Stunning but very buggy 5 day/4 nights with 3 nights at Lower Lyman. We took the ferry to Lucerne, shuttle to Holden, then hiked to Hart Lake and continued on to Lower Lyman, day 2 hiked to Cloudy Pass and partway up Cloudy Peak as a day hike, then day 3 hiked to Upper Lyman and partway up Spider Gap as a day hike, then day 4 hiked back to Holden, camped outside town, and took the shuttle/ferry back on day 5. The stream by Hart was rock hop-able in the morning, but required fording in the afternoon. The snow is mostly gone, just patches, apart from Spider Gap. The trail between Hart and Lyman is seriously overgrown, hip-chest high for miles but navigable. We tried Lyman Ridge, but there was way too much snow to even get started. Bear sign in a couple of places, but didn't see any. Check back for a short video. There is a map with pics at the bottom (no app required on a computer).
Getting to the TH: We went the complicated route, via Holden. We parked at Field's Point ($45/week or $9 per night) and took the Express Ferry (around $100), then the Holden Shuttle (reservation required, only once daily and only runs some days,$10pp suggested donation). In Holden you can also pre-order meals and/or stay the night (no pets). Once you get off the shuttle the trailhead is just under a mile walk through town.
Holden Village Campsite: There are two sites (one could fit a couple of tents) in the official site with two picnic tables, a bear locker, and a trail to the stream. There is a nice pit toilet by the "ball field" and more overflow camping. The ball field seems to be abandoned at the moment.
TH to Hart Lake: Fairly flat trail with a lot of sun. Slightly overgrown near town but not bad. Mostly dry dirt/sand. The only water source once you leave town is the horse ford, which is close to the Holden side. There is a nice log bridge for people with no water access. The valley is stunning and the view from above Hart Lake is better than at the lake itself.
Hart Lake: A few wooded campsites without views but close to water, box toilet in good shape, small pebble beach.
Hart to Lower Lyman: Just past the lake you will hit the creek crossing. In the afternoon we had to ford it. I did it barefoot and the rocks weren't terrible, water only came to my calf. On the way back in the morning the flow was less and with the assistance of hiking poles we were able to cross with dry feet.
The trail stays rocky for a little bit and then transitions back to dirt. There is one camping area before you really start climbing, in a wooded area with a stream. The bugs were relentless there. There seems to be water at least every half mile, but I'm sure some will dry up as we get later in the season. Most were easy to cross but there was one or two that required some footwork and climbing up and down into and may get your feet wet it if you don't have waterproof shoes. This section is also much shadier than the pervious section, including the steep switchback, which was a bit of a relief being a hot afternoon.
Watch your ankles! There were lots of animal holes, many large enough for a foot, and they are often hard to see. We had hip to shoulder high soft brush for much of this trail and it wasn't hard to see the trail, but it was hard to see your feet.
Lower Lyman: There are some rough stairs near the lake outlet to get you down to the water and another muddy trail with beach access nearby. The main camping area has a loop with a bunch of sites spread out in the woods, no views, but two box toilets and some large sites. There are a few more sites on a stream about 1/3 mile further on the west side of the lake. There is also a box toilet here, although it is in clear view of the trail. There are peak-a-boo views here and a nice beach nearby with a shallow sand/silty bottom and views. The trail continues past the camping area but the water was too high to cross at this time without thigh deep fording, but looks like you can usually rock hop.
Cloudy Pass: The trail up here was marked and in great condition. It starts out tree covered with a few streams and opens up to a meadow with Marmots and wildflowers. At the pass you can see Glacier and lots of mountains on both sides. You also get a nice view of the lakes, but it gets better if you go up further. Just past the split for Lyman Pass there was snow fully blocking the trail.
Cloudy Peak: We only went partway up to a viewpoint area. This trail is a touch rough and a bit of a choose your own adventure. Bits are a narrow muddy stream not much bigger than a show, other parts are rocky. There are a bunch of trails that dead end. The view up there is spectacular in every direction and well worth the extra effort. There is a shear cliff on one side which makes it feel even more dramatic (trail stays away from it for the section we were on).
Lower Lyman to Upper Lyman Lakes: The trail is marked and easy to follow. There is a large log bridge to cross the outlet of the lake, then the trail follows a narrow path through the trees along the side of a slope. Passing is difficult in some places along here. It climbs up and breaks out of the trees as you approach the lake. Lots of water along this trail and the bugs were terrible, one of the pools appeared to be boiling due to the huge number of bugs. As you approach Upper there are lots of little viewpoint/social trails all over. It looks otherworldly up here and I really like the contrast of the vibrant reds in the rocks with the snow and blue water. Marmots and wildflowers in some areas. The last like had little "ice bergs," which was pretty cool! The first camping area had a toilet box, views, and water access, but not great spots, especially if you like something flat. There was a second marked area closer to Spider Gap that also had marked spots with a few flat tent sites, water access, and views, but no toilet box or good "bathroom" area.
Spider Gap: We only went about 1/3 of the way up, stopping before we hit the snow fields, but we watch and talked to a few people who came down. The section we did was rocky/scree but not bad. There was a bit of a trail and in some places you find your own way. There was a water crossing but it was very doable when we were there. The stream had a bunch of ice bridges over it and looked pretty cool. People seemed about 50/50 on whether they used microspikes or not. Some had them and didn't bother because it was soft/slushy. A few did take some unintentional slides. We didn't see a lot of people over the time we were there, but most people came in over the pass. We could smell smoke at the Upper Lakes and see a bit of discoloration in the clouds at the top of the pass. Air quality everywhere else was fine on this trip.
Stats: Holden to Lower Lyman was about 8.6 miles, 2560 ft elevation gain, and took us ~4.5 hours moving time with ~30-35 lb packs and about 3.75 hours moving on the way back down finishing at the camp which shortens the trail to about 7.8 miles.
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