Forum Index > Trip Reports > Deception and Royal Basin redux
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RAW-dad
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RAW-dad
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PostSun Aug 19, 2018 6:30 pm 
It was an audacious plan smile.gif – hike to Home Lake via the Upper Dungy trail and then stay high and (mostly) off trail all the way to Obstruction Point! So… Del Monte Ridge, Gunsight Pass, Deception Basin, Gray Wolf Pass, Cedar Lake, Cameron Traverse, Cameron Pass, Lake Lillian, Low Pass, Moose, etc. Except for the Cameron Traverse part, I had done all of this before, but never on one trip, so why not? Not getting any younger! Day 1: Hit the trail around 8:30 and soon reached the junction to Royal Basin, headed left and up the Upper Dungy past Camp Handy to Boulder shelter. On the way, we passed >15 people coming out who had camped at Home Lake our destination for the night. Smokey views opened up to the west and soon we were traversing under Warrior and Inner Constance, which I find to be one of the more scenic parts of the Olympics – something about those basalt mountains crumpling into the sea! Arrived at Home Lake to find a group of 4 on a day hike from Boulder, who soon left, giving us the place to ourselves. This was my first time camping at Home Lake and I must say I would not ever do it again. down.gif down.gif Although highly scenic, I feel this area is becoming polluted. There were a lot of algae in the lake and shoreline, multiple developing campsites, with some in meadows, and no privy! The latter has resulted in TP “gardens” all over the place. Seems the NPS needs to do some stewardship here before it is too late.
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Day 2: Started up toward Constance Pass around 7:30 in the shade, which was much appreciated, and soon crested Del Monte Ridge with views up the Dosewallips and south toward the Skokomish. Smoke had settled a bit over night, but it was already getting hot. Headed off trail at Sunnybrook and soon found our way over to Gunsight Pass, which never disappoints. The way down from Gunsight starts out easy on snow, but soon gives way to unstable basalt talus and avalanche debris mixed in with a dose of hole-filled vegetation – slow going at best. Then, around 4600 ft, one needs to face the inevitable traverse of Slide Alder, Devil’s Club, and Alaska Cedar to gain entry into the Deception Creek drainage. Although we had carefully scouted the route from Google Earth and had done it twice before, we still took about an hour to travel about 1000 feet! On we marched, now up the basalt talus that comes off Mystery. Eventually the route leads down to Deception Creek, which this year was quite low, so an easy crossing. After one last brush battle, we eventually made our way past “the Gates of Deception” into lower Deception Basin, where we camped adjacent to the stream. It was a long day, about 4600 ft vertical, but only about 7 miles from Home Lake and it took us 11 hours!
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Day 3: Our route this day was to return >1000 vertical feet back down Deception Creek and then head in a NWerly direction around the SW buttress of Deception to eventually gain the meadow lands SE of Gray Wolf Pass. But it was not to be, as I had managed to bang up my lower shin pretty bad while crossing through the green jungle portion of yesterday’s route and my knees were acting their age (not a good sign). So since as my daughter said: “Deception Basin is such a special place, we might as well enjoy it,” so we did by moving up into the middle of the basin near a nice spot. The rest of the day was spent climbing Hal Foss and poking around the incredible flower gardens of the basin, plus some well deserved swimming. It was hot and smoky and part of the afternoon was spent laying next to a boulder in some shade.
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Day 4: We thought about continuing our route, but by now we would have been hopelessly behind and we did not want to take the well-trodden trails from Gray Wolf, so we opted to cross “Deception pass” over into upper Royal Basin where we found a nice out-of-the-way spot near some giant basalt boulders. After setting up our tents, we went for a short day hike over toward Surprise Pass, but it was just too darn hot, so we soon found ourselves hanging out in boulder shade and smapling a couple of the lakes in the upper basin (not the minty ones, though!). Most of the day we heard considerable rock fall coming off the NE face of Deception and in a few instances saw projectiles rocketing down the mountain. No people were seen this day and the previous 2.
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Day 5: We packed up early and made our way down the Royal Basin trail, past Arrowhead Meadow, Shelter Rock, Royal Lake and eventually back to our car. Over 30 people were seen, which made sense given that it was Friday. Although we were disappointed to not even come close to completing our intended route, it is hard to be unhappy in places like Deception and Upper Royal basins, but perhaps the next time we’ll come in the “front door” and there's always next year!
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IanB
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Joined: 21 Jul 2010
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IanB
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PostSun Aug 19, 2018 9:37 pm 
Great photos! up.gif This brings back memories of doing this loop the other direction. The middle day between Deception Basin and Sunnybrook Meadows is so much longer than it looks on the map! By the way, your kids are in front of you in all the pictures. That's good planning to let them scout the best path. wink.gif

"Forget gaining a little knowledge about a lot and strive to learn a lot about a little." - Harvey Manning
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Fatrick
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Fatrick
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PostMon Aug 20, 2018 7:23 am 
Nice job, Deception is stunning. Also, coming towards Sunnybrook I recall some of the best screeing of all time.

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Tomlike
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PostMon Aug 20, 2018 8:58 am 
very cool! I have drawn that same route out on a map. I recently did the North Cameron + Lillian traverse and have no doubt it could all be linked up. Next year indeed!

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Sculpin
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PostMon Aug 20, 2018 9:11 am 
RAW-dad wrote:
It was an audacious plan
You are not the first to be flummoxed by the rough terrain below Deception Basin. When I was camping at Home Lake a few years ago, the privy was rotting and falling into the hole below. The problem is that the entire area around Home Lake is cobbles, covered by creeping plants. It is impossible to dig a cat hole. Perhaps the NPS could divert one of the dozen rangers in Seven Lakes Basin long enough to build a new privy at Home Lake! clown.gif

Between every two pines is a doorway to the new world. - John Muir
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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostMon Aug 20, 2018 3:34 pm 
I enjoyed my only visit to Deception Basin many years ago, came in via Heather Creek. That was a bit of an adventure. Love that glacial lake at the foot of Mystery. Feels a lot more remote there than just over the small divide in Royal Basin.

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silence
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silence
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PostSun Aug 26, 2018 2:18 pm 
Awesome .... Gunsight always sounded too challenging for us, so we did Heather Creek. No matter, just so grateful to have made it there. Thanks for your awesome TR and photos. Brings back some fond memories. up.gif up.gif up.gif

PHOTOS FILMS Keep a good head and always carry a light bulb. – Bob Dylan
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