Just a short note to say that the bugs weren't too bad. Three of us met at the trailhead at 3:30p and reaching Flapjack lakes around 7:30p -- not too bad for beer-and-boat-laden out-of-shape hikers going 8 miles and 3000'. There are small trout aplenty in the lake, but it's hard to get a big enough one to eat; we caught a few little ones and released most of them. The next day was cloudy and cool. We hiked up to Gladys divide/pass in the evening and the views near the top and over the other side are well worth it. There were very fresh bear tracks and scat on the trail up. There was also an otter sighting at the lake, which was pretty cool: It swam into view, maybe got a fish, climbed up onto a nearby island rock and wandered a little before slipping back into the water. There are also very agressive deer and chipmunks at the campgrounds -- watch your sweaty things and your food. Day three, down and out. A good knee-pounding if you carry too much and go too fast. Beautiful bird (grouse, I think) displaying his throat on the trail down, just before the last switchbacks dropping you to the main Skokomish trail -- and heard grouse around there on the way up. Good trip.

Departed Renton at 0800 on Tuesday morning. Weather in Seattle/Tacoma was warm and sunny. Stopped off in Port Orchard for last minutes supplies. Arrived at Staircase Ranger Station at 1100, elevation approx. 800 feet. Gave ourselves a ""warm and fuzzy"" when we shelled out the cash for the a yearly Nat. Park Pass. Flapjack Lakes listed at 3,850 ft. elevation so a 3000 ft. gain overall. Bumped into one other couple from Rhode Island also making hike to Flapjacks. Then we loaded up our packs (40+ lbs. for me and about 25 lbs. for the wife) and set out. There was light rain early on. The first four miles up to NF Skok/Flapjack Lakes junction is well covered as is the majority of the remaining 4 miles. Weather changed rapidly from drizzle to sunshine to broken clouds and back again. First four miles to Flapjack Lakes junction are pretty damp with the occasional mudholes, nothing that can't be easily handled by good hiking boots. Staircase Rapids loops still closed as the bridge remains washed out. Made the 4.0 miles to the trail junction in about 1.5 hours. After the junction the trail gets much steeper and rockier. Last 3 miles or so of the trail is very well marked with orange/pink ribbons. Beautiful photo opps at both Madeline Creek and Donahue Creek. I personally think the falls on Donahue Creek rival those at Sol Duc any day. Thankfully, Donahue Creek/Flapjacks will never see the same kind of foot traffic. One small washout on the trail just below the junction to Black and White Lakes but the crossing is easy to see and manage. Arrived at the lakes at about 1630 hours Tuesday night. Set up camp next to Upper Flapjack Lake. Very cold overcast conditions, I'm guessing probably 35-38 degrees overnight. Mt. Cruiser and Mt. Lincoln continually popping in and out of the clouds. No snow at Flapjack Lakes. Snow visible on lower slopes of Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Cruiser. Deer were out in force throughout the campsites. No ranger to be seen this outing. Did manage to spot one black bear in the avalanche meadow on the far side of Upper Flapjack Lake. Pit toilets are not well marked and were somewhat difficult to locate. Aforementioned couple arrived a couple of hours later and camped well away. We felt like we had the entire upper lake to ourselves. I, great backcountry adventurer that I am..., had a brain fart and forgot to clean my five year old MSR water pump. This made for a very long process with a half functioning pump. The thought of Potable Aqua tablets made me shudder and I pumped all the more furiously. Word to the wise, read the owners manual and you will save yourself the embarassment. My incredible display of backcountry knowledge made my wife laugh hysterically. Agree with the previous report on this trail, ""trail past Black and White Lakes junction was very rocky and eroded - needs maintenance!"" Thankfully, upper section of the trail is off-limits to stock and rightfully so. Lower section of the trail was a mess! Early morning Wednesday we beat feet back to the Staircase ranger station. Appox 3.5 hours back. Past the NF Skok/Flapjack junction, we saw only 3 groups of 2 and all of them day hikers, 3000' of elevation gain and loss.

I've started conditioning for my Boundary Trail trip (trek 1, Mike Woodmansee's Trekking Washington book) with Brother John in mid July, so I wanted a good grunt and to toughen up the feet. A day trip to Gladys Divide did the trick. Snow became continuous at the 4900' level on the Gladys Divide Trail. It should be melted out to the divide in a week or two. The trail past the Black & White/Flapjack Lakes junction was very rocky and eroded (needs maintenance!) but beyond the lakes the trail was in terrific shape. The upper meadows of Gladys Divide Creek is still mostly snow covered but is melting out quickly. Near the 4900' level, it got down to 45 degrees and started raining, so I beat feet back to the Staircase ranger station. Past the NF Skok/Flapjack junction, I saw only 2 couples and the ranger and none on the Gladys divide trail. 7 hrs, 17 miles, 4100' of elevation gain and loss.

I just got back from flapjack lakes. There is no snow on the way to the lakes however there was a small patch on the far side of the lakes which is probably nearly gone now. We decided to treck up to the top of Gladys Divide and there was a fair amount of snow up there, (3 feet in places) but we still made it to the top without any difficulties. There were lots of dear around the lakes and up toward the divide. We swam briefly in the upper lake, and other swam farther but the water is very cold. There's a great campsite by the inflow stream.

We backpacked to the Flapjacks Lakes via the Skokomish River trail from the Staircase entrance to the Olympic National Park. After turning onto trail #114 to the Flapjacks, there were a few early season rough patches and blowdowns, but generally the trail was in good shape and easy to follow all the way to the lakes. There was little to no snow on the trail until arriving at the lakes. The lakes remained largely frozen over, with a ring of thaw around the edges during the afternoon. Significant snow patches remained in the shady areas at lake level. Several designated campsites were fully thawed out though - mostly on the southeastern bank. We spent the evening there in solitude, not seeing even one other visitor to the lakes during our stay. Just after dusk we were confused by a green flash we could see from inside of our tent, but had no idea it was a meteor event until we heard about it in the news after leaving the park. The trail from the Flapjacks up to Gladys Divide was intermittently covered in snow beginning about 300' above the lakes and building to a couple feet of snow above 4800' to the divide. However, several previous boot tracks and patches of thaw made it relatively easy to follow the trail to the divide. The snow pack was adequately compact to walk on, with only occasional post-holing to the shin or knee. The weather was wonderful, and so were views of the sawtooth ridge and Mt. Lincoln from the lakes, and great close-up views of Mt. Cruiser from Gladys Divide. A great trip.