Flapjack Lakes via North Fork Skokomish River — Thursday, Jul. 11, 2024

2 nights
Arrived at Staircase TH about 78° at 11:15 am at 785 ft elevation and got to the 3.8 mile mark at Spike Camp at 1475 ft in a little under 2 hours- it was a mostly modest climb to there. From there, we grabbed water and suddenly hit those serious switchbacks which really took a lot out of me, and they climbed for maybe 10 minutes. From there, it was a constant uphill battle with a serious slope just increasing constantly but not too tough to Madeleine Creek at 5.3 miles and 2100 ft. From there, the ascent was seriously difficult, gaining 1400 feet up in 2.1 miles, to elevation 3500 ft. The last .6 miles rose another 400 feet- about the height of the top of Queen Anne from Lake Union for Seattle locals.
We found the maps showing bear wires, campsites, and outhouses totally off, and others seemed to find them wrong, too. But we found a great site, endless mosquitoes, and ticks!
My entire moving time was 4hours 30 minutes. I am 54 and in decent shape. My friends are 44 and better shape and beat me to the lake by 15 minutes, so a touch over 2mph average. Not bad.
The icy water was great to swim in.

It took a while to find a good source of moving water but we did locate in the spur between the two lakes the one flowing fast into the other. I had tried the still lake water but it tasted muddy even after filtering. Spend the extra 10 minutes looking for that clean flowing water source.

The next day was even warmer, and as we tried to climb to Gladys Ridge, just 1.5 miles away and 1100 up, after 10 minutes I just took stock and realized I should return knowing my limits. They went on. Had it been a cooler day, or if I had awoken much earlier, maybe, but the heat and the fatigue were too much for this old man. Good day to explore the lake, jump in, relax, read, and find quiet time with few campers around. They ascended, had lunch, and returned the 1100 ft climb in 3 hours. We all swam some more, rested and swam again. Night was quiet and the world felt calm.
We awoke to a warm sunny day, jumped into the cold lake again before breakfast and returned to pack and left the tent site at 11:15 (same time as we left the TH!) and returned at 2:13, 8 mikes just minutes under 3 hours. Pretty speedy descent.

Lots of birds, so many and different kinds, I just don’t know how to identify them, dragon flies, a hare, ticks, chipmunks, squirrels, and the sound of a marmot, but no deer, bear, elk, or any other big animals.

This felt as tough to me as Upper Lila, or as tough at climbing from Sol Duc TH to the High Divide.