I left Seattle at 1pm. With no traffic and two stops it took about 3 hours.
The last bit is a dirt road, but wasn’t bad. There were only about 6 or so cars parked when I got to the trail. I didn’t run into anyone on the trail either - maybe because it’s a Wednesday just before spring officially starts.
This was my first time on the trail and I see why it’s a favorite for early spring. After a long, wet and gray winter on the west side it was refreshing to dry out and see some biodiversity. It feels like a different world after mostly hiking the western part of the state. Since it was also my first overnight for the year/season, I enjoyed taking my time, listening to birds... ahhh the fresh air and sunshine.
There’s lots of forks in the trail, but I didn’t really sweat it. From what I heard and read they almost always get you to the lakes. This was true for me too. I enjoyed meandering and switching up trails. It kept me guessing. I only used my iPhone in airplane mode for some vague directions. Google Maps has a basic outline of the trail.
I got to the end of the Ancient Lakes trail and camped all the way at the end. There was only one other tent in the area, but no one to be found. I setup camp. Left all my stuff in the tent except a small shovel (for pokin and self defense) and filled my water bottle from my 3 liter reservoir in my bag. Don’t drink the lake water, even if filtered!!
From there, I still had plenty of daylight so I went exploring a bit and took some pictures. There’s plenty of fun little trails around the campground and it was easy to keep my bearings since there’s no trees.
Made it back to my camp way before sunset (6:30pm). Cooked some dinner and chilled out in my tent. As soon as the sun set and I stopped moving. It got cold. I brought a warm set of pajamas and fresh socks and undies so I would be warm and dry for the cool (high/mid-30s) night ahead. I have a 30 degree bag and with my warm PJs I stayed nice and toasty. Knowing how short and easy the hike is though, I’d probably try to bring some wood for a fire next time.
That night all the wildlife seemed to sing the songs of their people and woke me up quite a few times.
I woke up right before sunrise and hiked back. Looks like the other camper made it to their tent. Beautiful sunrise that morning although chilly and windy.
Excited to try this hike again next spring!
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