Quick day trip to Flapjack Lakes. Ran / hike up to the lakes with only a a couple of trees across the trail on the Flapjack Lakes trail. The views around the lake were great, with the Sawtooth Range looming over the lake. Found some garbage around the lake, so I ended carrying a bag back to the trailhead. Overall a great day in the Olympics!

From the junction at the North Fork Skokomish River Trail up towards Flapjack Lakes, the trail switchbacks up to the steel bridge crossing at Madeline Creek, and the trail was in pretty good repair. The downhill edge of the trail is beginning to creep in some places. Beyond Madeline Creek, the trail turns steeper and rutted, which causes water to run down the trail making the tread very rocky. We passed through an area where the trees are more spaced out and filled with ripening huckleberries (I think, not an expert on PNW edible plants yet).

By the time we started to hear Donahue Creek, the trail became noticeably steeper and the tread narrower. It looks like the use of trekking poles has weakened the downhill edge of the trail so that it creeps. After the trail actually meets Donahue Creek, the trail begins switching back and forth, becomes very loose and rocky. Following the trail beyond, we passed into a very nice level glade with large trees where the trail to White and Black Lakes splits off. We saw evidence that people had camped here instead of continuing to either the Flapjack Lakes or White and Black Lakes.

Uphill from the trail sign, the trail meanders up a very steep, tight draw. We encountered 3 or 4 trees down across the trail that we had to crawl under. The trail continues upward until, suddenly, a sign for a vault toilet appears and we've arrived at Flapjack Lakes. Our first view was encouraging, but the full scope couldn't be seen until we got to the West side of the lower lake. From there, we could see the bare ridge above and both lakes. The view in the late evening is spectacular, with the rocks glowing orange. During the day, the color of the clear waters gradates from light green to deep blue due to the depth in a beautiful range of colors.

We found the best views of the ridge from the West side of the lakes. The best campsites, however, seemed to be those on the East side of the upper lake. They were more spacious, but were also in shadow until late morning. Mosquitoes and flies were bothersome, bug spray was a big benefit when the breeze died down.

I brought a fly rod and caught some Brook and Cutthroat Trout. The shore is a bit too wooded for good fly-fishing in most places unless you want to roll-cast or bring in a float tube. Spin casting seems the way to go as most of the larger fish seemed to stay in the deep spots not easily accessible by fly rod. However, there are a few points in the lower lake that do allow for a good back cast with a fly rod.

All in all, it was worth the tough trail to see the lakes.    

This was the first time I’ve been hiking—let alone backpacking—in Olympic National Park. I was one of a group of 4. We got started around 10:30, heading up the North Skokomish River Trail. The trail is rocky and is shared with stock, so we found ourselves watching our steps.

When we turned onto the trail towards Flapjack Lakes, the trail got much steeper. A good chunk of this trail section traverses the steep side of Mount Lincoln, and the trail is fairly narrow. There was not much in the way of a view as we worked our way upwards through the forest, with the exception of the Madeline Creek crossing and Donahue Creek Falls. We also enjoyed the refreshing rush of cool air from the moving water.

Before turning left onto the primitive trail leading to the Black & White Lakes, we changed into long pants because of the brush. Thorns abound in the early section. This is also when the mosquitoes began to get really troublesome. The going is steep, the trail is narrow, and we crossed Donahue Creek 3 times.

As we reached the final approach to the lake, we walked through a meadow that was bursting with wildflowers. There were tiger lilies, avalanche lilies, beargrass, and other flowers I did not identify. After curving around a small ridge, the trail finally reaches the lake. The mosquitoes that we were waving away during the hike up had subsided, and we took a quick swim in the lake.

As dusk approached, though, the mosquitoes began swarming. We had DEET but no mosquito nets—a huge mistake. Even after applying the DEET we all were getting bitten all over, even through our clothes. After eating as quickly as we could, we retreated into our tents.

The next morning was the evening in reverse, mosquito-wise. We ate a quick breakfast and began the descent as speedily as we could. On the way down we encountered a ranger who had spent the night at Flapjack Lakes and said that the bugs were the worst he had ever seen—including his experiences in Canada and Alaska.

Beautiful lake. Beautiful views from the ridge. BRING BUG SPRAY.

Haven't backpacked since last year so we started easy and only hiked from Staircase to Spike camp (~3.5 miles). This trail is in excellent shape and well used. Spike camp was very quite and not many people, this may have been because it was close to Staircase or that the privy was closed. The following day we hiked up to Flapjack lakes. The first two miles are at a fairly easy grade and the trail was in good shape. After crossing the bridge over Madeline Creek the trail increased in grade. Once you hit the junction with the Black and White lakes trail things really got steep. That last mile to Flapjack Lakes is a stairclimber. There are a couple of large downed trees but you can make your way under them. Once at Flapjack, we found a nice campground on the western side of the lakes. We were a group 4 people with 3 tents and found a number of spots that would have fit us. We arrived on a Friday afternoon though and things seemed to get busier up there on Saturday. Given that there are lakes and marshes you know you are going to have to deal with bugs and this was the case with Flapjacks. The mosquitoes were on us the minute we showed up. Nothing a little DEET and covering up can't help. Luckily it was mosquitoes only and no biting flies or worse. 

We spent two nights at Flapjacks. On Saturday we hiked to Gladys Divide. This trail goes up from the east side of Flapjack and is under the watchful eye of the beautiful Sawtooth Ridge. This trail isn't very long but it is somewhat steep and the last .25 mile was snow covered. Totally doable and a rewarding view at the top. We returned to the lakes for a swim and much needed bath. 

There were a few people fishing the lake and many were successful. It may be worth bringing a rod.

The trip down on Sunday was uneventful.

We had a great trip and would recommend it.