Hyass Lake.
Here we go, folks.
Day one, Saturday, Aug 17.
I had heard about this hike for a couple of years, from people like Julianne from KCTS, and the consensus seems to be that it's a wonderful experience. And it is, but there's a lot of UP to go before you enjoy the scenery.
I didn't start packing for the trip until morning. During the packing, I discovered that Peter had taken his sleeping pad off to scout camp. So after I got to Liz', we had to go to REI for a sleeping pad as well as a map, and didn't get out of town until after noon. She also bought herself a folding chair, which I sort of frowned on as a violation of the "light makes right" philosophy, but it was awfully comfortable.
We got stuck in very slow traffic on I-90 after the summit, due to an accident, and stopped in Roslyn for some lunch, and the long and short of it is, we didn't hit the trail until about 4:10 PM. The road was much worse than I remembered from climbing Mt. Daniel, but not quite as bad as the trip reports made out.
We had to drive through a stream, and I was pretty stressed about it being too deep for the Escort. It was fine, but it would have been pretty bad news if I'd drowned the engine and been left there, miles from civilization or a tow.
The trail is dead flat for a mile or so to Hyass Lake, and then it heads up hill, like it's running from someone. The WTA website points out that the trail was 'user-made' and doesn't get a lot of maintenance. It's steep and dirty, kind of reminds me of the old Mailbox Peak trail.
Here we go, folks.
We got to Tuck Lake about 7:30, and camped there for the night. The hike up that trail was pretty brutal, with that 50 lb pack. Hard to complain too much, though, since Liz hauled up two bottles of wine (in aluminum water bottles though, not the original glass bottles.) We were the only ones there.
Day two, Sunday, Aug 18.
In the morning, the mountain goats wandered through the camp site. It was pretty amusing: they all eyed me; it felt like a gang walking through someone else’s territory. They don't walk quietly, on the rock their feet clomp as loudly as kids wearing boots.
Breakfast by the lake.
After breakfast, we headed up to Robin Lakes; a stiff scramble but not any worse than yesterday, certainly not as bad as yesterday with the packs.
Robin Lakes is very much like the Enchantments - open and granitic, beautiful blue lakes and wonderful scenery. Not as dramatic of mountains as the Enchantments, but you don't need a lottery to get in there. The two lakes are connected by a little stream, and it's hard to decide which one is prettier than the other.
The views. Mt. Daniel.
The first Robin Lake.
The second Robin Lake, with Cathedral Rock and Mt. Daniel in the distance.
Tuck Lake, from our campsite, getting towards dinner time.
The high point above Robin Lakes is Granite Mountain, so we hiked up there just so we could say we had. I'm sure I was more motivated to do it than she was, though she was a good sport about it.
Then, back down to our campsite, dinner and the second bottle of wine, and gin rummy in the tent.
Day three, Monday, Aug 19.
Woke up to an overcast, a completely different day than yesterday. As we were making breakfast, a guy came by and we chatted for a few minutes, then he went off to set up his camp. We wandered over to Tuck’s Pot, the little lake downstream of Tuck Lake, and on the way back, we stopped by the guy’s campsite. By this time it had started drizzling, and Liz suggested that it was a good time to curl up with a book. He said he hadn’t brought one, so I loaned him Michael’s copy of "Homage to Caledonia," writing my address in it. His name is Frank; seemed like quite a likeable guy. He lives in Bend, it’d be kind of cool to have a contact down there that we could say hi to when we head down there.
Heading down and out.
Stopped for the mandatory beer at The Brick in Roslyn, and got across the pass before it was closed for blasting.