Flapjack Lakes via North Fork Skokomish River, Gladys Divide — Friday, Jul. 26, 2024

We had a beautiful weekend trip up to Flapjack Lakes and Gladys Divide!

Friday night we arrived at the Staircase trailhead around 6pm and there was plenty of parking in the overnight lot.
We started up the Rapids Loop trail for the first mile. This is the trail that starts just past the outhouses and across the bridge. It was a similar distance as the first mile of the North Fork Skokomish River, but we got to cross the suspension bridge. I highly recommend crossing the suspension bridge at least in one direction of your hike.

We stayed Friday night at Spike Camp. It was very crowded with a large youth group with no permit spread over most of the area.

Saturday morning, it took us about 3 hours to hike from Spike Camp up to Flapjack Lakes at a slow pace. A faster member of our party made it in an hour and a half. There were some downed trees, but nothing too difficult to get by.

The camping at Flapjack Lakes was beautiful! The sites were dispersed around the two lakes enough to where we had some privacy. The water was warm and perfect for swimming.
Great fishing at the lakes - one member of our party caught almost 10 fish. Catch and release only though!

Both privies at Flapjack Lakes are very full. There was a sign saying that you should only poop in them - no pee!

There were TONS of ripe wild blueberries along the trail and near Flapjack Lakes! Made for a great addition to breakfast.

I HIGHLY recommend continuing up to Gladys Divide. There were beautiful wildflowers and great views of the Sawtooth Ridge. The view from the top looking over to the other side was stunning. It was definitely worth the extra mileage and elevation gain. The trail past Flapjack Lakes was a bit overgrown in places, but not bad.