This summer we wanted to take the kids on their first official backpacking trip. They have hiked to a few hike-ins over the years but have never fully carried their gear to sleep under the stars. We initially wanted to hike Mowich Lake loop in Mt Rainier but much of it was still under snow so we headed for Olympic National Park. After reading about the best loop hikes in the area we settled on The Alpine Lakes Wilderness loop. We spent weeks preparing for the adventure and read reviews and talked to the rangers. We expected the hike to be a total of 20 miles and we were hoping to break the trip up over 4 days hiking 5 miles a day. We sent our paperwork in only to find out 3 days before that the sites we wanted were already full but we could attempt to get walk-in permits 24 hours in advance. Since it was over 4th of July weekend, Scott had to drive 4 hours Thursday night, stay in a hotel and stand in line at 5:30 in the morning. We ended up getting permits but the first campsite that was available was 7 miles. We knew it was a stretch for the kids, but we really wanted to go so we decided to start out early on Saturday morning. In order to do that, we had to find a hotel for Friday night. We searched and searched for a hotel only to find beds available in a hostel. The hostel itself was an adventure because none of the rooms were private and we got to listen to someone snore all night, someone make tea at 6 am and the town bell going off every half an hour. Needless to say none of us really slept. We started the hike at 9:30 and headed to Sol Duc Park camp. The kids did great the first 5 miles but were definitely getting tired. It would have been great to stop at the first campsite but they were willing to push an extra 2 miles. At 7 miles we didn't see a campsite and looked at the map the ranger gave us wondering why we hadn't found it yet. Around mile 8 we ran into another ranger hiking to the same campground. He told us we still had 2 miles to go! We were all really tired but the kids were still excited and in good spirits. At mile 10 after hiking up for what seemed like forever we finally found our first campsite! We were so excited to see it and amazed that the kids were able to hike that far. On day 2 we packed up and headed out to explore Heart Lake and hike down to Lunch lake to camp for 2 days. The hike to Lunch lake was 7 miles and it had some scary climbs through the snow and on cliff edges. Luckily the skies were crystal clear that day and we could see for miles,we were even able to see Mt Olympus. This day of hiking was definitely my favorite day as the hike was so varied. The campsite at Lunch lake was amazing! It was so surreal to be in a sub alpine basin so far from the civilized world. On day 2 of Lunch lake the fog rolled in and the temperatures dropped. We spent one day recovering and playing around the area. While we had fun playing games in the tent and hiking around, it was really wet and cold. On day 4 we were supposed to hike to Deer Lake and spend the night which was 4.5 miles from Lunch lake but after the weather turned and the temperatures dropped we decided to hike an additional 3.5 miles for total of 8 so we could stay in a hotel that night instead!! It was an awesome trip and one we hope to do again soon. I really enjoyed talking to kids for hours of uninterrupted time while we hiked. They both enjoyed playing games in the tent at night and laughing. The trip was a great reminder to take time to really connect with them.
Here is the map we were given by the Ranger, the mileage on it is inaccurate. We were happy we bought a better map at REI before we left with the correct mileage. We started at Sol Duc Trailhead, stayed at Sol Duc Camp on the first night, hiked to Lunch lake on night 2 and stayed there for 2 nights and then hiked out, stopping at Deer Lake for lunch on the way out.
Her expression here says it all. This is how we all felt about the hostel that night.
And we are off!
She wanted her mice to go on the adventure too!
He was very excited!
When you need to rest, find the nearest tree and lean.
There were several stream crossings on this loop. This was a pretty spot with a waterfall.
10 miles later and we finally made it to our first camp!
Sol Duc Park camp. This was a neat site with a stream and waterfall nearby.
Game time!
The loop was really neat because the terrain was constantly changing as we were climbing up and down the mountains.
No hike is complete without a pez dispenser with-in hands reach!
Enjoying the sun before we descend into Heart Lake.
Spring has finally hit the mountains, avalanche lilies make the first appearance. The High Divide was only just accessible this week unless you had crampons and an ice ax.
Lunch stop at Heart Lake
Making our way out of Heart Lake and on to Lunch Lake.
There was still a lot of snow in some areas.
Her tooth was very loose and she ended up losing it the next morning. We kept it in a toothpaste tube to keep it safe.
The mountain goats were enjoying a meal just off the trail.
So many times in my head and out loud I would sing, "This is the trail that never ends, it goes on and on my friend...." The kids thought it was pretty funny. We all had fun making up stories and games to pass the time. Alia loved thinking of things that started with certain letters and they both loved hearing stories.
Some of the trails were tricky and made us all nervous!
Round lake! That means that Lunch lake is just around the next corner. We were so excited to see it that we forgot to take a picture of it.
The first night we stayed in Lunch Lake Alia was talking in her sleep. She said, "But Daddy said it was only 4 more miles! We had to walk too far and now there's no room at the campground."
Our campsite had a small lake next to it and the kids loved playing near it. There were lots of weird bugs, frogs and tadpoles.
And the fog rolled in!
The deer were not afraid of us and ignored us. They enjoyed eating the moss near our site. We also heard coyotes the first night we were there. The next morning we found their scat near our site. It made us realize just how remote we were!
We were huddled together trying to stay warm.
Deer Lake had a neat board walk around it.
The kids thought the burl on this tree was hilarious!
Alia wanted to stop and take a picture because she said it was so pretty.
Sol Duc Falls
This was the last 1/2 mile of our 25 mile adventure. She looked at me here and said, "It's so nice to have a friend like you to hike with." This was by far my favorite adventure yet!
