all images © James Tung, 2001-2008
Round Lake and Lunch Lake
We begin our backpacking at the Sol Duc ("Sole Duck") trailhead where hordes of tourists were making the short hike to Sol Duc Falls. The trail became solitary again after that. Almost the entire leg we climbed up, with Sol Duc River cutting a deep valley to the right of the direction of travel. The cloudy weather eventually became intermittent rain. After a few thousands feet of ascent we arrived at camp, next to the river. The view wasn't great, and it was pretty wet and cold, so I was glad to hide in the tent for the remainder of the afternoon and warm up a bit.
Sol Duc Falls |
on the trail |
Sol Duc Park camp |
It started raining pretty hard around midnight and we didn't get up until we really needed to get going. We got out and discovered that the tent fit neatly in a puddle of water; the waterproofing held up admirably. We hiked mostly in the cold rain the rest of the day. A few cloudbreaks allowed us to get a peek of the glaciers on the High Divide, but Mt. Olympus was hidden under the cloud all day.
We started seeing bears as we approach the Hoh Lake camp, and came prett close to one. At camp we counted 6 bears on the slope on the other side of the lake. There was also a very friendly deer that decided to wander into the camp and check things out.
awwww, Heart Lake |
Blue Glacier |
on the High Divide |
Lunch Lake? |
bear! |
deer! |
The rain stopped today and the sun finally came out around noon, but the cloud didn't lift in the higher elevation. We made a morning stroll around Hoh Lake, and found a few marmots. There seems to also be a healthy tadpole population in the lake (and other lakes in the area, as we discovered later).
We made the short 3 mile hike into Lunch Lake, which is flanked by Round Lake and Clear Lake. One can easily spend a few days there exploring the Basin, but we just hiked around Lunch Lake before dinner, and called it a day when it got dark.
Wolf! |
Wolf again! |
marmots! |
tadpoles! |
fork at Bogachiel Peak |
trail to Lunch Lake |
Lunch lake |
Lunch Lake rock formation |
mossy rocks |
We got up early, and it was a bright, sunny day without a cloud in the sky. The plan was to finish the loop and go back to the trailhead via Deer Lake, but we decided to walk back the same way we came and see what we missed on the High Divide. The glaciers became visible as we climbed up to the fork near the Bogachiel Peak, and for a few miles we had nice views of the Basin on one side, and Mt. Olympus and the glaciers on the other.
Lunch Lake |
Round Lake |
White Glacier (?) |
Wolf with glaciers |
Blue Glacier |
Heart Lake |
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all images © James Tung, 2001-2008