Basin Lake, Fog City — Sunday, Jul. 20, 2025

I want to expand a bit on the sketchiness of the basin lake trail. I came in from the east via essentially bear gap TH but went up fog city. The road wasn’t as bad as I thought in a medium clearance vehicle. I might have made it all the way but there’s a dicey spot right before the trailhead. I parked 0.5mi back. Better would have been to park at the cabin and walk. I’m not sure if a lower car would make it, probably but with a lot of caution and some risk.

Water is found at the beginning and then essentially not again until near the end of the loop. I took the pct to Norse peak and then descended to basin lake. The pct is surprisingly flat, easy and with lots of great views of Adams and Rainier. I even saw st Helen’s despite the clouds. I went up bouillon peak and fwiw I’d skip it. There’s no much views because of the lay out and just a campsite that seems to have damaged the site a bit. Also no summit register lol.

I was hoping to find trout and they’re there but either stunted or immature so I didn’t bother. It’s a beautiful lake beneath a lovely mountain. The campsites are near the water and essentially in muddy marshy areas which is bad. It was cloudy and started drizzling and the lake area was much colder than even a little above. I’d encourage people to not camp lakeside but that seems to be the hip thing to do generally.

Coming back up from the lake I took the basin lake trail which is not difficult from this direction initially. It is clearly semi abandoned with little hiker use but extensive game use. Super fresh deer, bear, puma and goat scat and tracks were everywhere. Once you pass the initial saddle a number of very defined trails emerged. These are likely all game trails. Navigating without off trail experience and gps would be a serious challenge. The trail disappears perpetually and you’re hiking most of the time in the Norse peak fire. If it were hot I bet it would be exposed and dusty. There are views in the direction of fifes peak for most of it but that whole area burned so it’s a bit gloomy.

Up until nearly the end (or maybe a mile or so from where it splits from the pct) I didn’t find anything sketchy. I would emphasize things differently than what I had read. I’m used to off trail and scrambling, but I have a fear of heights and can tolerate but don’t like exposure. You cross two or maybe three gullies that are reasonably steep. The issue isn’t the steepness per se but rather that the track is about one foot width, poorly defined, and loose. It was very slippery and hard to get a good footing. It wasn’t quite scree but rather like loose gravel with something under it. There’s no good route above or below and a slip could end bad. Any amount of material that might land on that section would close the trail without question. My trekking poles were fully necessary. I wouldn’t have done it without them. I was in lone peaks, but would have preferred shoes for off trail or scrambling. I don’t recommend the trail because it has no real benefit vs the pct for that section. The loop total for me was 12mi with ~3800 gain/loss