Wagonwheel Lake — Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021

Everyone who warned us about this one was not exaggerating! It is a definite slog but well worth it in my opinion. The views at the lake might not be the best I’ve seen in my day but the solitude makes it worth it. The trail also does not relent and you will be sore when you’re done. The thick brushy patch of slide alder calls for very careful foot placement, especially if it’s wet like it was for us. The lake itself is not the grandest of mountain lakes but the water tastes great (with a filter of course) and it looks beautiful in moody fog. We were planning on bagging cub peak on day 1 as well but since we arrived in a dense fog we figured it better to save for morning. When we woke up it was pretty clear but the clouds we did have just made the light all the more striking. The extra half (very steep) mile up towards cub peak is definitely worth it, especially if you leave your heavier gear at the lake. There are three separate peaks at the top and though I attempted to make it over to cub, I determined the scramble was beyond my abilities and that it’d be better to save my energy for the punishing descent ahead. The views from the first peak were still incredible and certainly worth the extra effort. After soaking in the sun and the sights for a little while we decided to head back down to our camp and hit the road. The descent was brutal as predicted and we found ourselves stopping at the end of every switchback to give our poor knees a rest. Luckily it somehow was over sooner than we expected and we were back at the car on our way to take a dip in Lake Cushman and then to inhale some enchiladas in Hoodsport. Overall great one night trip that I definitely recommend if you want a short, unpopulated, challenging and rewarding overnight or day hike.