I had been reluctant to hike the Seven Lakes basin because of its reputation for being very crowded. So we waited until the end of October mid week. Good call. We never saw another soul. The weather was great, the views were superb, the fall colors are at their peak, and the trail is in perfect condition. We hiked the loop clockwise leaving the car at noon and still managing to hike the ridge and drop into the basin at Lunch Lake just before 6:00pm. It was a chilly night at 30 degrees, but there was no new snow to deal with. This morning there was a threat of precip so we packed up early and hiked back to the car arriving at noon. This was a delightful 24 hour trip.

As beautiful as ever. We did a one night hike. Hiked to Lunch Lake via Deer Lake first day. Deer Lake always has horse flies the size of small birds. Lunch Lake had tons of mosquitos. Snow started about 1-2 miles past Deer Lake- slow but passable but cleared up not long after. Entry to 7 Lakes was sketchy. Saw a bear in the valley to the west before entering 7 lakes. Encountered 5 goats on trail and was soft charged by one of them, twice. We gave plenty of space but ended up having to use sticks, rocks, yelling, whistle, etc. to get them to let us pass on the trail. The one goat was pretty nasty and harassed other hikers but did not charge. I have been around mountain goats plenty of times, and very close, and never been spooked like this.

On 2 day two we took the recommended short cut through the basin to the high divide trail. Most of it was fine except one part where you hike on an ice slope that was right above a lake. SCARY. The trail disappeared for awhile right before you hit the high divide trail. From the there to Heart Lake was mostly clear except leading into Heart Lake, which was very soft and easy to get through.

Fantastic hike with plenty of people making it through the snow, seemingly without issues. This is my 7th time doing this hike, and I have never seen snow like this!

Hiking up to the Seven Lakes Basin and the High Divide requires a bit of preparation. First, you must make a make a reservation up to 30 days in advance with the Olympic National Parks department. A helpful link on how to do this is:

http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/high-divide-loop.htm

After you make your reservation, they will send a confirmation email. Be sure to read this email carefully to make sure there are no mistakes, especially on the dates of your hike.

Second, when you pick up your permits in Port Angeles, they will give you a bear container which is now required for camping in the basin. It's helpful to have a large pack to hold it. Finally, bring a lot of bug repellant because this is one buggy spot.

After car-camping at Sol Duc, we started our three-day two-night backpack mid-morning on July 20th. Our route took us past the gorgeous Sol Duc Falls and up to Deer Lake, 3.7 miles from the trailhead, a lovely, marshy lake with campsights. Note that the three miles before this lake and the first mile after it are quite rocky and occasionally steep.

At about five miles in, the scenery becomes gorgeous, with lush meadows, endless wildflowers, ponds, and even a few ripe blueberries. Early, but true. There are a few campsites between Deer Lake and the High Divide, as well as a couple around two or three miles in. The trail meanders up to the divide with ever-increasing views, including tantalizing peeks at Mt. Olympus. At one point, while traversing the ridge, the crickets (cicadas?) were so loud that we dubbed that section "electric alley."

We finally reached the crossroads at which you turn left and head down into Seven Lakes Basin--whew! The struggle continued as we staggered down the steep, but well-designed .6 mile trail to Lunch Lake and our well-earned campsite. Total stats for the day were eight miles, 3000 gain, six-and-a-half hours.
  
The basin is stunning. Much of it is a barren, lunar landscape, dotted with teal blue lakes and tarns of all shapes. The Lunch Lake area, where many people camp, is unusually green and lush for the basin. There is plenty of water here. Of course, where there is water there are bugs, so get out the bug death first thing.

Late in the afternoon, we encountered a crowd of goats, perhaps up to 20, who seemed to have no fear of people. We kept shooing them away, so they wouldn't slime our backpacks. The helpful rangers, who have a shelter in the basin, told us to keep the backs of our backpacks down so the creatures wouldn't decimate them.
 
This area has been loved to death in the past, so the park is trying to restore some of the meadows. The idea is to keep people on the main paths instead of tromping through every inch of green. The rangers will also advise you on bathroom issues.

On our second day we did a grand day-hike through the basin and up to the High Divide. We ended up scrambling up (and down) some rocky areas, though there are regular paths one could take. At any rate, the views of Mt. Olympus and the surrounding peaks are superb and not to be missed. We did the short side trail up Bogachiel Peak, where you can see both the Pacific Ocean and Canada. We saw several bear scat piles, but no bears. We probably hiked about six miles with 1000 gain.

We packed up and hiked out on our third day, making it back to the car in five hours. We stopped in Port Angeles to return our bear container and chow down on scrumptious ice cream.

Of note is that there will be tons of berries in this area in the fall, but you might have to fight every bear in town to get at them.

