It's Okay Being a Medium Dog

My friend, Heidi, once owned a shirt that said, "If you can't run with the big dogs, then stay on the porch!" She has been hiking and backpacking since childhood, and she's one of the most bad ass people I know. So when I suggested we switch her Tanks Lake trip plans to the extended Alpine Lakes High Route, she of course didn't blink an eye. 

It seemed a logical thing to do. We had three days - so instead of gaining all that difficult elevation and then turning around and going back, why not do the loop and enjoy the high country while we were already up there? We had two cars, so leaving one at each trailhead meant cutting out the three miles of road walking required. In total we would only be adding a couple extra miles to the itinerary while gaining more than twice the amount of scenery. 

The trip reports for this loop made it sound SO amazing...but there were also a few concerning warnings like, "straight up going to kill somebody." Eek. Though maybe those are just namby-pamby "little dogs" yipping. Stay on the porch you babies! ;)

So I turned to my favorite website of NWhikers.net to ask the opinion from the true Big Dogs. The information they gave confirmed that indeed the Alpine Lakes High Route was over my pay grade. I hated wimping out on Heidi after I got her all pumped up for this amazing trail; but I know and accept I'm a medium dog and I don't really aspire to enter the hiker big leagues. Plus Janet was coming along, and though she is a stronger hiker than I am, I was pretty sure several miles of navigating through talus and "brush-covered ledges with cliffs above and below" was going to be out of her comfort zone too. 

Instead we thought we'd try our hand at the smaller "easier" loop suggested by the folks on NW hiker. We could leave our stuff at Tanks and go around the back side up to La Bohn and then down the waterfall and back up again to Tanks. Except after taking a look at that waterfall as we made our original way up to Tanks, we knew that was a hard no. 

Though, what would it hurt to see if we could make it to La Bohn? It was only a couple of miles after all. Medium Dogs should at least be able to do that.

The above picture of Williams Lake is where we waved the white flag. With no real trail to follow and some talus to get over, it took us two hours to go a mile. Go all the way to La Bohn?! HA!!! Can you imagine if we tried to do the full Alpine Lakes High Route with it's 8 mile section of nothing but difficult route finding, talus fields AND 3k of elevation gain? Holy shit, we'd probably still be up there! 

The part of me that really wants to prove it's bad-ass-ness sure got put in it's place on this trip. And that is well and good, because having fun (along with the benefit of not dying!) is much better. You'll find our itinerary for an enjoyable 3 day trip (actually it was 4 days in my case) for anyone else in the medium dog category. Happy "know your limits" trails! 

Sammie wanted to play Lion King ;)

TRAIL LOG:

Day 1) Because I had Saturday off but both Heidi and Janet didn't, I decided to start without them. They would just meet me at my campsite in the morning which was at about 5 miles in.

It took me only two and a half hours to hike it, so I assumed they would do it in just 2. Of course there is zero cell service, but I knew they expected to be starting at 7 am, so I planned to be ready and waiting for them by 9 am.

Day 2) At 9:45 am, there was still no Heidi and Janet, so I assumed there was a problem. I forced myself not to imagine the "they were killed in a car accident" type of situation but a more reasonable "the alarm clock didn't go off" type of situation...but y'know, sometimes it lingers in the back of the head. But whatever the problem was, it wasn't going to help if I just sat there. So I came up with this solution:

I figured they would catch me, because I'm so much slower; so when I made it the 3 miles to Jade Lake with still no sign of them, I began to worry a little. But this is quite a climb of about 2.5k, so they were doing it just as slow as me. In fact, they made it to my campsite just minutes after I left and were not far behind me the whole time!

This gal recognized Sammie! So I made her take a pic to prove I have a fan ;)

Fortunately they knew I was waiting for them at Jade because these nice guys let me use their Garmin to send a message. I know, I know, I just need to bite the bullet and buy one.

Recruiting more Sammie fans, haha. Thanks guys!!

The next mile is a nice break with not much gain and pretty meadows, and then you get to the rock scramble. This turned out to be not as bad as I was expecting, though the hardest part is figuring out the best route because there are many cairns guiding you in different directions. We had a couple young guys coming down advise us to just "go up the gut" which I still have no idea what that means. (Must be a Big Dog term ;) 

When we made it to Tank Lakes I was pretty beat, but Heidi and Janet were extra beat because of their extra miles and very early start. Even so, Janet had the energy to push up the hill on the far side of the lake because she was sure there had to be a good spot up there. Heidi and I were groaning, but we obeyed and followed her up and found she was right. This is about a 12 mile day with 4k if you do it one shot. For me it was only 7, so splitting it up is really nice.

Day 3) We slept in and didn't get going on our day pack outing until 9 am. I don't think any of us were super gung-ho about getting to La Bohn, but we were curious about trying. The challenge of route finding was actually really fun until we hit the serious talus...then it was like "this sucks." 

Making our way back was WAY faster, so we decided to keep going on the Alpine High Route (it goes the opposite direction from the intersection to Tank) and just go as far as felt comfortable. 

