clockwise.  In reading reviews, most suggested hiking counter clockwise since we would be able to have views right away along the trail.  Also the ascent is longer yet not as steep as the other direction and so that is what we did.  We also figured that if most people hiked it this direction there would be fewer groups we would encounter.  We took our time and I used my camera a lot. We had missed the vibrant wildflowers which were evident in the seed pods and spent blooms all along the trail however the fall foliage was just started to showcase it's color and the yellows ranged from mustard gold to bright sunny yellow all along the trail, contrasting that with the grey rocks and the blue waters, it was striking. John mentioned that this my be his favorite hike because you could see so many different drainages along the way and provided stunning view after stunning view. I am somewhat of a geek and made John purchase a map so I could try to identify the different peaks and valleys along the way. We stopped just along the boundary with North Cascades National Park and Okanogan National Forest for lunch.  Apparently this was a great spot because he came upon a chipmunk devouring a cracker from another hiker.  When I was within a foot it took off never to be seen again. We were treated to views of Lewis Lake to the west, Lake Ann directly below us in the glacial cirque.  We worked our way across the ridge line to Maple pass and then took a detour to an overlook that afforded another view of both north and south.  Glacier Peak prominently rose in the background and dwarfed the other peaks.  Once again I had the map out and using a compass on John's phone, tried to determine each peak that we saw.  We continued along the ridge line with a view of a pond that fed into rainy lake via a waterfall.  Even now I can hardly fathom where all the water was coming from to create  enough water for the falls.  It seemed as if we continued high along the ridge long passed when we should be descending.  We could see the other side of the cirque and where the trail was. The last mile or so we descended 1700 feet back to the level of the parking lot and it was an easy paved path back to the lot.  I could see why it was suggested to hike counter clockwise.  This is worth another hike and maybe even a backpacking trip to Lewis or Wing Lake.