We decided to take a chance and head out to Waptus Lake, despite the limited number of trip reports. While the lake was beautiful, getting there took some effort. We encountered a number of annoying blowdowns on our way in, as well as 4, boots-off-water-shoes-on, water crossings. The fourth crossing was the Waptus River. When we crossed over the river on Friday, the water was at the top of my thighs (I’m 5’4”) and the current was strong. When we crossed back over on Saturday afternoon, the current was much stronger and the water level about 4-5” deeper. We found the crossing quite challenging. The appearance is deceiving, so take care if you go. We found poles to be a must.
We spent the first night in Waptus Lake Camp. It was just us and one other couple. As we hiked out Saturday afternoon, there were several groups on their way in. We spent our second night in Quick Creek Camp. This stretch of trail (.75 miles) is very brushy and there were numerous blowdowns to navigate.
We were entertained both nights and mornings by lovely birdsong (our Merlin apps identified over a dozen). There were too many lower varieties to count. Among the rare finds were Columbia Lewisia, Fairy Slippers, and Fairy Bells. We were greeted by a beaver swimming by as we sipped our morning coffee today. A fun treat!
Gaia tracked us at 8.9 miles going in to Waptus Lake Came and 9.0 miles coming out from Quick Creek camp. The elevation is deceiving, with rolling hills all along the way.
During the morning on Saturday, we walked the trail to the end of Waptus Lake, from Waptus Lake Camp. We went up hoping to take the PCT all the way to Spinola Creek Trail and back down to camp, but we were stopped by a large water fall just beyond the Spade Lake Trail. Rather than trying to cross it, we came down the Spade Lake Trail (again, encountering numerous blowdowns) to the lake trail and back to camp.
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