Right around Iron Cap Gap felt good enough - maybe a mile? We got back to camp to have plenty of leisure time cooling off by the lake (which we had to ourselves!) and enjoying a cocktail before making dinner...it was so nice to be relaxing and not scrambling over rocks and wondering if we were going to die.

After dinner we felt like exploring more, so we followed the trails that meander out and about. As we were looking at our maps and trying to figure out what lake we were looking down at, we noticed a "Tank Lake" that was up further and behind us. Hummm...this must be what makes it "Tank Lakes" instead of just "Tank Lake." Should we try and find it?

It was actually not that hard, but dang, the mossies up there were super excited we showed up. So after a short photo shoot, we headed back. In total we probably didn't even hit the 5 mile mark, but what a fun day we had.   

Day 4) I taped my knees before we even started because I knew the hammering downhill was going to be murder on them. But of course it was much faster than going up, mostly because we took a different route and eliminated almost half of the rock scramble. We didn't even realize it until I was taking a video of Glacier Peak and saw the rocks we came up were to the right of us. I tried to take videos from then on of the places which would lead you to the easier route, but it really is hard to see unless you are going down. 

AllTrails will get you there, but to the right is easier

But you can watch them on my Youtube if you think it might be helpful. The last five miles felt like forever as we knew they would, but the promise of a burger and beer at The Whistling Post propelled us forward at lightning speed. Except, no burger to be found there; which is probably for the best because I'm trying to eat better due to a bout with diverticulitis. Sucks getting old.  

It still tasted good!

Side note: my friends had the rest of the week off, so while I headed home they were doing the long drive around to the Marmot/Jade/Dip Top hike. But when they went to start the next day, Heidi realized she left her boots in the parking lot at this hike's trailhead. (East Fork Foss/Necklace Valley is where you start to get to Tank Lakes) They were brand new, so if by chance someone finds them, please leave a comment! 

They still made it happen, just a later start than expected

 

 

Marmot and Jade Lake with Sara

 

"Wow, I'll be able to revisit some of the PCT's section J on this hike," was what I was thinking when I started reading up on this trail we decided on. "I wonder if I'll remember it?" I pondered. 

I had never met Sara, but I have had nothing but good luck making friends from Facebook hiking groups. She contacted me saying she would be visiting Seattle, and would I be interested in a backpacking trip. "Does the Pope wear a funny hat?" is what I always think when someone asks me that question, but I just told her yes. 

We settled on going to Jade Lake for a few reasons, but mainly because we could meet at the trailhead after I got off work Friday and get a jump on the miles by going in to camp at Hyas Lake. It's only a couple easy miles, and it meant we could get an early start on the next day's more difficult numbers.

It also made sense for us to meet in the nearest town of Roslyn and leave one of our cars. It's an extra hour to the trailhead from there, most of it on a forest road, and I warned her that I really wasn't sure if Reba was up to the task; being she is still taped together. (You'd have to read about my California road trip to understand what that's all about.) 

So we agreed on the Coal Mines Trailhead that was near town to leave my car at, since it seemed an easy, legal and safe place to do so. It was so strange that my GPS navigation could absolutely not get me there; but thankfully I was able to call Sara and we changed it to the nearby Safeway. (Turns out you can leave a car there as long as you talk to customer service. I would have just chosen to meet there in the first place had I known.)

I've said before that I have a hard time saying "things happen for a reason" even though I do hang on to that belief. Meeting Twig was one of those crazy coincidences that felt like fate, and wouldn't you know, she contacted me letting me know she was doing the PCT (again, as a SOBO) and somehow it all worked out for me to drop off her resupply because I'd be driving right past the place she wanted to pick it up at. 

So when Sara and I got to the PCT intersection of our trail on Saturday (all 30 feet of it, haha...not so much reminiscing happening there) I thought it would be fun to leave Twig a "twig a gram" - though unfortunately it was already trampled upon by Sunday. I should have known it could never last with the amount of hikers going through there.

At least I got a picture of it

I know I'm not giving any helpful info about the hike, I'll do that below as always, but I wanted to wrap this part up saying it was a good thing we were parked at Safeway. Exhausted and famished, we headed there to pick up my car on Sunday and noticed a bunch of smoke VERY nearby. I was telling Sara how I am now always paranoid of finding Reba with a flat (after it happened twice last year! Here and here if you want those stories) but as we got closer I joked that maybe this time she was actually on fire! 

But no, the fire was probably about a quarter mile away on I-90, which was just one left turn out of the Safeway parking lot. We opted to hold our bladders and get the hell out of dodge - barely making it past the flames before the fire engines turned up. (It did get contained after burning about 5 acres, thanks to all the amazing people who labor so hard doing that invaluable work.)

Fate? Providence? Just coincidence? We will never know for sure. But I'll continue to hold on to the hope there will be answers on the other side. (My spiritual blog is here if you are interested, and video of hike is here.) Happy "serendipitous" trails! 

TRAIL LOG: 

Day 1: Finding parking at 6:30 pm on a Friday was not too difficult, though there were plenty of cars in the 3 (I think?) lots. Many different hiking options here, so thankfully not everyone is going to the same place. I had read that any car could make it, but we did pass someone who was turning around at a place where a considerable amount of water was crossing the road. Like I already mentioned above, we only had to hike a couple miles where we set up at the first site we came to. FYI, the best campsite is the third one (I think? Right next to the sign for the toilet) and the largest ones are about 3 miles in, right before you start to go up.

