Category: Overnight Backpack (Page 1 of 4)

Trailhead to Royal Lake: 7.9 miles and 2850+ feet elevation gain one way
Royal Lake to Upper Royal Basin: 1.9 miles and 900 feet elevation gain one way

I love finding new places to explore, especially as some of the National Park areas near where we live are becoming increasingly overcrowded.

We were fortunate to get a permit to spend 2 nights at Royal Lake in Olympic National Park. It’s an 8-mile all uphill and sometimes rocky hike to get there, tiring but well worth the effort.

Some of the campsites at Royal Lake are honestly not great, in several our tent would not fit at all, but we managed to find a wonderful site with a beautiful view of the lake a few feet away. Evenings and mornings were spent sipping tea & coffee, reading, and simply letting the solitude and beauty soak in.

Exploring around Royal Lake we found massive Shelter Rock and a beautiful waterfall across the basin, where we sat and enjoyed for several minutes.

On our full day there we hiked to the Upper Royal Basin and Imperial Tarn and spent the day wandering, doing a lot of rock hopping, sitting and just taking it all in. The hike from Royal lake to the Upper Royal Basin follows a beautiful and pristine meadow before the final climb via a sometimes sketchy trail up a gully. Baby steps, baby steps, carefully watching footing. Upper Royal Basin reminded me of the beautiful alpine lake basins in the Eastern Sierra mountains, at tree line with towering peaks overhead and beautiful tarns to explore.

A tiring but amazing 3 days with solitude, Mother Nature, incredible views, morning tea/coffee stillness, and all kinds of Mother Nature treasures. Much better than staring at a screen, I’m so thankful I’m still able to do this!

I didn’t spend a single night sleeping in a tent last year, due to 2 foot surgeries. I decided to start easy this year, and after hearing all the sketchy log bridges were replaced at Greenwater Lakes recently, I decided to make that my first overnight trip of the year. The new bridges are amazing!

I was fortunate to find the campsite I wanted, about 1/4 mile past the 2nd Greenwater Lake, along Lost Creek. Bonus: No mosquitoes! After setting up camp, I spent the afternoon sitting and reading for hours, listening to water and watching birds, and generally soaking up the peace and quiet of Nature.

I was only out for 24 hours, but it was perfect, exactly what I needed to disconnect from the hectic pace of life for a day.

I just got back from an incredible 9 days backpacking in the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the Eastern Sierra mountains ~ Click Ansel Adams Wilderness 2021 to see the full trip!

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” ~ John Muir

I get restless this time of year, knowing hiking/backpacking season is coming to a close. I crave wilderness time, solitude, Mother Nature, wild beauty, silence, connecting with the natural world around me. It’s how I recharge my batteries, replenish my soul, and give myself a much-needed break from civilization. Time to pack up my Gregory Maven backpack and head to the wilderness.

Time slows out here as the light changes throughout the day.

Spending days away from people, sleeping in a tent, staring at a campfire, waking up to incredible views like this… it’s where I’m the best version of myself.

Food tastes better out here. Air smells so much fresher. Everything looks crisper, colors are more vibrant. I hear whispering breezes and birds and insects I would not be able to pick up at home. All senses become more heightened.

The first night it got to freezing, and the 2nd night it was 28 degrees. And I was warm and cozy with my layers of fleece and down, tucked inside my extra-puffy down sleeping bag in my tiny little cocoon of a tent. I usually sleep deeply in the wilderness, one more way it helps me restore and refresh.

I can’t describe how glorious it was to see the full moon rise over the mountains and to feel the morning sunshine reflecting off the lake as it warmed me up.

Our original intent was to hike the Timberline Trail around Mt. Hood this summer, but we decided to stay closer to home and spent 2 nights at Ipsut campground instead, with a beautiful day hike out to the Carbon Glacier.

To get to Ipsut campground is a 5-mile hike or bike (I chose bike) on a gravel road that is closed to vehicles. It’s luxury backpacking since it used to be a car campground, so there are 2 bathrooms (with toilet paper!!) and bear lockers at all the campsites. It’s along the Carbon River, perfect for an evening read sitting on a log listening to the water rush by.

On our full day there, we hiked just over 9 miles from Ipsut to the Carbon River suspension bridge (bouncy, bouncy) which we crossed and scrambled up some rocks for a beautiful picnic lunch spot. The river was raging and we thank the NPS and rangers who put in log crossings.

Not far from the suspension bridge is the terminus of the Carbon Glacier, the lowest elevation glacier terminus in the lower 48 states. It’s amazing to be able to look into the mouth of a glacier and see the birth of a river right before your eyes. On cue the clouds above parted and we had a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier and Willis Wall directly above Carbon Glacier.

On our way back to camp for the second night, we saw a mama bear with 2 cubs, mama was foraging for berries and the cubs were practicing tree climbing. No good photos as the underbrush is very thick here and they were too fast for us to focus on. Later on we saw a solo bear right on the trail, and gave him several minutes to decide which way to head off before we continued on.

Again, so fortunate that I’m able to do things like this so close to home. 🙂

I’m still in awe of my trip to the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa Mountains of Eastern Oregon. This place is pure magic! I camped along the FS road just before Two Pan Trailhead at the Lostine River, so I could get an early start the next morning. The hike up the E. Fork of the Lostine River toward the Lakes Basin is beautiful!  Trail is a bit chewed up by pack horses and rocky in spots, but still fun to hike. After the 1st set of switchbacks you break out into miles of breathtaking meadows in the E. Lostine River valley. It’s hard to watch footing here, because you are definitely not thinking about the trail, but instead about the views surrounding you on all sides.

After another shorter ascent, you get to the Lakes Basin area of Eagle Cap, with Eagle Cap Peak as the perfect backdrop. I found a nice campsite at Mirror Lake, and after an 8 mile hike and 2200 feet of elevation gain, I was happy to take a nap and sit and enjoy the amazing views for the rest of the day.

On Day 2, I day hiked from Mirror Lake thru the Lakes Basin to Moccasin Lake, Douglas Lake, Lee Lake, and Horseshoe Lake. Another wonderful 8-mile day, but fairly level for most of it and just stunning views the whole way. I had lunch on a little island at Horseshoe Lake, and had the entire area to myself. I sat for a long time and completely enjoyed the peaceful quiet and solitude. I was impressed with the amount of wildflowers still in bloom at the end of August. This whole area is like a hybrid between Yosemite granite and Cascade sub-alpine plants. In other words = Perfect!

On Day 3, I got a very early start back to the car, campsite all packed up and boots on trail by 6:30 a.m. It was hard to leave, the morning light and the reflections on the lake are superb. I’ll definitely be spending more time here next summer.

Yet another wonderful overnight backpack trip at Mt. Rainier, from Mowich Lake to Eagle’s Roost campground for a quick overnight (thanks to DH for driving me up that nasty road and dropping me off!). Early the next morning I continued on up to Spray Falls and then Spray Park, where I spent a long time enjoying the crazy lenticular clouds that were forming over Mt. Rainer. It was fun to sit up that high and just watch the clouds shift and morph. Not to mention the views of everything else – Mist Park, Mother Mountain, Seattle Park, Carbon River Valley, etc. This is one of my favorite areas of Rainier.

After lunch I started the steep and rocky hike down to Cataract Valley, where i had planned to stay a 2nd night. When I got there I realized that my water filter wasn’t working, so I kept on going down to Carbon River, over the bouncy suspension bridge, and to Ipsut Campground where my bike was waiting for me to coast back to my car. All in all it turned out to be an 11-mile hike/5-mile bike day, and my knees were very mad at me, but it was still worth it!