We hiked the High Divide from Sol Duc to Deer Lake to the Seven Lakes Basin and exited through Heart Lake. Altogether about 19 miles in 9 hours. Since the weather was cool and overcast with rain slated for the afternoon, we decide to speed-hike in running shoes, the entire trail. We did'nt break a sweat, me at 54 years old with my daughter at 21 years old and she all the leading, of course. We carried 20# packs, equipped for overnight if needed, with an energic and happy attitude, about not having to carry a heavy pack or wear heavy boots. We had adequate energy food- cheese, apples, salty turkey-jerky, and non-alchoholic energy drinks- pure water. Also peanut butter filled crackers- protein! The entire trail is well maintained, elevation gains are easy due to new switch-backs and stone-stairs. Elevation gain over 10-miles was noticeable but relatively painless, unless you were carrying a 50# pack. Stone stairs lead down into the Seven Lakes Basin from eat os Bogachiel Peak. Encountered black-bears sweeping low-bush blueberries, doe and fawns sunning, blue grouse grousing, and hundreds of junkos and regional smal-birds. One drawback- if you drive through Port Angeles and east during the 4-5AM time, you will discover that few resturants are open, except 24-hour Safeways. We plan to do this loop again durin early Spring on skis, weather permitting!

Heart Lake, High Divide, Bogachiel Peak, Seven Lakes Basin, Deer Lake, Olympic National Park DAY 1: 9/4/03, Trailhead to Heart Lake, 8.5 miles, 2,800’ gain, sunny & warm. Rachel and I arrived at the Sol Duc Valley trailhead around 10:30AM. The hike to Heart Lake follows the Sol Duc River for 4.8 miles to a junction with the Appleton Pass trail. We stayed straight toward Heart Lake and Seven Lakes Basin.There are many campsites with bear wires along the river. Passing the junction the trail climbs steadily with some flat areas for about 3.5 miles to Heart Lake, and yes, it looks like a heart. We stayed to the right of the lake and climbed to the last campsite over looking the valley. It took us about 5 hours to reach the lake including a lunch break and a few smaller breaks to rest our shoulders and legs. The lake is set in a basin full of meadows with a hint of fall foliage appearing. We set up camp then decided to hike up to High Divide for dinner. The half mile climb to the divide was achy after the 8.5 miles up to Heart Lake, although we new it would be quite a show with the sun setting on Mt. Olympus. When we arrived on the divide we had a great view of the mountain and found a flat area to cook on at around 6PM. Eventually Edward, a passerby from Ireland, came by and we chatted with him about our different countries. We had many topics to discuss. Soon enough Rachel and I had dinner with the alpenglow of Mt. Olympus giving us a show. The massive hulk of the Blue Glacier snaked down the rugged mountain and the White Glacier seemed enormous. Climbing to the Blue Glacier via the Hoh River trail would be a wonderful trip. We made it back to camp before dark, used our first bear wire, which was convenient, then headed off to sleep with sore legs. It was a quiet, mild night with no bear activity. DAY 2: 9/5/03, Heart Lake to Lunch Lake/Seven Lakes Basin, 3.5 miles, 600’ gain, sunny & warm. Packed up and headed back up to High Divide around 9:30AM. We traversed west on the divide toward Seven Lakes Basin. Mt. Olympus accompanied us the entire way. After about 2 miles Rachel and I descended down a side trail that leads all the way to Lunch Lake. This is a great way to descend into Seven Lakes Basin’s upper parts. The trail passes many rocky lakes and tarns. The side trail is not on Green Trails maps, although part of it is shown on the Custom Correct Maps of the Olympic Peninsula. After exploring many sites at Lunch Lake we found a great one up and way from the lake, it seemed more secluded than any of the other sites. There were nice trees in the site, and a great view/cooking spot beyond the site overlooking a beautiful meadow. We arrived around 11:30AM, set up camp and ate some lunch. Afterwards we decided to gather some water at the lake. The glacier blue water is very inviting despite being very cold. I went for it anyway and took a quick dip. Sitting in the sun to dry off felt wonderful as we spent most of the afternoon lounging around. For dinner we used our view spot beyond our tent to cook. We also watched a black bear in the meadow below feed on blueberries. After cleaning up and hanging our food on the bear wire we headed down beside Lunch Lake to watch the sun set. Another large bear made his way into a meadow across the lake from us, two bears already and we were only halfway through our trip. Soon enough we walked back to camp and crawled into our tent, sleeping the quiet night away. DAY 3: 9/6/03, Loop from Lunch Lake to Bogachiel Peak, 4 miles, 1,000’ gain, overcast, rain. After watching the same bear from yesterday evening in the meadow during breakfast, Rachel and I headed east back up through the way we entered Seven Lakes Basin. It was about 11:30AM by the time we got a move on, taking