Hyas Lake from our campsite

Day 2) It was about a mile from our camp before the trail started gaining elevation, and then it gains about 1K in the couple miles to the intersection with the PCT. I was surprised to see people using a couple stealth spots on way which looked not so great; but Sara said she heard people hiking in ALL night, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. After revisiting the PCT for two minutes we made our turn onto the Marmot Lake Trail. It's easy breezy for the next 2 miles; I was surprised to even loose quite a few feet in elevation, which I knew we'd pay for on the way out.

There's a really nice water source before you start gaining again, which we took full advantage of. Then it's another nearly 2 miles of steady up to Marmot, but it's very gradual. We got there around 1 pm and found a great spot. We left for Jade around 4 pm and it took us almost 2 hours to get there. It's about a 700 ft gain, but it's all in the rock scramble. It reminded me a lot of my last hike, except it wasn't as bad. Still didn't love it though. But Jade was worth it.

Fun times climbing rocks

 

Worth it

The mile back was much faster of course. I am pretty sure every single site was taken by then. Maybe not the first one which is before you get to the lake as you are coming in. It's away from all the others, so if you are coming in late on a weekend and that one is empty, I'd take it if I were you. Anyway, around 9 miles total with about 3k of gain. 

Day 3) I was kind of annoyed I packed my own DIY wag bags (because I had read you needed them) when I saw there are toilets at all 3 of the lakes. But on this morning I figured out why...waiting your turn for the toilet could be disastrous. I mean when the coffee hits, it hits everyone. Plus the toilet (box with no sides) is right next to a bog; so the mosquitoes, which were bad enough everywhere else, were "you can't breath without sucking in a mouthful" bad. Good luck pooping in that situation! (I was desperate enough to make it happen, but not recommended!)

Overall we were bit up pretty bad, even after we used a whole can of deet! There is a blood sacrifice required for this experience in July, but I honestly didn't really notice most the bites until I got home. The beauty really is an amazing distraction from the pain.

See me in the corner, not noticing I am being eaten alive

 

We hiked the 9-ish miles out with that 900 foot of gain we lost the day before, dripping sweat the whole way. It must of been approaching 90 degrees, so we were very grateful to be heading out instead of in. I know most people want to go all the way to Dip Top Gap on this hike, but we were both just fine skipping it. I'm very thankful to Sara for reaching out, and for rolling with all the punches. My lucky streak with Facebook friendships continues! 

 

SHHHH...It's a Secret! Sort of?

"Can I ask you ladies how you found this place?" was the question asked us by a couple young men as we were half way up the secret trail.

Heidi lit up because now she could tell her story: "About 30 years ago, an old friend told me of a beautiful area that was his secret place. I asked, 'How do I find it?' Looking into his piercing ice blue eyes, he said 'I won't tell you, you'll have to find it yourself!' He called the area the 'Poor Man's Enchantments' and he would only tell me I needed to start on the Pinnacle Lake trail. I kept coming back and rooting around until I finally figured out where to go, and now all these years later I wanted to come back." 

Impressed, the guys said they had only found it because they saw all these lakes on Google Maps and figured there must be a way to get to them. 

Then I answered, "I found it on AllTrails under Herman's Peak." Wah, wah...way to spoil the fun, KellBell!  

It's sad we have so few secrets or mysteries anymore. All the information all the time makes Jack a dull boy. Sorry that I am giving all the info out too; but if the only thing you need to do is search "bathtub lakes" on an app and it pops up complete with navigational assistance, the cat is already out of the bag, isn't it? 

So instead of trying to keep the "Poor Man's Enchantments" a secret, I'll instead give you a few reasons why you don't want to go there, which you'll find below on my usual "things to know" list. There is also a video mash up on YouTube. Happy "secret's out" trails!  

Thing to Know about Bathtub Lakes: 

1)  The half hour drive up the forest road is one of the worst I've ever been on, if not the worst. If you don't have a high clearance vehicle, don't even think about it. And expect to get scratches along your car's sides. 

2) Even with navigational assistance, you are making your own way up. And when I say up, I mean literally climbing rocks. 

3) Did I mention rocks? Like a lot of them? And the kind that are easy to dislodge and have come down on anyone who is below you? 

4) I know I'm slow, but this is SLOW territory. It may only be 7 miles, but we were on the trail for 9 and a half hours! Alltrails has us moving for only 7 of them, but I swear we barely took a break. I think the majority of our "not moving" time was just staring at the "trail" and trying to figure out the best way to maneuver over it.  

Sammie thinks we did a perfect sloth speed ;)

5) What goes up must come down, and lowering myself over and over again down the very big rocks and then finally roots absolutely destroyed me. Seriously the most sore I've been in years.  

6) If you still want to do it, there is still snow in "Iodine Gulch." You'll want to veer to the right of it...and when I say veer I mean claw/scramble.  

If you've made it to here, you're golden! Until it's time to go down, that is!