The trail was in awesome shape, and the fall colors were absolutely gorgeous! There were tons of ripe huckleberries along the way, and they smelled so sweet in the sun. We had perfect weather, with lows only dropping to the mid 40s, which made for a comfortable night.

We camped at Lunch Lake for the night. I didn’t see any bears, but I heard from other hikers that they spotted them at Round Lake and Heart Lake. 

The views from the High Divide are incredible, especially of Mt. Olympus and Mt. Tom. I’d recommend hiking the loop counterclockwise; the descent along the Sol Duc River Trail was easy and really enjoyable.

14aug2024 ~06:00 "break camp" at Klahowya Campground, ~06:35, i arrived at the Sol Duc Trails parking. It was ~50% full. (and it was full when i got back at ~14:00 .. noticed a few vehicles coming in, a few leaving).

~06:50 i went (CW): Parking > Sol Duc Falls > Deer Lake > Mink Lake > Parking
< Sol Duc Nature Trail > Deer Lake Trail > Little Divide Trail > Mink Lake Trail > Sol Duc Hot Springs Road >

On Deer Lake Trail, encountered a pair of Dayhikers who were doing the High Divide - Seven Lakes Basin Loop (~20+ miles) 😅👍

At/around Deer Lake, saw a total of ~5 people; 1 of whom were practising Yoga in a clearing. 👍

On the Little Divide Trail, encountered a family of 4 (Dad & Mom and their 2 children) - they were doing a 3 x 1-week Backpacking "Loops" in Sol Duc. 😅👍👍👍

While descending Mink Lake, encountered a Backpacker who's going to Deer Lake. Further along, encountered a total of ~5 people coming UP.

w.r.the Warning of Cougar - i only met a young bunny (??) <Length ~8" length Nose -to- Back >

Everyone, including the bunny was nice and friendly 👍😀 And i am very thankful for the peace and sweet solitude on-the-trail.

Happy Trails Everyone 🙃

Perhaps, "interestingly", some differences in (my) Alltrails and GaiaGPS Stats ..
AllTrails: Distance 14.9 mi / EG 3,717 ft / Moving Time 7:00 / Stopped Time 0:06
whereas
GaiaGPS: Distance 14.4 mi / Ascent 2,410 (-2707) ft / Moving Time 6:47 / Stopped Time 0:19 ..

Hiked the Mink Lake-Deer Lake-Lovers Lane loop, 13.5 miles.  Started at the Mink Lake trailhead at Sol Duc Resort at 8 a.m.  The trail was in great shape all the way to Little Divide:  zero logs and no brush.  There were more perfectly ripe huckleberries than I've ever seen, all along the loop.  I stopped to snack on them often.

The day started off cloudy, and I kept expecting it to burn off, but it never did.  Mink Lake was shrouded in mist when I reached it at 10 a.m.  One party was camped there by the shelter.

Shortly after reaching Little Divide, it began to shower, enough that I wore a rain jacket for a while.  Little Divide is a nice walk, with forest interspersed with meadows and a few ponds, and not a lot of elevation change.  No views that day, though.  There were a few step-over logs on this stretch, but none posed an obstacle.

Deer Lake was also mist-shrouded.  A few parties were camped there.  Once I passed it and began descending toward Sol Duc Falls, I encountered more backpackers and day hikers.  The Deer Lake Trail was also in good shape, with no brush or logs.

The last three miles were on Lovers' Lake, which is relatively flat.  It was brushy in places, and at about the mid-point there were a couple of big logs to scramble over.  I was back at the car at 5.

To the falls is quite busy with people. Lovers Lane is a better more beautiful and peaceful route. Deer Lake was a fairly gradual climb up. Lake is beautiful. Small lake to the right is nice those maybe a bit swampy. A few spots to sit at the lake. Lots of flies. Total about 12 miles from the campground and 5 hours taking it pretty mellow.

There was up to two inches of snow and slush on the upper third of the trail. Recent snow that was held in the tree canopy was melting causing rain and snow bombs to fall. The lake is mostly melted out but there is still significant snow on the ground around the lake. In areas not covered by trees there was up to two feet of snow. We also experienced snow flurries when we were there around noon.