Our group of 9 planned our 3 day Indian Heaven Wilderness backpack over Labor Weekend. Happily we had perfect hiking weather, no rain, bugs were few, berries were ripe, trails were not crowded and we found a great group tent site ... talk about heaven.

We entered the Wilderness from Swift Reservoir area, and strongly suggest a good road map as side roads off FSR 30 are not clearly marked, if at all. FR 420 to Placid Lake TH is gravel, suggest park before the final 1/4 mile to TH, as ruts are very deep & nasty, even in dry weather.

We hiked in from Placid Lake TH #29, heading south on PCT #2000 at base of Bird Mountain, then #33 to check out Clear Lake, backtracked 1/4 mile to PCT, finding a great group site at Deer Lake.

(GT 365 and 365 S have printed the name of this lake in the wrong spot. Rather than the tiny lake on the north side of the PCT 2000 jnct. with #33 jnct; Deer Lake is the large un-named lake s/w of this jnct. and has a posted marker deep in the woods)

Day 2 we headed south on PCT to Junction Lake , and with an eye on climbing up East Crater. We followed the Crater trail signs on #48 to a short side boot path, which surprisingly quickly disappears. We scrambled up to the rim from the east side through the vegetation, there are a few rough paths here & there, and we found a great viewpoint for distant mountains. We looked down from an area of volcanic rock to the tree lined crater below, then descended via a much easier route to the west to pick up PCT back to Junction Lake for lunch.

We ambled to the beautiful wide upper meadows of trail # 179 past Lemei Lake, which hosted the best berries we tasted on our trip.

At mid-afternoon, the group scattered. Some checked out 2 gorgeous lakes, Cultus and Deep and both great for swimming & fishing; some for a nap back at camp, some to fish & others to explore Lemei Rock on trail #34.

Along the way we noticed the large variety of mushrooms growing, elk and bear scat, we sampled endless berries, patted a few horses and dogs; saw fish jumping at Bear and Deep Lakes and made friends with a huge fat bug hitching a ride on a backpack. Suggest a good trail map is invaluable in planning to backpack here.

Day 3 we packed up camp and hiked out to the TH, happy we had left beverages & cookies in our cars. We stopped off for great views of Mt St Helens at a Curley Creek Road viewpoint with picnic tables; perfect spot for a snack before the 4 hour drive home. We were tired but happy after this great 3 day experience; and look forward to returning to explore further.

Rough Stats… we clocked up about 19 miles with 3400 ft gain

Map .. GT Indian Heaven 365 S

My second expedition into the Indian Heaven Wilderness and best hike. We did the classic loop defined in the Mountaineers' 100 Hikes in the Southern Cascades and Olympics. Started on the well-maintained, steady climbing Indian Heaven #33 Trail from Cultus Creek CG. The trail tops out in a lovely meadow and junction with the short side trail to Deep Lake. Soon you reach the junction with the Lemhi Rock/Lake Wapiki Trail #34 and so on through the day. It pays to have a good map if you're keeping track of lakes because there are a lot of them.

Next, we came to Cultus Lake and encountered the first campers. Since it was Labor Day Weekend, there were lots of backpackers and dayhikers. I would say the area is getting slightly overused. Many of the older camps located within 100 feet of water are still being used and people are indiscriminate in placing tents on grassy spots on the shore of lakes. Campfires are allowed under 5,000 feet, which includes most of the wilderness even though the dryness of the forest should have dictated a burn ban. We collected some garbage from one camp, left by inconsiderate campers.

Well, on to more pleasant things... we hiked down the Lemhi Lake Trail (a weed-filled pond this time of the year) to Junction Lake and the PCT. More campers. Then ran the PCT north and dropped down the sidetrail to Bear and Elk Lake. I noticed a group of campers were preparing to leave their camp with the fire still burning so I went over and lectured the leader, a young man with an attitude. There was a freshening wind and with the tinder dry woods it could have been a serious problem. Fortunately, after returning on the way out to check the fire, it had been throughly doused with water as instructed. We had a pleasant lunch break at Elk Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes we saw. Bear has better camps though and is heavily used.

We went back to the PCT and ran it north, passing by the junctions with the Indian Heaven Trail #33, which would have taken us to Clear Lake and the Placid Lake Trail, which drops 900 feet (7 mile RT) to Placid and Chemanus Lakes and more camps. Then we returned to the tarn on the Wood Lake Trail for a break and finally headed down the Cultus Creek Trail (not a favorite!) to the campground.

There were some black flies during the trip, but they were pretty easy to swat. Moskies were few and far between although in midsummer they can be pretty fearsome in this area. There were lots of dogs and horses are allowed, but none were seen over the course of the weekend.

After sleeping in until about 9:00 on Saturday morning it dawned on me that today would be a great day to do some exploring. So I headed east through the gorge, up north through Carson, and found my way to the Thomas Lake TH. I was on the trail by 12:10. My first destination for the day was going to be the East Crater. I wasn't quite sure what to expect so that sort of added to the anticipation of bushwacking. I knew that I had to leave the trail behind at the point where it veered south toward Blue Lake, about 2.5 miles from the TH. Then I just needed to head due east and eventually (or about 1/2 mile later) I'd intersect the Pacific Crest Trail right at the base of the slope up to the rim of the crater. Doing this saved me about 2 miles. Getting up to the rim was about a quarter mile, 500 ft elevation gain through mostly open forest with uncountable downed trees and snags. Once on top I traversed the rim over to the east side where I found the official USGS marker confirming that I was in fact on the ""East Crater"". I sat up on the highest rock I could find and nibbled on my lunch while taking in the views of Jefferson and Hood to the south, St Helens to the NW, Lemei Rock and Adams to the NE and Rainier straight up north. Wow, what a sight. After lunch I felt the need for more adventure so I started down the slope... into the crater. The bottom of it was not visible from the rim because it's heavily forested. I was jones'n to find out what was down there. A lake? A cave? Nothing? It's not terribly steep just bushy. Once I got to the bottom I was amazed at the open meadow, and not much else. the feeling of being literally inside of an extinct volcano was almost spiritual. I made my way out by heading straight up the west slope back up to the rim. At this point I did see evidence of human footprints (hiking boots) but had yet to see another hiker so far. I spent the rest of the day doing a loop that took me north on the PCT. I then went NE on the Lemei Lake trail, north up to Cultus and Deep Lake, back to the west to the junction at Deer Lake, south on the PCT past Bear and Elk Lake, further south to Blue Lake (the prettiest of about 20 or 30 that I saw that day) and back to the car on the Thomas Lake trail. Whew! What a day! About 15 miles (give or take one) in about 7 hours. Bugs didn't give me much grief as long as I kept moving. Excellent camp sights were open everywhere. Makes me wish I'd brought my overnight gear. Me and my compass had a great time!