We started our planning for this trip with the simple idea of doing the loop hike from the Sol Duc Trail head to High Divide to Heart Lake and out via Sol Duc Park and the Sol Duc Trail. Two of the four on the hike had already done this loop multiple times so I was interested in finding something interesting as a side trip. We looked into the area East of Sol Duc Park for some off trail exploration and discovered an area called Swimming Bear Lake (used to be known as Cat Lake). Basically from the Bailey Range Traverse trail there is a side trail that will take you around the East side of the peaks between Sol Duc Park and Cats Basin. The old trail eventually makes it Oyster Lake and Appleton Pass. We discovered this trip with the help of Ron Howard (http://ronhayward.net/catlake-0 and http://ronhayward.net/catlake09).
The first part of the trip was the normal hike up to Sol Duc Falls and Deer Lake. We made great time and quickly pushed for the ridge to High Divide and Seven Lakes Basin. The trip around the Bogachiel Basin was amazing. It was my first time seeing the area with clear skies and no fog or snow. I was really surprised when we didn't see or hear any elk in the area but we were reward with a black bear eating his way along the trail (eventually we saw 11 bears for the entire trip). Once we made it around Bogachiel Peak we stopped for lunch and the amazing views of Mt. Olympus. Again it was great to have clear skies and no sign of the smoke from Eastern WA. We passed a number of hiking groups along High Divide (most going the opposite direction) as we headed to Heart Lake. When we got to Heart Lake I was regretting changing our reservation to Swimming Bear Lake (another 2 to 2.5 miles away).. I was ready to call it a day, but the guys helped push forward and with some patience we found the waytrail/boot path to Swimming Bear Lake. We were immediately reward for the extra mileage by a herd of 50 elk and multiple bears gazing along the hillsides. Even better we got some amazing views of Mt Olympus and the Bailey Range as the sunset for the evening. Through the night we were serenaded by the bugle calls of the bull elks and the sounds of falls rocks and the herd moved along the hills near camp.
In the morning we headed North/Northeast to find the boot path trail that would take us to Appleton Pass. It appeared the elk had the same idea as we entered forest we weaved our way through the trees with the elk following the same path. Eventually we took a higher route to avoid spooking the elk. The rest of the trip just felt like a dream as we were rewarded each time we cross over another ridgeline to find basins and valleys that have rarely been seen before. All the time I was looking down into Cats Basin and thinking about the tales I've read of the Press Expedition exploring the area. The trail was barely visible in areas but was always easy enough to find (don't try this if you do not have trail finding / route finding abilities). It had its ups and downs but arriving at the valley before Oyster Lake we knew our adventure was almost over. We stopped at Oyster Lake for rest and then beat feet down the South side of the Appleton Pass trail to the Sol Duc River Trail and back out. All together it was 25 miles in two days and some great times with my good friends.
Some other pics can be found on skydrive (http://sdrv.ms/RtW0lB)

We did the Seven Lakes/High Divide loop as described in the classic 100 Hikes book, starting and ending at Sol Duc and taking the loop clockwise.

Being that we aren't in top form and we haven't put a full pack on in a while, we broke the trip down into small chunks:
First night camp - Lower Bridge Creek.
Second night camp - Heart Lake.
Third night camp - Lunch Lake.

This allowed us time to poke around Cat Basin, go up Bogachiel Peak and relax at camp.

Doing this hike midweek, the trails weren't very crowded. The camps at Heart Lake and Lunch Lake were 100% full, but the lower camps like Sol Duc and Deer Park were nearly empty.

We saw a lot of rangers, park employees and volunteers doing trail work and checking on hikers. They are doing a great job. The trail was in amazing shape. The only trouble areas were from Deer Lake to Sol Duc Falls, where the trail is its most rugged - lots of rocks, big steps and water on the trail.

Blueberries are at their ripest right now, very late, and we also had a lot of lupine in bloom at the highest elevations.

With the berries ripe, we saw a ton of black bears - 8 or 9, three of them at close range. They are such beautiful creatures. We also saw one lone bull elk and heard there's a herd of 30 to 40 in the valley between Heart Lake and Seven Lakes Basin.

The only negative on the trip? Mosquitoes. We usually can avoid them by waiting until September for our backpacking trip, but this time we were swarmed at every camp in the upper elevations. We had DEET but I wish I had brought my head net.

Also - our views were affected by the Eastern Washington wildfire smoke, it was very hazy, especially to the south.

Overall this trip is unbelievable - the views from the High Divide extend from the Hoh River Valley floor to the top of Mt Olympus. It's hard to even describe the vastness. Looking at the Olympics from Seattle, it's comforting to know that a place so wild and natural is so near by.

We had absolutely beautiful weather for the High Divide trip this weekend! We did the loop clockwise, starting with the Sol Duc River trail. There were some wildflowers in the Sol Duc Park area -- many more on the divide. Spent the first night at Heart Lake. No issues, save for some tired feet. Didn't see any goats at the lake...but boy were we glad we had a bear can. When we woke up the next morning, there was a bear calmly chomping his breakfast in the lake basin not even 200 feet from our campsite. So folks, take Olympic National Park seriously when they require bear cans in wilderness areas. This bear we saw was quite big.

