The 2011 edition of the annual boyz hike was a big success with an excellent destination, great weather, good fishing and some stories to tell. Dave Dawson picked the hike this year which took us to the 7 Lakes Basin in the Olympic National Park. Attendees included Dave, Jeff, Will, Johnny G., Ralph and myself.
Our hike began on Thursday afternoon a little before 2pm. This was a little late to be starting a 10 mile hike, but logistically there was a good bit of travel to get to the Olympic Park Ranger station in Port Angeles, get gear situated and move the circus. Jeff Thompson brought a portable scale and we weighed ourselves with and without packs – before and after the hike. We won’t go into details on weight but my pack was the heaviest (76 lbs!) so some re-distribution was in order.
The hike through the first part of the trail to the Sol Duc Falls and then up to Deer Lake was packed with tourists and day hikers. The Sol Duc Falls was a great stop on the way back for rest and photos (see below). We reached the 7 lakes basin at dusk and passed beautiful semi-frozen over lakes at Lunch lake and beyond. The sunset was fantastic, but we lost our trail and decided to camp up in the basin – good call Will! Dave ended up staying at Deer Lake Thursday night and caught up to us on Friday.
The next morning was blue bird sky and we found the trail to Morganroth within minutes. An hour later, we are at the lake and setting up camp right on the water with a great group hang-out spot and some majestic tent areas. There is a small lake called no-name that feeds into Morganroth and a creek that runs between – great spot for pulling water and added the babbling brook soundtrack. Our group was the only one at the lake – nice!
Activities of the week included:
– Day hike to the waterfall into no-name
– Fishing the lakes
– Napping/reading in the hammock
– Modest frisbee golf
– Cribbage by the lake
– Trips to the snow pack to for the ingredients for bourbon slushies
– Lots of cooking and eating and laughing
On Friday night, we were about to get out the headlamps when two hikers stumbled into our universe- Debbie and Fabrice/Fabio (?). They had no packs (only a day pack), minimal food and water and were clearly out of their element. What had started out at a day trip to Bogachiel Peak and back to the lot (which would be a 20+ mile endeavor) turned into a lost wander through the basin. We gave them food, clothing, pads and a blanket so they had a spot to sleep for the night. They were very appreciative and very lucky someone was at the lake to help or else it would have been a much worse night for them.
Sunday morning we packed up and cruised out early. The hike down was a spectacular as the hike up, but this time we hit the early morning sun. Ralph and John bagged Bogachiel Peak on the way out and we did the ceremonial weigh-in at the parking lot. We all lost 15 or so pounds from our pack. We stopped in PA to drop off bear cannisters at the ranger station and got some beers/dinner at the tavern 9 and headed home.