Robin Lakes rival the Enchantment Lakes for scenic beauty and popularity. I joined many friends that I didn’t know I had for a great 3 day outing. I set up camp north of the lakes, and only saw 5 people walk by in the distance. I wanted to avoid the 6 noisy teenagers who brought guitars and other musical instruments so I camped near a large pine tree in a wide open flat 10 minute walk from the lakes. There is plenty of room for those who want solitude even if there are 20 or more people in the area like there was Friday – Sunday. Most people evidently like to get close at the several camp spots between the Robin Lakes. I was almost far enough away from the crowds that I couldn’t hear the dogs barking at the goats. There must have been at least 15 more people heading for Robin Lakes Sunday, including a group of 8-9 men who were having difficulty on the steep part of the Deception Pass Trail, not that there are any steep sections before the Robin Lake Trail junction. I would need to put 25 pounds of rocks in my pack to equal the weight they were carrying. In stark contrast there were 7 college age men and one woman with no packs each carrying half empty water bottles heading for Tuck Lake. They had a long ways to go with no food and other essential gear. There were about 10 people at Tuck Lake Sunday morning when I was headed back to the very full parking lot.
For those who don’t know, the Deception Pass Trail up the Robin Lakes junction is relatively easy hiking. There are a few easy creek crossing, a few roots, rock, and mud holes, but nothing difficult. The climb to Tuck and Robin Lakes is steep and rocky. The trail from Tuck to Robin is well marked with cairns.
The weather this weekend was fantastic; blue sky, intermittent but welcome breezes, and warm. The gentle winds were welcome because the mosquitoes were having a field day with all of the fresh bodies in the area. The light wind sometimes provided relief, but even with DEET I am sitting here scratching the mosquito bites as I write this report. Needless to say the mosquito population is doing well. The cutthroat trout population is the Robin Lakes is also healthy and there are plenty of goats in the area.
The goats are habituated to humans, as they have been for several years, but I didn’t notice any aggressive animals. One ewe was chasing other goats when they got too close to her kid, but she walked right up to me with her kid and posed for photos while I was sitting on one of the large flat granite rocks that dominate the landscape. I enjoyed watching 7 goats Friday afternoon. The 2nd time I ran into them they were busy dusting themselves. I spotted them from a distance because of the dust clouds. I should have got some video of them rolling around in and kicking dust into the air.
Saturday I hiked to the top of Trico Mountain and down to Trico Lake. The trip to Trico Lake was not worth the effort. I should have hiked to the top of Granite Mountain, but I did the several years ago. The mosquitoes were much worse at Trico Lake than at the Robin Lakes. As far as I know I was the only person who completed the short walk and gentle climb to Trico Mountain. There is a sketchy unmapped trail that is marked with cairns. The views are superb. Mt Baker and Glacier Peak are visible to the north, and Mts Adams and Rainier are visible to the south and southwest. The closer peaks that are visible include Mt Daniel, Cathedral Rock, Granite Peak and more too numerous to name. Many lakes including Klonaqua, Phoebe (Upper and Lower), Jungfrau and the 3 Granite Mtn Potholes are visible at some point along the route to the top of Trico Mtn and on the ridge to the north. Years ago I enjoyed a loop trip starting at Paddy Go Easy Pass Trail to the above mentioned Lakes and out via Robin Lakes, Tuck Lake and the Deception Pass Trail.
I have no doubt that the young lady who’s dad gave her a four hour limit from their camp at Tuck Lake made it the top of Granite Mountain and back in time. Her dad told me that she climbed Mt Baker and Mt. Shuksan last week.
Everyone and their dogs were on the trail Sunday as I left the area. The dogs were well behaved. The 2 the dogs at Robin Lakes that chased and barked at the goats were the exception. Those 2 men should stay home or not take their dogs. I was surprised that there were not more tents at Hyas Lake. Most of the group there were day hikers. I saw a little kid on a bicycle at Hyas. I enjoyed talking with a young couple from Kirkland who hiked down from Robin Lakes at a record setting pace a few hundred feet behind me all the way down the Deception Pass Trail. They commented that they thought they would catch me. I think they were surprised that an old guy could hike at that fast pace for the entire 4.4 miles. They did pass me when I stopped for water between Hyas Lake and the trailhead but we hit the parking lot about the same time. There were 50-60 or so cars in the area, but we were parked next to each other. I learned that we have both had hamburgers at Miner’s in Yakima. We agreed that if we hike hard we can occasionally eat some unhealthy food.

