Summary: We did a two-night trip, camping at both Tuck and Robin Lakes. The approximately six-mile hike to Tuck Lake was challenging. The last two-miles to Robin Lakes was brutal. All this labor is compensated with an abundance of beauty – vistas, meadows, and waters that are simply unreal. If you have a good deal of determination and bug spray, this is the hike for you.
- Day one: trailhead to Tuck Lake. 2,000 feet elevation gain over six miles in three hours and 30 minutes.
- Day two: Tuck Lake to Robin Lakes. 2,000 feet elevation gain over two miles in two hours and 30 minutes.
- Day three: Robin Lakes to trailhead. 4,000 feet elevation loss over eight miles in five hours.
This trail is on the cultural, ancestral, and unceded land of the Yakima first peoples – past and present. As visitors, we honor the land and the Yakima Nation with gratitude.
Maps: Before we headed out on our journey, we printed these two maps from the US Forest Service website: Mount Daniel and The Cradle quadrangles. Our hike to Tuck & Robin Lakes is split between these two USFS maps.
The Drive: the Forest Road is rough and involves one creek crossing. Any SUV is up to the task. We saw some sedans up at the parking lot too.
Day One – Trailhead to Tuck Lake: Parking at the jam-packed Tuquala Meadows Trailhead, we hit the Deception Pass Trail (#1376) at 11:00 AM. The first two and a half miles of the hike are mostly flat, travelling alongside the meadows and forests. About three miles in, the incline picks up slightly as you pass Hyas Lake on the left. Once Hyas Lake is out of sight, the switchbacks begin.
Notable mention: we passed four llamas helping WTA trail volunteers transport tools. Shoutout to the people (and animals) who make this trail possible!
Four and a half miles into our hike (and about 500 feet of elevation gain,) we reached the junction with Tuck & Robin Lakes Trail on the right (#1376.1,) which is marked by a sign. This is where the party starts. After a few hundred feet of decline, the switchbacks grow ever-so steeper and trickier. Eventually, you’ll be climbing constant 50-degree angles from boulder to boulder. Climb about 1,500 feet in a mile and a half, and we began feeling it in our thighs.
By 2:30 PM, we arrived at Tuck Lake. We set up camp just between Tuck’s Pot (the smaller lake) and the connecting pond – plenty of privacy and easy access to drinking water.
Day Two – Tuck Lake to Robin Lakes: We spent a leisurely morning enjoying coffee and perusing Tuck Lake. By 10:30 AM, the final ascent began. These one and a half miles were hellishly brutal, delivering heavenly views.
Speaking to other hikers, we learned there are three pathways up to Robin Lakes. We were advised to use the “middle” route, which is straight up the steep boulder patch that overlooks Tuck’s Pot and the little pond. Previous hikers left behind rock stacks to help guide the way up this tricky terrain. We gained 500 feet of elevation in a mere 1,000 feet of distance (yes, I hope you like your rocks scrambled in the morning.)
The reward for your sweat: a walk through a meadow of blooming reds and yellows, followed by a panoramic vista overlooking Hyas Lake and Mount Daniel. (Here, I laid on a rock and threw up. Oops.)
The journey continued: we followed the USFS map and the rock stacks by the letter, and we continued scrambling up the mountain’s currently snow-free snowline, right up against the contour towards due east. Welcome to 6,000 feet above sea level. As a resident of the Puget Sound shores, I found it noticeably harder to breathe.
On the final stretch, you’ll flirt with the mountain peak. In the distance, you’ll see two grand rock stacks serving as the gateway to Robin Lakes. Once you look over the ridgeline, you’ll see two gleaming lakes showing off their vibrant deep teal.
It was 12:30 PM. We set up camp on the hill between the two lakes. Two miles, two thousand feet: home sweet home.
Only two other neighbors were camping some distance away. We also saw a mountain goat perusing the cliffs. Mosquitoes were a pain in my ass, but it was nothing unexpected on an alpine lake. On a beautiful clear day, we were able to see the upper peaks of Mount Daniel to the southwest, as well as the tip of Mount Rainier in the south. Come nightfall, we had uninterrupted views of the Milky Way.
Day Three – Robin Lakes to Trailhead: We said goodbye to this treasure at 9:30 AM. About 800 feet of distance below the ridgeline, you’ll see a trail in a grassy patch. Do not take this path. Read on to see why.
The boulder scramble down this route was much more tricky, with plenty of loose rocks, unstable boulders, and slippery moss. A few scrapes and cuts were inevitable. We also had to rely solely on our own navigation to get back, as there were no clear trails or rock stacks to help with wayfinding.
Once Tuck Lake comes into focus, we quickly realized that there is no trail between the 800-foot-high rock scramble we just descended and the trail out of Tuck Lake. To get past, we had to use some rock climbing and swimming chops. I definitely slid down a cliff and was grabbing on to a tree to stop myself from falling into the lake – surreal, cinematic, and scary.
The trip from Tuck Lake back down to the trailhead was unsurprising, with one exception: stinging black flies. Once we returned to the Deception Pass Trail, biting Horse Flies were relentless. A break for water was miserable, as they swarmed every time we stopped. Picaridin or DEET was nearly useless.
We arrived in the parking lot around 2:30 PM.
Final thoughts: blood, sweat, and tears. Bruises, scrapes, and soreness. A bunch of bug bites and bit of altitude sickness. All worth it.
Comments
blueskies216 on Tuck and Robin Lakes, Hyas Lake, Deception Pass
Best trip report...EVER!! Thank you :)
Posted by:
blueskies216 on Jul 13, 2021 09:43 PM