Trip reports from last weekend were spot on. This hike is beautiful but it is also long and has significant elevation gain due to the undulating trail. In hindsight, it was more than I should have taken on for my first backpacking trip of the season. It looks like Quick Creek Camp would be a great alternative because it is shorter and doesn't require wading the Waptus River.
I hit traffic on I-90 heading west to Exit 80 due to the construction, but it didn't add too much time. I set out around noon and broke for lunch a couple of miles in at a small brook. I continued on, took breaks, and stopped at each viewpoint. At about 5 miles in, you enter a lush area along the river and the mosquitos were terrible! Definitely pack your preferred choice of bug protection and a head net if you have it. In all, it took just about 6 hours. My Bivy stick tracked 9.2 miles with 2,136 ft of cumulative elevation gain. The flowers were wonderful and the views kept my motivation high.
I managed the river crossing but the flow was quite strong and at average female height, the water was at the top of my thighs. When I made it to the south end of Waptus Lake I was surprised to find a group of ~12 set up for camp. I thought it must have been a club or paid outing - wanting solitude, I made my way along the lake for the quieter sites. There were a lot of blow downs in the area and the first site I came across looked unsafe due to a large dead tree seemingly ready to fall. I made camp at the next site. There's a stream with good flow as a water source just a few steps away. There was also a pit toilet uphill but it is in poor condition, it had broken boards, but still useable. It was overall a nice spot, I listened to the creek as I fell asleep. I hiked out the next day and got a good snap of the lakefront view.
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