Buckskin Ridge, Osceola Peak, Robinson Creek (Middle Fork Pasayten River), Eureka Creek & Whistler Cutoff — Saturday, Jul. 11, 2020

I’m not nearly as diligent a trip reporter as I should be, but I absolutely must write one now to pay forward the kindness of the trip reporters that went before me. Thanks to several hot tips from previous trip reports, I was able to put together a fabulous 35-ish mile loop in the Pasayten Wilderness that allowed me to visit two areas of the wilderness that have been on my bucket list of a long time: Buckskin Ridge and Lake Doris.

Day One: Slate Pass to Buckskin Lake

The hike from the Buckskin Ridge trailhead to Buckskin Lake is about 13 miles, but it is a LONG 13 miles. It took me 8 hours, which, even accounting for my current subpar conditioning, is very slow hiking for me. The trail is mostly easy to follow (only a few places around Silver Lake and coming down off Buckskin Pass required more careful attention due to the trail disappearing under snow), but it involves a lot of steep up and down. This is not a trail for someone who doesn’t like heights and a bit of exposure, but it’s gorgeous—especially from Silver Pass to just over Buckskin Ridge. The lake/marsh just over the ridge is larch heaven. I didn’t investigate to see if there was a campsite, but the latest edition of Green Trails maps says there is camping there. If so, it is as nice a spot as Buckskin Lake, which also has good camping and a very friendly deer that loves to repeatedly snuffle right outside the tent in the middle of the night.

Day Two: Buckskin Lake to Lake Doris

I owe my second day to two trip reports from last year that mentioned there was an unofficial trail about 1/3 mile north of Buckskin Lake that provided a shortcut down to the Middle Fork Pasayten trail, cutting off about 8-9 miles of the Buckskin-Middle Fork Loop. The AllTrails map shows the trail down to the river but does not show it across the river to connect to the Middle Fork trail. (I’ve included a picture of my track on the trail in the pictures.) The cutoff trail was easy to find and, although very brushy, also easy to follow if you were paying attention. It’s steep but not overly so, and well worth the effort. At the valley floor, you come to the river at an S curve. Previous reports had said the river was easy to ford at about calf deep. I found a place to ford relatively easily, but it was knee+ deep and you definitely want to have hiking poles if you are carrying a significant pack. (I’ve also included a close-up picture of my AllTrails Track where I forded the river to show where you catch the trail on the other side.) I forded the river at the top of the curve, where I mistakenly took Elk tracks across the river for boot tracks. As a result, I had to bushwhack along the bank of the river back to where the trail left the river on the other side, a place that I don’t think was fordable at the existing river level. I think there may have a been a better place to ford the river to the south of the S curve at the end of a large gravel bar, which would require a much shorter bushwhack to find the trail. From there, it was an easy trek to catch the Middle Fork Trail and another 1.5 or so miles south to the junction with the trail to Fred's Lake and Lake Doris. All told, I think the journey from Buckskin Lake to Lake Doris is about 7 miles.

Lake Doris is a glorious setting, with amazing views of some of the Pasayten’s most dramatic 8,000+ foot peaks—Osceola, Mount Carru, Mount Lago, Monument Peak, Blackcap Mountain. There are a number of good camping sites spread out along the southeast side of the lake. I’d planned this whole loop so that I could climb Osceola Peak, but the peaceful setting and my weariness from the day before meant that I spent the afternoon napping in my tent instead of scrambling. I immediately regretted that choice when I woke up from my nap to see the only other person camping at the lake coming off the summit. Oh well, next time.

Day Three: Lake Doris to Slate Pass

The weather changed overnight; high winds and freezing rain serenaded me all night and I woke up to big flakes of snow, mixed with freezing rain. (Yes, just another July day at 7,000 ft in the North Cascades.) Thankfully, the snow and rain stopped before I needed to pack up, but it was cool and damp for most of my hike out, which was pleasant forest walking and a lovely open climb back up to Slate Pass. About 12-13 miles.