Notes; 12 person (8 boys, 4 adults) Boy Scout troop out of Issaquah. GPS & gaiters highly advised as there are long sections of the PCT Tr 2000 are under snow, most north slope/shadowed areas have snow, in some areas the snow was 10'+ ft deep. Plan on snow at elevations above 5000'. Lots of downed trees to scramble under/over from Stevens to almost Waptus Lk. Unless noted, PCT Tr 2000 is what is being reported

Day 1; Started at Stevens pass on 7 Aug, trail through far side of ski resort good, (down trees in resort) , lost trail in snow just beyond power lines, found trail intermittently on traverse to Lk Susan Jane, on climb up to junction with Tr 1551 more patches snow. Spent night at Josephine Lk, mosquitoes bad, toilet needs maintenance (still usable), lake water temp cool

Day 2; Josephine Lk to Glacier Lk, left Josephine @ 0845, and back on PCT at 0930, was in snow with in 200yds, using GPS, found very short (1 - 100 yds) sections of trail exposed. At pass above Swimming Deer Lk caught up with British ROTC group that was turning back due to trail conditions and inadequate equipment. Snow on trail until Mig Lk. Trail stayed clear except a few spots above Trap Lk, those spots were really bad as they were in avalanche chutes that were hundreds of feet down and stopped in boulder fields. Arrived at 1800hrs, all were really tired, Glacier Lk still had ice floating in it, tent locations were small/scarce due to snow on all flat areas. Mosquitoes bad, very damp location... No toilet

Day 3; Glacier Lk to Hyas Lk (Bypassed Deception Pass to Cathedral Rock section due to resupply stop at Tucquala Meadows trailhead) Started on trail @ 0900, lots of snow once out of boulder fields and at base of Pieper pass climb, trail is spotty than just disappears part way up, had to scramble/bushwack for 2/3's of the way up due to steep snow. Once on Pieper pass summit and down to Hyas Lk just patches to cross. Arrived Hyas Lk at 1600hrs. Used camp sites in mid lake, Mosquitoes OK, toilet in good condition

Day 4; Hyas Lk to resupply at Tucquala Meadows trailhead, than to Peggys Pond. Left Hyas at 0900, did resupply, started up Tr 1345 at 1100. Passed FS maintenance crew clearing downed trees part way up switch backs, they mentioned that most trails around Waptus Lk were cleared but the PCT into Snoqualmie still had lots of downed trees and snow crossings that needed ice axes and crampons. Did lunch at Squaw Lk, than continued on to Peggys Pond. The trail (Tr 1375) to Peggys Pond is really a mt goat trail... If you follow the well-used trail you will most likely miss where you should start a uphill route going directly to Peggys. If you missed the "Y" and continue you'll find yourself at a small pond. From the looks of the trail, most people think this is Peggys and turn around and head back, if you head uphill from this pond you will find Peggys Pond (really a sm lake), area was mostly covered in snow from lower pond to Peggys. Later in the night the wind really blew through and was clouded/cold/damp in the morning. Figured out that as soon as we got out from between Mt Daniel and Cathedral Rock the clouds cleared... Mosquitoes OK, south toilet has been disassembled(?), found where it had been (hole is filled in), a few boards now lean against nearby tree, north toilet usable

Day 5; Peggys Pond to Waptus Lk. Once back on PCT it was a now normal hike with some downed trees to cross. Had a stream fording near Deep Lk that went well, thought the mosquitoes were going to carry off our smallest scout... really bad... Turned off the PCT at Tr 1310.1, had a pleasant night at the south end of Waptus Lk, few mosquitoes, some flies that bite, toilet in good condition.

Day 6; Waptus Lk to Salmon La Sac via Tr 1329.1 to Tr 1310. Waptus river ford on Tr 1329.1 was above the knee deep. Hike into Salmon La Sac was uneventful... 5 nights, 5 & 1/2 days, 54 +/- miles

We took the "long way in" to Deception Lakes via Hyas Lake, Deception Pass, and a short stretch of the PCT. The trail to Hyas Lake is short, wide, flat, and well-groomed. Great for families with kids; plenty of campsites/lunch spots.

