Hit the trail around 8:30am and made haste to the Upper Basin where I ate lunch, set camp, and transferred my essentials to a daypack for further adventures. No major changes in conditions since I was last here a month ago, though the outlet of Royal Lake is dry. Of course that may change with the rain this coming week, but I wouldn't rely on it, and plenty of other flowing water sources exist along the trail.
After getting my gear settled, I grabbed the daypack and headed out to explore the upper realms of the basin, including a jaunt up and over to Deception Basin. I didn't have the opportunity to linger however, as dark clouds coalesced over Mt. Deception and I really, really didn't want to make the traverse back up and over in adverse conditions, so I high-tailed it back ASAP. Absolutely nothing came to pass weather-wise in the end, but better safe than sorry. Once back on the "home" side of the ridge, I continued my travels, catching various elk paths, visiting multiple tarns, and climbing numerous ridges.
Surprisingly warm overnight - my not-always-accurate thermometer registered a low of 42 and that sounds about right as I slept comfortably with my tent's fly door open. Some periodic gusts of wind, but nothing to fret about.
Otherwise, had a mellow morning at the Royal Tarn before packing up and heading out. Talked to a group of 3 who were also heading over to Deception, but it was mostly quiet -- aside from a couple more groups camped down lower and a single trailrunner, I didn't see anyone until I got back to the TH. Don't folks know that autumn is the best time to hike in WA?
One additional note: Saturday was blissfully smoke-free, though I could see lingering haze down in the valleys beyond Deception, but smoke did roll in on Sunday as I was on my way out.
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