Weather Saturday was wet - steady rain varying in intensity. As a result the trail was really wet - large puddles in many places, streams running high. A couple of the stream crossings were tricky, but not impassable. Camp sites at Hyas Lake were nice, and thanks to the weather and the long bumpy drive in we only encountered one other group.

After setting up camp we hiked farther up the trail, hoping to get some better views of the fall colors and the waterfalls coming down the ridge to the west of the lake. The colors and falls were gorgeous, but we couldn't make it to Little Hyas Lake as the creek crossing at the north end of Hyas Lake was too risky given the rain.

The rain ended at some point overnight and Sunday's hike out was much dryer as many of the puddles had dried out. Creeks were still running high, but still passable.

A wonderful hike for a family eager to escape together prior to the dreaded start of school. The broad kind trail to Hyas Lake meant a Friday night trek in with headlamps was not just doable, but enjoyable, and the lake was a great base camp for a few days of poking around, tempting those brookies to take a fly, finding frogs, jumping in the lake and enjoying the suns track across the peaks above. Bugs were hardly present at Hyas but more persistent up at Tuck Lake. Berries were at prime ripeness, so hiking became a stop and go affair as all gorged and held forth on the qualities of their favorites of the many varieties of huckleberry and blueberry(and yes, we did kick up on bear also gorging). Columbines and other flowers were out, and the big woods meant the crowds, though present, were quickly swallowed up. Monday afternoon's meetings were made more bearable by the memories of the campsite left behind that same morning. To think that Thurs pm I was muttering about not wanting to deal with packing for some darn trip...

A great day to drive east of the mountains to get away from the clouds. This is an excellent hike, but it would make a much better backpacking trip. The trail to Hyas lake is in very good condition. There is almost no elevation gain. The bugs are a nuisance from the trailhead to Hyas.

The trail up to Tuck Lake gets fairly steep and rocky, but it is also in reasonably good condition with only one blow down. Tuck is a beautiful lake. I didn't encounter any bugs here. It also appeared less crowded than either Hyas or Robin. It's all melted out.

The trail to Robin Lakes is also in good condition. There are a few small snow patches to cross. None of them are dangerous. The lakes themselves are about 60-70% ice covered. The surrounding area is still about 30% snow covered, but there are plenty of campsites that are thawed out. The lakes are stunning, nestled under Granite Mountain. There are great views to the South to Mount Daniel, Cathedral Rock, and other Alpine Lakes mountains. The bugs make a comeback here though. There are enough to be a nuisance, not horrible though. I saw lots of people heading up here on the way back, but there is plenty of room for people to spread out, so it shouldn't get too crowded. Don't expect a lot of solitude though.

From here a trail leads to Trico Mountain pat several lovely tarns. It's not long, probably about a mile or so. About half of it is still under snow patches, but it is not hard to follow. The views from Trico are excellent in every direction. I highly recommend this side trip.

The road to the trailhead is a bit rough, but doable without a 4X4. Scatter Creek needs to be forded, but it is not as high as reported two weeks ago. A normal car should be able to manage it if you stay to the shallower down stream side. For some reason, someone had created a dam just downstream of the crossing. If you see this, breaching the dam should reduce the water level and make the crossing easier.