I like to do one solo backpacking trip per year. It can be refreshing to just take your own time, make your own pace, and just enjoy it for yourself. With all the peakbagging lately, and a tough Snowking trip last week, I set out to bag some lakes. As an unexpected bonus some reagents I need at work were backordered, leaving me with nothing to do and a three day weekend!

After the long drive I hit the ranger station to pick up my permits. I asked about hanging food but they insisted I wouldn't find any good trees and I must take a canister. The ranger at least gave me one of their sweet Bearikade canisters. More than a pound less than the Garcias I usually get! The only downside is that it's huge - nearly the size of my entire pack! It took some creative packing to get it inside. In the end the canister held not only my food but sleeping pad, stove and pot, book, water filter, and all my clothes.

I hit the trail around 10:45 and made my way up towards Heart Lake, stopping for a visit to Sol Duc falls. I passed a very large group of Japanese high schoolers hanging out at the shelter. Beyond here I didn't see too many others until Heart Lake. The trail was mostly uneventful and I plugged along at a moderate pace, finally emerging into Sol Duc park after more than two hours. As I walked along a black blur shot across the trail in front of me - first bear sighting!

Continuing up I could see another black bear on the hillsides across the valley. I stopped and watched it a bit before heading up the trail, stopping again at Heart Lake to tank up on water. Filling up all my bottles and Camelbak I was eaten alive by the local mosquito force. Descending the trail was a couple with a little dog, apparently avoiding any rangers or signage, who informed me there were several bears up ahead. I packed up my water, put the big zoom lens on my camera, and walked up myself. A group of backpackers who had dropped their gear below joined me.

We nearly reached the High Divide junction when the bear ran swiftly across the hill, back towards Heart Lake. I only got a quick snap off before it was gone. I sat on a rock and watched it mill around the hillside with another larger bear before continuing on. By now my back was really feeling wet. I was surprised to be sweating so much, though it was very warm. Pretty soon I felt drips and knew it was something else. Digging into my pack I found my Camelbak had given up the ghost and sprung a leak. I removed it and strapped it to the outside of the pack. Thankfully my down bag was still dry. The only casualty was my spare pair of socks. Unfortunately this now meant I could only carry 2 liters of water at a time and my camp at Silver Snag was far from a water source.

Silver Snag was quite a bit further down the Divide than I'd believed and after several ups and downs, and spotting two more bears in the valley below, I rolled into camp around 4:30. What a camp! Great views of Olympus and the lakes basin, a very level raised platform, and a nice cooking/sitting area. There was even a tarn just a short distance away, though it was very brown. I pitched camp and enjoyed the view for awhile before having dinner.

The sun was now getting low so I packed up my camera gear, jacket, and some snacks and walked back along the Divide. My plan was to shamelessly steal Don's excellent Olympus/lupine composition (ahem, be inspired to reproduce it, I should say...) but I couldn't find any suitable flowers. So I hung around on the high point and just aimlessly clicked away before the sun dropped behind the ridge. The sun was down but the full moon was already up and it never really became dark. It was very pleasant though - just a light breeze, very few bugs, and clear skies. It finally hit me that I was really alone up here. There were no campsites for miles either direction and I could hear no voices.

I slept pretty well, nice and snug in my 15 degree bag, having retired my summer bag for the year. Late at night I was awoken by some branches snapping and some snorting just downhill by the tarn. I believe it was a bear but never found out for sure. In the morning my canister was still undisturbed and I couldn't find any tracks. I had breakfast, packed up a daypack, and made my way back along the divide towards Heart Lake. My plan was to explore Cat Basin and possibly scramble Cat Peak.

At the basin I could see that same big black bear milling around the hillsides. Far below at Heart Lake camp there was a big white goat pestering people, glowing in the early sun. Up above were two more goats and a kid walking towards the basin. I hit the trail hoping I'd see them again. Nearly to the basin I met a couple who told me to go up through their campsite where the goats were hanging around. I think this was Bruce's Roost camp, very nice. Sure enough all the goats were munching away in the meadows there. I snapped far too many photos and lost track of time. They are starting to grow their winter coats and are fairly shaggy now. In the meadow beyond I could see yet another bear, sitting on his butt apparently watching myself and the goats.

I'd spent too much time watching goats so I backtracked towards Heart Lake, leaving Cat Basin for future trips. Past the junction I could see the big bear was now much closer! So close in fact I could see he was tagged on both ears. My new friend was #106 and we'd meet several more times over the trip. He raised his head and sniffed the air, to which I yelled "Hey bear!". He didn't care, just looked at me and went back to munching berries. So I sat down on a rock and blasted through tons of photos of the closest bear I had ever seen in the wild. Of course he was munching just above the trail so I couldn't really pass him if I wanted to either.

