Flapjack Lakes via North Fork Skokomish River — Sunday, Jul. 17, 2016

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

Firstly, for those looking into the short Staircase Rapid Trail mentioned in the description should know that there is a beautiful suspension bridge now spanning the river. Definitely worth checking out, no matter your plans! Onto Flapjack Lakes and our trip report! We'd originally planned to hike to upper Lena Lake early Sunday AM but were deterred after finding a very crowded trailhead on Saturday night. Opted to disperse camp up Dosewallips Rd at a lovely riverside spot. Despite saving ourselves an early Sunday wake up by camping out on the Peninsula on Saturday night, we STILL didn't get started until 9am Sunday morning. Still, saw surprisingly few folks on the trail, considering the popularity of this area. As described, the first 3.5 miles fly by as the trail follows an old road. Just after the junction up toward Flapjack Lakes, there are several downed trees. We saw a crew working to clear them, so I'd expect that even by next weekend they'll be removed (thank these folks if you see them out there!). Generally, the grade on this trail is quite approachable. Lovely hike through a lovely forest. The bridge at Madeline Creek is particularly scenic, and there is a very nice camp spot on the north side of the river. The lakes themselves were quite charming! Don't expect to have the place to yourself on a weekend, though. Wished we'd had better weather and we would have forged on to Galdys Divide, but it didn't seem like the views would be there, as weather was rolling in. All and all, a great way to spend a Sunday!