[Matt]

Dates: May 8-9, 2020 Destination: Mt. Gladys & Mt. Henderson via Black & White Lakes Party: Carla (Dicey), Elle (Snowdog), Matt We picked a destination that we figured would be empty while it's still snow-covered. During the two-day trip, we saw only one person on the trail, plus one person and one group on the road walking in. What about hiking in the national park? Our understanding was that roads and facilities were closed, but hiking was allowed. At the park boundary gate, we found the sign below, which seemed to confirm that hiking with social distance was okay. However, a later encounter with a ranger revealed that there was one more rule not listed on the sign.

Sign at park boundary gate

GPS track

Friday Staircase Road Gate to Black & White Lakes (9:15am – 4:45pm) The Staircase Road was gated at the park boundary, but that added only a 0.75 mile walk to the trailhead. The trail along the Skokomish River was classic Olympic river valley beauty – huge trees, running water, and verdant green moss. The trail uphill toward Flapjack Lakes was snow-free almost to the B&W junction, but was snow-covered for stretches near Donahue Creek. Fortunately the trail over to Black & White Lakes was mostly snow-free, because the steep hillside traverse would have been scary if the trail-cut was covered. Around 4000 feet, where the slope broadened, we hit deeper snow and wore our snowshoes to the lake, but that was the only time we needed them.

green moss and green leaves along the river

Black & White Lake

Staircase Gate to Black & White Lakes: 10.8 miles, 3990 gain, 220 loss The main lake was still snow-covered except for a blue rim around the edge. Wind was blowing steadily, so we pitched our tent among some trees above the lake. Higher up, we found some bare slate benches, so we hauled ourselves and a bucket of water up there for dinner. Sunset on Mt. Gladys (7:00-9:15pm) I wanted to watch the sunset from Gladys' summit, but I became distracted by the good company eating dinner and departed almost too late. The snow was firm enough to boot up, but still a bit slow with my feet sinking on each step. As I rounded the corner of Point 5379, I could see the rocky spire of Cruiser catching evening light behind the crest of Gladys, but then it was hidden again until I reached the top. I hurried uphill, literally racing the shadow line as the snow turned pink ahead of me and gray behind me. I breathlessly reached the top just as the sun edged downward into the western peaks and cast a final colored glow onto Cruiser's jumble of steep spires.

Cruiser lurking tantalizingly behind Gladys

Tomorrow's destination Henderson, plus Skokomish

Racing the shadows uphill

Sun dropping into the horizon

Evening light on Cruiser

wider view of Sawtooth Ridge

The wind was blowing fiercely across the high crest, so I hurried back down to camp, where winds were calmer and I enjoyed a last cup of tea before bed. Gladys round trip: 2.2 miles, 1220 cumulative gain Saturday Mt. Henderson (7:50am – 2:00pm) We slept in to let the wind die down, then hiked together back up to the slopes below Gladys. Carla and Elle decided to visit Gladys, while I headed to Hendeson via Murdock Lakes. I hiked down to the frozen lakes, then back up to gain Henderson's southwest ridge about 5100 feet. The high basin was in beautiful shape both for hiking and for viewing - leading onward across bright rolling folds and benches of snow highlighted by scattered trees and higher peaks.

the way down toward Murdock Lakes

Leaving tracks through the pretty basin

Cruiser and my tracks looking mightly fine in black and white

The ridge crest itself required some extra work. In narrow parts, it was partially melted out rock, which steep snow on the edges. I ended up wearing crampons to cross the snow parts, and then grating them across short rock sections. Higher up, I also dropped down to traverse on the west side past a steeper bump. It all worked, but also slowed me down.

Higher up on the ridge, after traversing around a steep section

My tracks on a short steep part of the false summit

The true summit provided a rewardingly wide crest for enjoying the views. Skokomish looking intriguing from here; I wish I'd had more time to see if a traverse would work. Cruiser looked even more impressive straight across the valley. Lots of other Olympics were a mystery to me.

Skokomish from Henderson

Olympus and friends

More Olympics out north, I don't know what they are

Presidents Range, Cruiser, and Gladys

Cruiser!

All along the way here, I'd been looking at a more direct route back to camp. The snow had proven very stable, and I could see lots of open basins and benches leading back to a col near Point 4999. So I tried the shorter way home, and it worked. I was able to mostly angle across easy slopes, and the slightly steeper drainage at the center was filled with smooth snow. Then it was just a quick drop back down to camp. Henderson round trip: 4.9 miles, 2450 cumulative gain, 3:50 up, 0:20 summit, 2:00 down. Black & White Lakes to Staircase Gate (2:45-8:00pm) Back at camp, I found only the abandoned corpse of a campsite – a collapsed tent body with my gear inside and the stove set up nearby. So I quickly cooked a revitalizing bowl of ramens (not a phrase one usually types), packed my gear, and headed down from white snow to green valley. Along the river, I had noticed one inviting calm section, so I paused long enough for a quick swim in the cool water.

More green in the valley

a refreshing swim in the clear green water

Exit hike: 10.8 miles, 220 gain, 3990 loss. Trip total: 28.7 miles, 7880 gain. What else did I learn about park rules? On their way out, my companions met a park ranger who gave us a ticket for camping in the wilderness, because camping requires a permit, which requires getting the permit from a ranger station, which are all closed. What about social distancing? We met only one individual in the backcountry and two parties on the road, passing all at a distance, and did not stop at any rural locations along the way. The road home was a different story. Along LakeCushman, we saw dozens of young people clustered together swimming and socializing. I supposed I could have yelled out the window, "You kids should stay six feet apart," and then they could reply "OK, boomer," but that didn't seem very productive. Anyway, back to happy memories of a weekend high up in the sunshine and snow.

[neek]

[reststep]

Where you camped is in the national park. If you had camped on the Murdock Lake side of the ridge you would have been outside the park and wouldn't have needed a permit. Oh well. Great report and pictures of one of my favorite areas. Thanks for sharing. Did Dicey take her skis? The Ski Cruisers club in Bremerton had plans to have a ski area in the Mt. Gladys area back in the late 30's, early 40's. The Ski Cruisers club had a cabin at Flapjack Lakes at one time.

[silence]

Beautiful!! Love that area. Been up to Gladys in the snow, but never ventured over to Black and White. Just a heads up to future backpackers in the Olympics (correct me if I’m wrong) … ONP backcountry camping is still closed (that's probably why the ticket; in normal times you can always self-register at Staircase if closed, except for a quota area like Flapjack), and only just recently opened in the ONF: As of May 21 on the ONP website: The Staircase area is open for day use recreation. All overnight camping, including in wilderness, is currently suspended. As of May 22 on the ONF website: Starting Friday, May 22nd, developed Day Use sites and Trailheads at Olympic National Forest will be available for public use. All trails remain open and dispersed camping is allowed.

[Brushbuffalo]

[blendergasket]

This trip looks amazing! How much was the ticket if you don't mind my asking? Also, did you have an ice axe with you? I am relatively new to winter travel and want to do something like this safely.

[RAW-dad]

Good to see people getting out. Where there's a will, there's a way!

[Alpendave]

Spent the night at Black and White Lake with an army buddy in 1997. The salamander/newt water wasn’t t best, but the views were worth it...if you didn’t mind losing half your blood to the mosquitoes. Will have to have a 23+ year reunion trip or something.

[Matt]

[Brushbuffalo]

[Matt]

This morning as I was driving home in a thunderstorm, I noticed the cars parked at Pyramid Lake trailhead were gone. Glad they made it out before the storm.