We started a little before 10 am at the Shady Ln TH, which is near the Copper Creek TH on FS road 2451. Only a few other cars. No bathrooms and parking is on the side of the road. A few big potholes near the TH.
Shady Ln Trail was a little overgrown at first but fine for most of it. Very pleasant trail with a few neat bridges and good river views. We reached the N Fork Skokomish River TH after 0.85 flat miles.
We followed the N Fork Skokomish River Trail for about 3.5 miles until the turnoff for Flapjack Lakes/Gladys Divide. This was a very gentle grade and wide trail.
The Flapjack Lakes Trail is in great condition besides a few downed trees that require climbing over or under and a huge tree that necessitates a temporary bypass trail. Half a mile from the lakes there is a sign saying Flapjack to the right and Black and White Lakes to the left.
On the Gladys Divide Way Trail, the snow fields started at about 4,500 feet. We were able to do it with no poles or other snow gear, but many people would likely find poles useful. The snowfields were steep at times and both of us fell once on the way down. At the divide, elevation 5,000 feet, there is a good view into the Mt. Skokomish Wilderness, with Mt. Henderson, Mt. Skokomish, and Mt. Cruiser visible from left to right. There is a trail that continues to Mt. Gladys to the left, but we did not want to fight more snow. There were not many footprints in the snow continuing past the divide.
About a mile from the Staircase campground area at the suspension bridge, we decided to take a right and finish the last mile to the campgrounds using the suspension bridge and the Staircase Rapids Nature Trail. There were a lot more trail users on this section of trail. The trail is graveled in areas and has fantastic river views that aren't matched on the N Fork Skokomish River Trail on the north side of the river.
Overall it's a great hike with beautiful rivers, lakes, and waterfalls that's best done when the snow is more melted out to allow an easier Mt. Gladys summit. We totalled 18.5 miles and 4,600 feet of elevation gain.
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