Seven Lakes Basin/High Divide Loop

Prior to our weekend to Goat Rocks, countless backpacking loops sat on the shelves of my mind collecting dust due to, mostly, lack of vacation days and good weather windows.
However, now that we figured out we can cover a lot more miles by running the loops, Katy and I restarted our tick list of trips to check out here in the PNW.

Given how my legs felt running last time, I figured I should still ease into this, so we chose a popular and beautiful loop in the Olympics. The plan was to do the High Divide Trail (also known as Seven Lakes Basin loop), and camp outside the reservation-only area to split the loop up into two days.

We left Seattle in heavy ferry traffic. We had to wait for two ferries before we could get on one to take us across to Bainbridge Island, but it was still better than the insanity of trying to drive south on I-5 on a beautiful Friday afternoon.
Seemingly every campground on the Olympic Peninsula was full, so we settled for parking off of Sol Duc Hot Springs road and slept in the car. A quick trip to the ranger station the next morning to grab a permit and we were off.

Once again, I struggled quite a bit on day 1. Katy carried me mentally much of the way, and we joked about a syndrome that I seemingly develop when I get tired: LBS, or “Little B* Syndrome”. Basically, as I get hungry, hot, and exhausted after moving uphill for what seems like forever (really, not more than a couple hours), I get grumpy and can’t find the strength to run and have to power hike instead. LBS applied to me a lot in the first few hours as we moved up ~3000′ to gain the high divide trail.

A side note, as a scientist (Katy) and a data analyst (Ely), our objective findings on LBS so far are:
– LBS is not contagious
– LBS can be minimized or completely avoided with proper training
– LBS can be treated with a good attitude, or shutting up, gritting your teeth, and working through it

We’re constantly doing research on LBS now that we’ve discovered it. We’ll post more on it as new discoveries arise!
(back to the trip report)
Once on the trail, the troubles continued. I was getting worn out, wasn’t fueling, and felt undertrained. We pushed on, and finally, I hit a low point on the High Divide trail a half-mile from Heart Lake. I was out of water, tired, and I tripped pretty hard on a rock/root.

I sat for a couple minutes and to regroup mentally. Katy and I had a serious discussion about whether to cut the trip short since a part of doing these things is enjoyment, which I clearly was getting none of.
This was less type-2 fun, where you’re driving towards completing your objective despite necessary, unavoidable, miserable struggles, and more just “not fun”.

The thing is though, LBS is a mental thing. Yes, there’s a physical-exhaustion component, but that’s what Katy and I were training for: fighting through the tiredness, and finding new troves of energy to tap into.

After a short rest, I got up, donned on my pack, and we ran to Heart Lake, where we fueled up, filtered water, and dipped our legs in the alpine lake.

This seemed to be the turning point of the trip. The water, food, rest, and 4ish miles of downhill revitalized me and I continued to feel good through the hike up to Appleton pass, where we were camping.

Once at the pass, we set up a camp overlooking Mount Appleton and the beautiful valley formed by the South Fork Boulder Creek, which started a few hundred feet below our camp. The sunset was gorgeous as we cooked up some Mountain House dinner and discussed the highs and lows of the day.

The next morning we awoke to beautiful weather. It was cool and invigorating, and alpenglow lit up Mount Appleton. We packed up our lightweight setup, which again proved awesome (splitting a hammock and sleeping bag, plus a tarp for shelter), and ran the 10 miles back to the car through gorgeous old growth. The way back was quick, with a lot of downhill and beautiful trail. We were off early enough that we missed the usual crowds that hike in this area. Because the trail was empty, we got to run in swift silence amidst the huge trees. We took a short stop at Sol Duc Falls, then continued on to the car.
On the way home we stopped at the excellent Next Door Gastropub in Port Angeles, where we recouped our calorie deficit with some fantastic beers and burgers.

Full album of photos can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/elygerbin/sets/72157645968244060
Here are a few highlights:

Running along the High Divide Trail in Olympic National Park

Kaytlyn running in Olympic National Park

Alpenglow on Mount Appleton

A meadow near our camp at Appleton Pass. Dusk in Olympic National Park.

Seven lakes Basin