Flapjack Lakes via North Fork Skokomish River, Black & White Lakes — Wednesday, Jul. 17, 2024

I did a two night trip (Wed and Thurs) to Flapjack and Black & White Lakes this week. I originally wanted to spend two nights at Flapjack but reservations were supposedly all taken for Thursday. While the Recreation.gov site indicated that 6-8 people would be at Flapjack Wednesday, I didn't see anyone else. Blueberries, huckleberries, and thimble berries were ripe on the trail up to the lake but it will be a week or two before berries at the lake are ripe. Bugs were OK Weds afternoon and evening but were bad Thursday. Thursday morning I went up to Gladys Divide and attempted to reach Murdock Lakes. However, the last 400-500 foot descent to the valley was too steep and exposed for my comfort level since I was hiking solo. The lake looked gorgeous from my vantage point. There were four trees down on the Gladys Divide trail, two to crawl under and two to go over. There was a profusion of wildflowers on the open hillsides on the upper part of the trail. I left for Black & White Lake about 3:00 Thursday afternoon. There was one other person at Flapjack and I didn't meet any hikers headed up to the lake. It would be nice if folks would cancel reservations they aren't going to keep so people who decide on last minute trips have a chance. The trail to Black & White Lake was overgrown in sections, especially near the top, and long pants are advised. The water was quite warm but I opted not to go in because voracious mosquitos descended as I was undressing. There are only 1-2 campsites around the lake and I was the only person there. I did a side trip to Smith Lake late Thursday. While the lake is pretty, it probably not worth the effort. I didn't see any campsites and there were lots of bugs. The final 0.25 miles to the lake is very steep losing 400-500 feet that you have to climb back up. Thursday night was incredible. The moon was behind the ridge so stars and the milky way were bright. I briefly woke up about 2:30 am and while watching the stars saw a huge bolide (fireball meteor that exploded). It looked like a roman candle with blues, white, red, and orange colors. I estimate it was 15-20 miles high based on the amount of time before I heard the explosion shock wave. Friday morning I hiked out the primative trail. It's overgrown in multiple sections and there is a ground yellow jacket nest about 1/3 of the way down. Berries are also ripe along this trail.