We had a wonderful two night, three day trip to Royal Basin. We camped in the lower Meadows for two nights with a permit issued by the park. This was an ideal base to take a day trip with a small pack all the way up to upper Royal Basin. The upper basin really is the highlight of this trip and is the reason to go on this trip--don't miss it! The 1 mile trail from Royal Lake to the upper basin was quite challenging for us and it took some time. It was much more stony and rooty than the rest of the trip to that point and that mile took quite a long time, even with our summit packs. Still, it's well worth it and a must-do part of any trip to Royal Meadows or Royal Lake.
As noted in another recent trip report (by a group that we said hi to over the three days as we passed each other--"second best site!"), the signage for the campsites is severely lacking and our GAIA GPS wasn't accurate.. On the last day, I found the sign for the Lower meadow campsite where we were staying tossed in the bushes. I put it up against a rock. It would also be helpful if the park made it clear how many campsites there are in a particular area. Upon returning to Seattle, I looked it up in the lower meadow has 2 campsites that accommodate a maximum of 12 people. It wasn't clear to us is whether our campsite was an open shared double site, or a single.
Bugs were absolutely miserable from the lower meadow and at the lake, but we had an opportunity to do a gear test on our backpacker Thermacell. I think we were able to conclusively prove that it really does work, especially when there isn't wind. Swarms of overhead mosquitoes to disappeared in just a few minutes of use.
Upper Royal basin is truly one of the most beautiful hikes in the state of Washington. I must say, selfishly, I am grateful that it is out of range for most day hikers, and can only be visited by the limited few who are able to score overnight backpack reservations. It was wonderful to share the upper basin with maybe just 10 or 12 other people, as well as a group of marmot researchers who had made to camp up top.
We also are fairly sure we saw the northern lights one night.
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