Eventually he moved off and I made my way back to camp. I wish I could have had this site both nights but had to descend to the basin. I packed up my stuff and hit the trail a little after noon. By now dayhikers were starting to pass me on their way out to Heart Lake, traveling the loop in the opposite direction. A pair informed me there were more goats ahead, near Bogachiel peak! Sadly as I arrived it turned out to be a dead goat, just off trail. Her kid was kneeling beside her still, making little noises and hoping to wake her. There wasn't anything I could do so I passed on by, hoping the herd would pick up the orphan. Further up the trail I found a ranger and informed him. He would later recruit several other rangers and move the goat off into the woods. They believed it was disease or natural causes.

I sat on top of Bogachiel peak for awhile, the views cheering me up after the goat. Below I could see trains of backpackers heading into Lunch Lake. I headed down myself, spotting yet another bear just on the high side of the basin. Lunch Lake was very pretty and open, a nice blue color. I really wish I could have camped here but I was stuck with little Clear Lake further on - the only site on the entire lake. It really wasn't such a bad place, just very unremarkable and a far cry from my camp at Silver Snag the night before. Sort of like getting kicked down to coach from first class. It also meant I had several hundred more feet to regain in the morning on my way out. I pitched my tent, packed my stuff, and climbed back up to Lunch Lake to enjoy the remaining daylight.

After hanging around the lake a bit I continued up the trail towards the tarns I could see from Bogachiel. There was a very nice little pathway leading me up. I arrived at the first one, which was very pretty, and who do I find? My friend bear #106 of course! He was just as close as before and equally unconcerned. In fact, the only time he flinched was when a large fish jumped in the water below him. I again sat on a rock and watched him munch. I could hear him crunching the plants, slurping, and even panting. He was very interesting to watch too. I'd always pictured bears as solid masses of muscle but he was sort of jiggly. Every step would set off a big shake of likely fat, or just hair, sort of like he was made of play dough.

Finally he again moved off and I continued up the valley. It was now very warm and the little tarns were looking quite refreshing. Each one I dipped my hand in, though nice and cool, had a strange slimy feeling to the water. I reached the biggest one and it seemed alright but just as I dropped to the shore I found a large femur knuckle! This could mean only one thing - mountain pirahna. Clearly this wasn't a swimming lake. I continued a little further before reaching a knoll and calling it good. I sat here awhile, watching yet another bear high on the hillside and munching on ripe berries myself.

Eventually the sun dropped lower towards the ridge. I slowly made my way back down. Near where I'd seen the bear I had another encounter - this time with an Olympic marmot! I'd never seen one before. He had a brown and black mottled calico pattern, very different from the marmots in the Cascades. I watched him gorge for awhile, apparently preferring the lupine to whatever else was on the menu. In less than five minutes he'd reduced a big clump of plant, taller than himself, to bare stalks - leaves and all!

I watched the sun slip over the hillside all too early from the shores of Lunch Lake before descending into my private lake for the evening. But who do I see on the hillside here? Good ol' #106 again! He sure does get around. This time he was far enough away that I felt comfortable passing him and reached camp for dinner. As I ate I heard a snap and some foot falls behind me. I turned, half expecting the bear to join me for dinner, to find a deer and fawn passing through. There would be no sunset deep in my hole so I turned in early to finish my book.

In the morning I packed up early and climbed out of Clear Lake, which really didn't have much exploration potential. I decided to pack out before the heat came in. Already it was quite warm and it took me almost 45 minutes to regain the trail on the ridge. I plugged along the nicely flat trail enjoying the views when I met one last bear on the hillside. This one was much smaller and quickly ran off with a puff of breath in my direction.

The rest of the descent was pretty uneventful. I continued on at a brisk pace, talking to another ranger about my sightings of #106 as I passed. Apparently they're keeping an eye on him since he doesn't yield to anyone, though he hasn't been aggressive or taken any food. I had no more wildlife sightings, aside from the usual gray jays, and rolled into the trailhead around 11:30, passing hordes of touristy dayhikers destined for Sol Duc falls.

It was a great trip. Beautiful scenery, perfect weather, and more animals than I'd ever seen on a single trip! The flowers are very much faded but the fall colors are starting to come in for the year. The place should be spectacular in the near future. But my wildlife encounters weren't done yet! Driving out of the parking lot what do I see? A team of pack llamas being unloaded!

I saw so many bears I had to mark them in my TOPO software to try to sort it out. Best I can figure, not counting multiple sightings, I saw 11 unique bears this trip! The red flags are where I saw the bears and the yellow flags mark where I ran into the tagged male.

Full trip photos and bear sighting map can be viewed here:
http://www.pbase.com/billcat/highdivide/