Arrived at the trailhead on a sunny Tuesday around 10am. Just a dozen or so cars in the large lot. Restrooms were OK but definitely trending towards messy. There was a slight scent of wildfire smoke in the air but it did not really impact the views on this hike. Water levels are quite low so I took the opportunity to step over the stream instead of taking the log bridge. There's a nice variety of mushrooms on the first part of the hike, but the highlight of today's hike was the beautiful colors of the vine maples. Of course the blue sky background against Upper and Lower Melakwa Lake wasn't too bad either.
The climb up Hemlock pass will definitely get you huffing and puffing. Not sure exactly but it seemed like I gained about 800 feet of elevation in about a mile before reaching the pass (no views). The second half of the hike is also quite rocky in places which slows your progress and makes trekking poles a nice-to-have, especially on the descent. I made it all the way to Upper Melakwa for the first time today, but there are a couple of spots on the way where a slip would be bad news. The view from the upper lake was nice but I think I prefer the lower lake views so I might not venture to the upper lake next time I do this hike.
10 miles, 5 hours, 2,700 feet elevation gain
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