The second day we left the basin and hiked up to the High Divide. As we ascended the divide, we got beautiful views of Mt. Olympus and the Bailey Range. It made my hiking partner salivate (he's a climber), and made me wonder what I'd need to do to hike the Bailey Range. If y'all have any tips, let me know. We ran into a backcountry ranger on the High Divide trail, and he suggested taking the Bogachiel Peak cutoff and exploring the Seven Lakes Basin. So we took the back way into Lunch Lake. It was really neat walking around the moonscape. Not like anything I'd ever seen before -- huge boulders and lightly vegetated rocks around small tarns. We clambered through a small canyon and came out at Lunch Lake. Snagged a pretty decent campsite.

On the third day was where we found some adventure. After a gorgeous hike out of the Seven Lakes Basin via the trail marked on the map we came out on the High Divide again. The wildflowers in this section were just beautiful -- lots of Indian paintbrush blooming right now. As we were coming off the divide, just past the overlook where you can see Potholes and Deer Lake, I hit a root funny and rolled my right ankle. We still had about six miles to hike out. My boyfriend took my pack and started shuffling down the trail like a pregnant crab. I used my trekking poles for support and started limping. Two people going our direction passed us and asked if they could help. I told them to get a ranger, as I wasn't sure if I could make it out.

Three hours later, we made it to Deer Lake. Countless backpackers stopped to ask if I could use any Ibuprofen (I'd taken enough to topple a horse already, so declined). We rested for a while at the lake. My boyfriend needed a break from two packs, and I felt like I could maybe carry a mostly emptied pack, so we put all the heavy gear into his and left mine light. We started down the trail again, limping our way through the steep spots. As we were taking a break, Brian the awesome volunteer ranger showed up. He taped my ankle, asked if I could make it out, and "called off the dogs" as he said. Apparently the national park staff were pretty keyed up -- they'd done a SAR nearby the week before. Their plan for me, had I been unable to make it out, was to have us camp at Deer Lake in an overflow site and fly me out on the "poop flight" with the privies the next morning. I opted to try to hike out. Brian took my pack and we made our slow way out of the park.

Brian was cheerful and friendly. Didn't complain a bit about the inconvenience -- he had to hike all the way into Lunch Lake for the night after escorting us out. He said great things about the volunteer program, and we got into a nice conversation about hiking and climbing. National Park Service, if you know what's good for you, HIRE BRIAN PERMANENTLY! He's a great spokesperson for Olympic National Park, and really loves devoting his time to the park and the people who enjoy it.

A big, big thank you, too, to all the backpackers who stopped and asked if I needed help. Brian was alerted by a man who literally came running down the trail to warn him, concerned that I couldn't hike out. And every backpacker he saw on the way up to us told him about the "Ankle Lady." Thank you, thank you, thank you. Backpackers' kindness towards injured backpackers is really amazing. I appreciate it, and if I'm in a situation where I can ever return the favor, you know I will.

We hiked 40 miles from the Hoh River trailhead past the Olympus Guard Station, up to Hoh Lake, and then up to the High Divide and into the Seven Lakes Basin, before returning. The trail was in good condition and snow free except for a 15' strip of easily passable snow in the Seven Lakes Basin just prior to the lakes.

On day 1, started out at the Hoh River trailhead and hiked in 9 miles to the Olympus Guard Station. There were few flowers left, but many red huckleberries, and a few blueberries and black cap raspberries.

On day 2, left Olympus Guard Station and hiked 6.5 miles up to Hoh Lake. The first section is a difficult climb, with many red huckleberries to help sustain you. On a ridge about half way, there were some very nice western tea berries. CB Flats was a riotous mess of wildflowers. Hoh Lake was surrounded by many flowers. There were two active bears on the upper slopes on the north side of the lake, four deer, a marmot colony on the east side of the lake, and a river otter enjoying the lake's trout. The ranger was fond of the campsite's composting toilet, but be aware that the maggots enjoy it too, and you'll need to wipe the seat clean of them before sitting.

On day 3, went 3.5 miles or so from Hoh Lake to the High Divide trail and into the Seven Lakes Basin (1000' up, and then 1000' down), camping at Lunch Lake. My favorite part of our trip was the ridgeline between Hoh Lake and the High Divide trail. The flowers and views were great, the dwarf blueberries were delicious, there was another marmot colony downhill to the east and a bear downhill to the west, and a flock of ravens above. Lunch Lake itself had very few flowers, but had a marmot colony on the south side of the lake, and three deer that were active in the area, coming within 10 feet of me during the day and visiting our campsite later that night. Lunch Lake was cold, but warm enough to swim in.

After arriving at the lake, we took the side trail 250' down to Clear Lake, which was not very interesting. Then we took another side trail to see the Y lakes, which was much more interesting, with a series of lakes carved out of stone, and very little vegetation. One of them had frogs.

On day 4, we did the 19 mile exit from Lunch Lake to the Hoh River trailhead. That was a long day. On the ridge between the High Divide and Hoh Lake, there was a hawk circling above, trying to get the marmots before eventually giving up. We saw a baby marmot in addition to the usual adults. Saw a bear again at Hoh Lake. Down in the Hoh River valley, saw a rabbit at mile 7. A downpour started soon thereafter, which brought out some more of the wildlife. At the shelter at Happy Four, a juvenile coyote slunk upon our arrival and waited on the hill nearby for us to leave. It was the cutest thing ever. A bit later, douglas squirrel tried to steal our jerky. At mile 2 or 3, a grouse ran across the trail in front of us.