From July 20-25, 2020, we returned to the Olympic National Park's North Fork Skokomish River Trail, starting at the Staircase Ranger Station area. But this time our main destination was the Flapjack Lakes/Gladys Divide area. The entire trip was a bit of a zig zaggy, circuitous path, but it made sense to us.
For the pictures, see link at the bottom of the email. You will notice my partner Bob is the only human in the pictures. That's because I'm the photographer. :-)
This was our first backpacking trip with our camping hammocks. We have been sleeping on them on our own property in the woods for months now, but hadn't backpacked with them yet. And though it is much, much, much more comfortable than sleeping in a tent, it, of course, brings the challenge of finding two properly-sized and distanced trees to hang from.
(BTW, we are using a two-hammock, two-tree setup, with Dutch Beetle Buckles and spreader bar, bar stabilized like James Fowler suggested in a different thread, covered by Dutch Wide Winter Tarp.)
Our trip lasted 4 nights/5 days, for a total of at least 34.5 miles and elevation gain of 6,293 ft.
Day #1:
Staircase to Big Log (night at Big Log; 57F).
The trail to Big Log is fairly flat, until you get there and have to hike down a somewhat steep trail to the actual camping area.
We love this campground, and found a perfect hammock site far away from the center of camp (keep going past the privy; last established site). The sound of the rushing water was our constant companion. Just lovely. We only saw one other couple there.
5.93 mi, elevation gain 935 ft, descent 423 ft
Day #2:
Big Log to Flapjack Lakes (night at Flapjack Lakes; 52F).
We had to backtrack 2 miles to Spike Camp, to then start the climb up the Flapjack Lakes trail.
We passed Madeline Creek and Donahue Falls. The last 1.5 miles is the steepest, going up 1,440 ft. It was hotter that day, and a bit grueling.
The Flapjack Lakes area is beautiful, and well worth the climb to get there. Many people do it as a day hike. But for us, staying there two nights allowed for the next day's hike, plus enjoying the lakes a little longer. We never got in, mind you. Just enjoyed them visually. The mosquitoes, however, enjoyed US.
We found a hammock site that worked, though we were glad to have 15-ft tree straps because these were WIDE trees. There would have been a way nicer site next to a stream, and far away from everyone (last site to the far left), but it was taken the first night.
We were so tired that night that we didn't have dinner; just some snacks, clean up, and bedtime.
8.7 mi, elevation gain 2,858 ft, descent 554.
Day #3:
Flapjack Lakes to Gladys Divide (night at Flapjack Lakes; 46F)
The nicer hammocking site next to the stream became available. But to break down our camp and set it up again would have taken longer than we wanted to invest, so we stayed where we were.
It was an absolutely gorgeous, clear day; sunny, but not too hot. We enjoyed a beautiful day hike, passing lots of wildflowers, and hiking along Sawtooth Ridge most of the time. We had to hike through a boulder field (still hiking with our Vibram Five Fingers) to get to the Divide. We didn't encounter snow until literally 100 feet or so from Gladys Divide - and very little at that. Never walked on it. But yes, Bob had to make a snowball and throw it. We kept going up Mount Gladys a little ways but didn't get to the top. Had it been earlier in the day (and we less exhausted), we might have gone all the way up. But we still had two more days of hiking left, and we didn't want to overdo it.
We had also planned to hike to Black and White Lakes that day, but that would have meant climbing down from Flapjack, up to Black and White, and then back UP to Flapjack, and that was NOT gonna happen. Hopefully some other time.
4.25mi, elevation gain 1427, descent 1440
Day #4:
Flapjack Lakes to Camp Pleasant and then back to Big Log (night at Big Log; 52F)
We packed up and headed down the trail, which was way faster and easier than going up. There were definitely more people heading up to Flapjack on Thursday than there had been on Tuesday.
We had planned to spend the night at Camp Pleasant. However, when we got there, we couldn't find a proper site to hang from, on either side of the river. And it was 6pm. Oops.
So, fingers crossed, we sprinted back to Big Log and found our sweet site available. Knowing the site well - and now with more experience - we were able to set up camp there pretty quickly, get water, make dinner, clean up, and get to bed at a reasonable hour, all despite our extra 2.8 miles.
Total that day: 9.6mi, elevation gain 643, descent 2995
Day #5:
Big Log back to Staircase. We took our sweet time to even break camp since it was going to be a relatively short and easy hike back, and we didn't want to leave anyway.
After being in relative solitude for 5 days, it's always hard to encounter the numerous day hikers as we get closer to the trailhead, plus the weekend car campers at Staircase. Almost makes you want to turn around and head back into the wild.
6mi, elevation gain 430, descent 1030
When we got home Friday, we still had time to unpack, shower, make dinner, and set up camp again out on our property so we could sleep outside on our hammocks.
Enjoy the pictures. You will notice Bob savoring his espresso made on his Nanopresso with Barista kit. Mmm... No instant Starbucks Via crap for us. No sir.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/F3B6QteY57UDmjaW7
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