Beyond Hyas Lake, the trail narrows, begins to look more like a true wilderness trail, yet remains in great shape to Deception Pass. Once we passed the turnoff to Tuck and Robin Lakes, we only encountered one other couple coming through Deception Pass after attempting Marmot Lake. They told us that they hit a dangerous avalanche crossing that they weren't prepared for, and turned around. (On our way out, we talked to a group who said they were climbing up there, and that particular "snow bridge" collapsed overnight while they were camped...and they would have had a hard time getting out of there without their snow axes, etc.)

The PCT is in mostly good shape, and there's evidence of recent trail improvements, but upwards of a dozen large downed trees renders this piece of trail impassable for stock. There's a hairy stream/waterfall crossing about 1 mile south of Deception Lakes that will get you wet and make your heart beat a little faster than usual until the waterflow slows a bit. (I spent the next half-hour hiking/drying my right side from the waist down, while my left side was mostly untouched.)

Deception Lakes were beautiful in a Melakwa Lake-like way, but without the crowds...actually, we were the only people there on the nicest, warmest summer weekend we've had so far this year. Phil attempted to follow the sign pointing toward the Deception Lakes Horse Camp, but found himself on a steep, snow-covered Surprise Mtn trail. We weren't able to find the shelter either, but a backcountry toilet was quite handy, if strangely close to multiple water sources.

We returned the way we came, in complete solitude until we got to the Tuck/Robin Lakes junction. These over-used lakes were the destination of most of the hikers we saw; I'm glad we were willing to put in a couple extra easy miles to find solitude within our "loved-to-death" Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

During this wonderful loop hike of 14.5 miles, you encounter beautiful vistas, lakes, and the Pacific Crest Trail. However, July 29th start date was probably a little early in the season due to the fact that the trail requires you to ford Daniel Creek and cross a snow bridge. In addition, since I was hiking with my two teenage sons (which are experienced backpackers) along with my 8 year old son (who was on his 2nd overnight backpacking experience), this was quite a challenging 3 day/2 night hike. We also enjoyed some solitude on the trail since we did not encounter anyone during the entire middle section of our hike (probably due to the creek crossings).

To get to Deception Pass trailhead you will need to travel on an unpaved road for 12.5 miles which takes approx. an hour if you don't have a 4WD vehicle. We started our hike at the Deception Pass trailhead late Friday. The meadow surrounding the parking lot was full with wildflowers. We hiked 2.5 easy, forested miles to Hyas Lake which is a beautiful green/blue lake (see picture). Sites are in close proximity to the trail so are not very private, but at least the sites are spread out along the edge of the lake so we did not hear any noise from other backpackers.

Next day we hiked 9.5 miles from Hyas Lake to Squaw Lake. Due to the trail conditions, this was a challenging day. After leaving Hyas Lake you hit a series of switchbacks and make your way up to Deception Pass. Just past the junction to Tuck and Robin Lakes, you start to encounter your first snow. However, the trail is easy to follow. You then shortly ascend to Deception Pass where you meet up with the Pacific Crest Trail.

This portion of the Pacific Crest Trail was the most beautiful and challenging section of our hike. You encounter at least 3 major creek crossings. The first creek crossing is not bad but you will need to get your boots wet. However, the weather was nice and our boots dried out quickly. The next crossing (Daniel Creek) was the most challenging as I went thigh deep (I am 6'4") in a swift current of water. My sons and I locked arms and forded the creek...what an adventure! I would have loved to have a video of our crossing. The last major "creek crossing" was actually an ice bridge that we were able to safely navigate over.

Once you are able to cross these hazards, you start your ascent toward Cathedral Rock and climb to a ridge that opens up to gorgeous views of Mount Daniel and Cathedral Rocks. After crossing the ridge about a mile or so before the Deep Lake junction, the trail traverses through patches of snow and is approximately 60% snow covered. However, we had a GPS so we did not have too much problem following the trail.

Once you reach 5600 feet elevation, and reach the Deep Lake junction, you begin your descent so snow on the trail is no longer an issue, but we did encounter some muddy sections of the trail. We did not reach Squaw Lake until around 7pm and found the camp sites pretty full. However, we found a somewhat private site nestled between the trail and the lake with a nice water source, flat area, and fire pit. The bugs were a little bit of a problem, but the campfire helped keep them away as we ate our meal.

We awoke early and made the easy, downhill 2.5 miles back to the Cathedral trailhead. This was the more popular route as we met up with many other hikers heading to Mount Daniel. There were several fallen trees over the trail in this section, none that big of a problem.

Overall, I would definitely do this trip again (probably not with a young child), but a little later in the season.