We had planned to hike to Cameran Basin from Obstruction Point but the forecast of a 40% chance of snow overnight (for the first week in October) made the idea of driving out on Obstruction Point Road not-so-desirable. Despite the federal closure, the road to Hurricane Ridge is open, which you can check by looking for people on the Hurricane Ridge Parking Lot webcam (see link below); but we weren't sure if the hairpin turn to Obstruction Point Road would also be open or if the road would be passable if snow did come. Since the ranger station in Port Angeles is closed from the shutdown, there's no one to talk to and no way to get a backcountry permit. (Despite the recording when we called saying they're "open but helping other people", the ranger station was closed with the lights off.)
So ~ a quick change of plans had us heading out to Upper Royal Basin instead, a 15-18 mile hike (depending on what you do once you get there). We had done this hike last year as a 15-mile day hike, but vowed to return when we had more time; the hike is well worth the effort. The road up has numerous potholes and is slow going at times; but it's passable.
Royal Lake is not especially notable save for a gigantic rock of subsea pillow lava called Shelter Rock that seems alien for its placement; it's the Upper Royal Basin that's the real draw. It's most notable for its shear scale, which is awe-inspiring. The basin is huge and the mountains are high - the pictures don't really do it justice. (In the third image below, my two fellow hikers can be seen but they look like tiny grey and blue ants.) (See the link below for an image of Shelter Rock by Lee Rentz.)
It was a chilly night - it was dark by 7:00pm and we were in our tents by 7:30pm; a light rain began at 10. I was grateful for a 15-degree bag, tucking my head frequently under it to warm up my nose as the night passed. We were in our tents pretty much for a 12-hour stretch, but woke to a partially cloudy sky, with the sun poking through the clouds to paint cool colors in the green, grey and copper hues of the mountains.
With the rain passing, we attempted to climb to the saddle between Mount Deception and Fricaba Peak at 6600 ft as a couple hour day hike; but we stopped just shy of the saddle at 6380 ft - the rock is pretty rotten and steep; the sound of rockfalls is common. (If we go back, we'll likely attempt the northern route instead, heading to the notch between Mount Clark and Gasp Pinnacle; there are more public tracks available on Gaia for this route and it could give a great view of Mount Walkinshaw.)
Despite its size, camping sites are limited in the Upper Royal Basin area. There's one main site just before the largest tarn (Upper Basin Tarn), which has enough disturbed ground to easily hold 2-3 tents. We didn't want to camp so close to other people or disturb their privacy, so we opted to look further beyond the tarn and considered heading back down to Royal Lake. We found two additional, more rustic, 1-tent sites beyond this site where the ground is already impacted (but less so) and opted to split up our group between these sites to minimize impact and reconvene for meals.
The hike is a consistent up and consistent down, steeper at the top and more gentle in the forested stretch - the lower part of the trail runs through a beautifully wooded, mossy green blanket that parallels Royal Creek. The berries were gone and the fall colors were fading at elevation. We saw a couple of deer, but no bear and little scat.
Upper Royal Basin won't disappoint. The season is waning; but, as a mid-October day-hike, it's still a stunner.
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