it easy this morning was well needed. The other backpacking parties at the lake had moved on at this point and we had the basin to ourselves. Our solitude was welcomed. The upper basin is a moon like landscape with many lakes and tarns. We sat by one lake, collected water by another, all while gazing into the bright blue pigments of the lakes. It took us a while before we covered some ground and found ourselves once again on High Divide. Clouds had rolled in off the Pacific Ocean and Mt. Olympus looked demanding just below the cloud cover. Continuing west toward Bogachiel Peak the route climbs steady about 400’ to a fork, go right for Bogachiel Peak with great views down to Seven Lakes Basin, north to Strait of Juan De Fuca, west to the Pacific, and south to the glaciers of Mt. Olympus and the Hoh Valley. As more clouds came we felt a few raindrops, something well needed in these dry times. We walked back down to the fork of the Bogachiel Peak trail and continued northwest on the High Divide trail to the true junction of Seven Lakes Basin. We went right into the basin down some rocky switchbacks almost resembling a staircase at times. We noticed our black bear friend, at least we thought it was the same one, making his way across a rockslide behind Round Lake. We were almost getting used to these bear sightings. Arriving back at camp with some drizzle I set up our siltarp in some trees. I’ve been waiting to use this new 21st century creation that sits in the bottom of my pack. We were very thankful to have it as we fixed dinner with rain drops falling around us. We also heard a few claps of thunder toward Mt. Olympus. Our senses were overloading as we ate our freeze dried meals, yum. We secured a trash bag over our food bag when we latched it to the bear wire and hoisted it above. As the sun fell and the darkness came a thick fog had rolled into the Sol Duc Valley which we could see below us. It was an amazing site, like a giant ghost blanketing the trees. It was soon upon us as we dove into our cozy dry tent. Around 9PM the wind and rain started to have some fun. Light rain, medium rain, heavy rain, small rain, large rain, sideways rain, bubba gump rain, you name it, it rained and rained all through the night. DAY 4: 9/7/03, Lunch Lake to Deer Lake to car, 7.5 miles, 600’ gain, 3,000’ loss, cloudy, rain The watch alarm buzzed at 6AM and I realized my Thermarest must have a tear in it since most of the air leaked out for the second time during the night, bummer, looks like REI will get more of my money unless I can find the hole and patch it up. It was still raining and chilly so we stayed snug in our sleeping bags until 7:30AM. Considering all the rain, we stayed completely dry in the tent. My Van goh style seam sealing worked like magic. Crawling out of the tent we saw the fog and clouds hugging the hillsides around the lake basin. Our pack covers ended up getting wet, even though they were under the siltarp all night, although they protected our packs and kept them dry. Eventually we packed up our wet equipment, ate some Clif bars and pop tarts, then headed toward the steep climb up and out of Seven Lakes Basin. It was still drizzling a little with a few small sunbreaks. We welcomed this weather as we hiked out. The mist, fog and rain is the way the Olympic Mountains should be experienced. This is the lifeline of this magnificent environment. All life depends on it. As we hiked toward Deer Lake on the High Divide trail we spotted another black bear grazing in the meadows below us along with many large bear droppings along the trail. Soon we came to an overlook of Deer Lake and many other small lakes and ponds. This was where a Ranger from the day before told us about another black bear that hikers were reporting. Sure enough we spotted him way down in the basin near some of the small lakes in a meadow. As we hiked into the basin we cautiously kept our eyes peeled and my camera ready. We neared the meadow when suddenly I saw the bear about 25 feet ahead of us. He must have heard us coming because he bolted into some bushes and trees away from the trail. All I could see was his BIG bear butt sticking out of the foliage, it was a funny sight. He eventually came back out to feed on some blueberries. I snapped two nice photos of the bear as we quietly watched him. At this point we were almost taking these bear sightings for granted. We then descended steadily down to Deer Lake and found a nice campsite to rest and eat lunch. As we ate we noticed how chilly it really was when sitting still, the cold front must have come in, this was the coolest weather we’ve felt all season. From Deer Lake the trail descends lush forest with great waterfalls cascading down Canyon Creek. There are some nice forest campsites along the way. The rain continued on and off the entire way down. It was a beautiful misty day to say the least and a great way to end this wonderful loop trip. From rainforest, to alpine lakes, to bears, to mammoth glaciers, to sun, clouds, wind and rain, we saw it all on this adventure in Olympic National Park. TRIP TOTALS: mileage: 23.5, elevation gain: 5,000’, bear sightings: 6

