Packwood Lake #78,Upper Lake Creek #81,Coyote #79

Packwood Lake to Packwood Saddle to Elk Pass to Coyote Ridge to Lost Lake to Packwood Lake

Trip dates: Monday, Aug 22 to Friday Aug 26

Participants: 4 Adults ages 59 to 62

Day 1: From the car we treked to Packwood Lake on Trail #78, past the Guard Station and to the SE end of the lake on trail #81. This approx 6 mile juant is mostly level and the trail has a nice tread. We camped at the next to the last campsite before the trail follows up the Upper Lake Creek. A stream nearby provided our water supply. It rained on us this night and cleared up just before rising out of our tents. Packwood lake looks to be a nice place to backpack to and spend a night just for the heck of it. It also looks like Packwood Lake is the drinking water supply for the community of Packwood…as there is a service building and a dam at the NW end of the lake.

Day 2: We continued SW on trail 81 along Upper Lake Creek. WARNING!! DANGER!! This hike is not for beginners… as the trail looks like it hasn’t been maintained for 20 years. After a couple of miles along the creek the trail disappears into a washout that looks like it happened years ago. A large rock cairn marks the beginning of the trail becoming elusive. Further down, there is another large rock cairn to home into. After that head towards the water to find remenants of the rest of the trail. This whole episode takes up approx 1/8 mile. The trail disappears more along the creek, but is much easier to find. After approx 3 miles the trail ascends up away from the creek and heads into the forest. It was nice to get away from the creek because the trail kept disappearing. However, the hard part waits. Along the trail for the rest of the way to Packwood Saddle we encountered more that 100 (estimate) downed trees across the trail. These trees were the kind that requires some effort to bush whack around or climb over or under. As the trial gained elevation the fallen trees thinned out but the trail became more obscure. Wrong turns onto animal trails and then rediscovering the real trail took valuable time and effort. There is a place approx 200 ft (elevation) below the horizon that provides a view of a lush green hanging meadow. This is the Saddle.

Day 2 Cont’d: At the Saddle there is an obvious campsite with fire pit and logs to sit on for one tent. There are other flat spots around this area. However this camping area is at the trail intersection of Upper Lakes Trail #81 and the Coyote Ridge Trail #79 right next to the trail signpost. There are other campsites down Trail #79 towards the PCT. Just a short ways there is a fork in the trail. Take a left to go downhill to two or more campsites with a creek that separates them. We set up our three small tents at the trail signpost area and got our water from the creek just mentioned. There was snow in the shadows but most of it melted during our two days at this location.

Day 3: We day hiked from the Saddle up to the PCT at Elk Pass. This was approx 1.5 miles and 1200 ft elevation gain. Once at Elk Pass we could see Old Snowy, Johnson Peak, Hawkeye Point, and other snow covered sights. Lots of snow still. From the PCT and Coyote Ridge trail #79 intersection we could not see north very well… so we hiked approx ¼ mile to the north on the PCT to a viewpoint. From this point we could see Mt Rainier and Little Tahoma and other northerly sights.

Day 4: We picked up our campsite at the Packwood Saddle and headed NW on trail #79 along the Coyote Ridge. Yes, there are coyotes… as we heard them both nights we spent on the Saddle. We ascended around 900 ft to be high on the ridge. A guide book that describes this part of the trail speaks that is would be easy to walk off the trail and plummet to death... so watch where you are going. This warning is true in my opinion. The views are pretty breathtaking- the some of the same scenery as from Elk Pass, but from a different angle. As we moved NW along the ridge we were in view of Packwood Lake. The trail meanders downhill through hanging meadows and passes by Beaver Bill Creek. This place has some nice campsites and the creek was very pretty. Lots of water in the creek due to large snowmelt. Treking along we come to the intersection with trail # 78 and take a right to Lost Lake. A short jaunt uphill and we can see lost lake below. We found nice campsites along the SW end of the lake. Some of the campsites hadn’t melted out yet. We encountered a couple of fishermen at this popular fishing hole. This is a very pretty lake that seems slightly overused, but still nice. Looking north above the lake on the ridge there is an interesting “silver forest” that stands out when the sun is setting.

Day 5: We packed up and headed towards Packwood Lake and the car at the trailhead. We trekked uphill away from the lake to trail #78. I thought I had taken a wrong turn because the trail remained flat for a couple of miles… but closer inspection of the map shows the decent beginning just after Mosquito Lake which looks to be a smallish swampy-boggy body of water. There is one campsite near the trail here. The intersection to trail #69 is also here, but I did not notice it. This trail is a nice one with few logs to hop over. The Forest Service has had their loggers out to saw through some big trees that had been blocking the path. The last mile of the trail is steep downhill switchbacks (OK trail tread) to Packwood Lake. From Packwood Lake it was approx 5 miles more to the car along the “freeway in the forest” trail #78.

Google search words:
Packwood Lake
Coyote Ridge
Trail 78
Trail 79
Trail 81
Elk Pass
Upper Lake Creek