My friend Charlie and I had been planning a trip to Copper Ridge and Whatcom Pass, but he hurt his ankle in the Enchantments the night before. We had to postpone our trip 3 weeks and shorten it to one night, and decided that we would aim for Hagen Lakes.
We started on the Putvin Trail around 9 and I was instantly reminded of the steepness. This was my first time hiking it with a pack, so by the time we got to Lake of the Angels I was already exhausted. From there we ascended the ridge to the north to try and find the small pass. In the heavy fog this proved to be quite difficult. There are a lot of small trails around Lake of the Angels, and we ended up ascending the ridge west towards Mt. Skokomish. Eventually we realized we were going the wrong way, and backtracked until we found the pass. From there the trail steeply drops off to the north, so steeply in places that ropes are attached to help with the descent. My favorite part of the hike was right after this, where we traversed a talus slope to the pass above Hagen Lakes (about 5400'). The views of Mt. Skokomish and its basin are spectacular.
Once we got to the pass the trail disappeared. This wasn't an issue though because we could see Hagen Lakes 500 feet below us. The descent is pretty easy if you stay to the left. Compared to the Cascades, the Olympics are lacking when it comes to alpine lakes, but Hagen Lakes are some of the prettiest lakes I've ever been to. Not only are they beautiful, but it seems like they are rarely visited. The solitude was a bonus.
On the way back we got more views from the 5600' ridge to the southwest of Hagen. The way back was easier and we didn't get lost this time. The only tricky part was getting up to Lake of the Angels pass after the talus.
Hamma Hamma River Falls
Our kitchen at Hagen Lakes
West end of Hagen
Cliffs of Mt. Stone
Serene
Reflection
Interesting bushes on the shoreline
The pass above Hagen Lakes
Hagen Lakes from the pass
Charlie soaking in the view
Meadows and foggy Mt. Skokomish
The famous stone arrow
By far the most scenic part of the hike
Absorbing the scenery
Heading back uphill to Lake of the Angels
Ascending the "trail" back up to Lake of the Angels pass
Favorite place in all the Olympics! As a teenager, I decided to sleep on the trail going around the lake that feeds Crazy Creek. Long story short I had a bear come down the trail right at dark.I heard it to my left and rolled over to look. That spooked it and it steeped over/on me from left to right. I shot straight up fighting my mummy bag as the bear took off in a big hurry. I started laughing like a madman out of relief and understanding that I would never know which of us was more scared. Lesson learned. Don't sleep on the game trails.
Awesome. I wondered if people got out to those lakes when I saw them while at the end of a big ski traverse I was doing. Super cool. I've wanted to get out to them ever since.
I can also attribute my worst time in the Olympic mountains blazing my way up the Crazy Creek drainage trying to get to those lakes. There were only books and maps back then and I have never found Hagen in any books. Took me two tries from the lake of the angels to finally succeed.Worth every bit of it.
Nice! I cooked in that kitchen a couple weeks before you guys - not another soul around. I missed the stone arrow though, maybe it was still under snow.
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