Absolutely stupendous loop! On a car camping trip with our 2 kids (age 1 and 4) at the Sol Duc Hotsprings, I took half a day by myself to do this loop. I started at 6AM from the Sol Duc campground, heading up the Sol Duc River towards the High Divide. The trail was in very good shape as were all bridges over the river. 1.5 hours later, I broke into a beautiful subalpine meadow just below Sol Duc Park. Half an hour later, I was feasting my eyes on the fog filled Hoh River valley and Blue Glacier spilling off the flanks of Mt Olympus. High ciro-stratus clouds and a steady crisp breeze kept me moving though. I opted not to explore east toward Cat Peak and the Bailey range, but turned west to rim the south edge of the Seven Lakes Basin. Half an hour took me to Bogachiel Peak, and another 50 minutes down to Deer Lake. Across the Bogachiel River headwaters, I noticed a herd of ~50 elk bedded down about 1/2 mile below me. At Deer Lake, I opted to turn west and follow the Bogachiel River trail. This trail was noticeably less well maintained, but certainly passable. More mud holes, roots and rocks kept my pace down, but it was still about 90% runable. After about 50 minutes of jumping roots and dodging mud holes I grew tired of the ups and downs of the trail, and just wanted to see the junction of the Mink Lake trail. Besides, I had just run out of water, Cliff bars were like chalk, and Gu was coating my mouth like, well like goo. The junction came and I began the final quad busting, ankle twisting 4 miles back to the resort. Back by 11:30, thank god for the hot springs. A quart of water and some time in the pools revived me so I could play with my kids. All junctions were well signed, and the mileage on the Custom Correct Map I had was right on the money. Alas, no wild life besides the distant elk and a startled grouse, but the vistas from the High Divide ridge were absolutely spectacular. Beautiful weather and beautiful scenery made this a fantastic trail run.

We stayed in Port Angeles on Friday night and were at the Sol Duc Hot Springs trailhead at 7:40 in the morning. The plan was to hike the High Divide trail in one day - we figured by starting at 7:40 AM, we'd have more than 12 hours of daylight. What a beautiful trip. We got to Deer Lake by 9:20 and then climbed past tarns to the ridge. Fantastic views of a beautiful alpine bowl. Reached the cut off to Round Lake and Lunch Lake about 11:30 and went far enough up the side trail to see the lakes from above. Gorgeous views of Mt. Olympus after that - plus you can see all the way down to the Hoh River from the ridge. The two miles up and down to Heart Lake seemed to take forever, and then you go down, down and a very long walk along the river back to the shelter which ends the loop. Finally, under a mile to walk back to the trailhead. Everyone we saw on the trail (enough people to know you were not lost, but there were long periods where we saw no one else) was backpacking but it was very pleasant to not carry all that weight. It took a little over 10 hours to complete the trail - out just before 6 PM. Ripe blueberries everywhere. There were some bugs but not bad, especially since we kept moving most of the time. All snow is gone and the trail is rocky in places but well marked and well maintained. I was worried about doing such a long hike in one day but felt fine although the last few miles seemed very long. I am in reasonable shape but not a great runner and we are in our 50's!!!

Got started up the Sol Duc at 5:40 AM for a pleasant climb in the shade up to Appleton Pass. No bugs, no snow, trail in perfect shape. At the top I passed lots of campers near Oyster Lake as I walked east on the Cat Basin route, which is really a very distinct trail in places. The path disappears in the avalanche lily carpeted meadows but is easy to pick up at the pass between Schoeffel Creek and the Sol Duc. The route, which is now a trail, descends through woods on the Sol Duc side, and then climbs to a pass overlooking Cat Creek. Fine views are the rule as the trail contours southwest through open meadows on the ridge high above Cat Creek. Finally Cat Basin came into view and I opted to contour across a rockslide to Swimming Bear Lake instead of dropping way, way down to Cat Basin. One other party was at the lake, just beginning their weeklong trip into the Bailey Range. After filtering some water and a bite I left Swimming Bear, heading south on the trail to the High Divide. It was a hot, sweaty climb from Heart Lake basin to the High Divide with no water available except at a tarn near the top. The views, wildflowers, green meadows, and an occasional cool breeze made for a very pleasant walk heading for Dear Lake, although the forest shade was welcome as I descended from the divide. After a buggy stop at the lake for water, I walked the final 3.8 miles to the trailhead, getting out at 5:50 PM. No snow or technical difficulties were encountered on the entire 24-mile loop. This has got to be one of the finest walks in the Olympics, well worth getting up at 3:00 AM for the early start.