It was a good day for a hike, no rain or wind and the sun even peeked out. The trail is covered in snow with occasional dirt patches. There were lots of small blowdowns and a couple big ones but passable. I brought micro spikes but only wore them on the way back and my partner didn't use any. Poles sure came in handy. We went about 2 1/2 miles before we turned around. Workers were working on the Staircase Rapids loop bridge and it was quite impressive.

It's understandable why these clear subalpine lakes are so popular. By going during the week, we missed the crowds of humans but were still greeted by swarms of mosquitoes. Purple and red huckleberries are ripe along the trail to Flapjack Lakes, for about 1 1/2 miles from the junction where you leave the Skokomish River trail (the old logging road). Purple huckleberries were not yet ripe at the lakes. View the full report with pictures here: http://northkitsaphiking.blogspot.com/p/trips-outside-kitsap.html

Since the Cascades have not melted out, Rachel and I went to the Olympics. Trailhead is about 3 hours from Seattle or maybe a little less. Trail starts at from the Staircase Ranger station at the end of Lake Cushman and proceeds up the North Fork of the Skokomish River. The Skokomish is big. It must be quite a sight in flood. In a few miles we turned right, took the Flapjack Lakes Trail to the junction ("Three Forks"), then left up to the Black and White Lakes. There's a blowdown just past the junction and it took us a while to pick up the trail again. The plants on the trail are similar to those on the west slope of Cascade, but a few differences--for example, saw lots of Northern maidenhair ferns, which are extremely cool and unlike any other ferns I've seen. The Black and White Lakes have just thawed and the campsites have just melted out. (I use the word "campsites" advisedly.) Open, alpine setting (though there are trees around), mostly heather and thousands of white avalanche lilies. Really nice. Trail and camp pretty much bug-free. On the second day we hiked back down to an amazing campsite by the trail junction, next to Donohue Creek. Mesmerizing waterfall just down the trail from the campsite. Took a side hike to Flapjack Lakes. Nice campsites there, but I was not overwhelmed, though maybe because I prefer alpine settings to forested ones. Went part of the way up to the Gladys Divide, but trail gives way to snow, we were soaked, and it was foggy, so we didn't push on to the ridge. This hike was in a national park rather than a national forest. Different vibe--Ranger Station open on the weekend, for one thing. And they loaned us a bear cannister. On the other hand, they didn't have any good maps. Excellent trip. dadzeno

Took advantage of the amazing weather to have a overnight with my dad up to FlapJack lakes in the Olympic National Park. The first 3.5 miles up the North Fork Skokomish River Trail are nice and flat. Then you take a right and hike a pretty steep 4 mile climb (with the steepest part coming the last 1/2 mile) to the Flapjack Lakes (3000+ feet elevation gain). The climb was pretty intense, especially with our backpacks, but the lakes were quiet and simply beautiful, and there were only about 5 other hikers staying at the lakes. By the time we left we had the lake to ourselves. Trails and lakes are mostly snow free. If you choose to hike up to Gladys divide you will hit some snow 1/4 miles past the lakes (see other trip report for this trail).