Craig Romano |
STORY & PHOTOS
Mildred
LAKES
"The hardest, NASTIEST, trail in the Olympics."
Serious hikers only need apply
It’s the hardest, nastiest, meanest trail in the Olympics! And that declaration should not be taken lightly, as I have hiked thousands of miles (and written about hundreds of hikes) throughout the Olympic Peninsula. With perhaps only the trail to Lake Constance ranking as just as nasty — you won’t find a more curse-inducing trail than this one. The first time I ever hiked to the Mildred Lakes, I swore to myself that I would never ever do this trail again. I hated it. But alas, I was back on that wretched trail again a few years afterward. And my conclusion was that it’s still the hardest, nastiest, you-have-to-be-crazyfor hiking-this trail in the Olympics! So are you interested in hiking it?
FEATURED COLUMNIST:
CRAIG ROMANO is an author of more than 20 hiking guidebooks including the bestselling Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula 2nd Edition (Mountaineers Books), which includes detailed descriptions for 136 hikes throughout the Olympic Peninsula.
MILDRED LAKES
DISTANCE: 9.0 miles roundtrip ELEVATION GAIN: 2900 feet HIGH POINT: 4100 feet DIFFICULTY LOOP: difficult SNOW FREE: July to October TRAILHEAD PASS NEEDED: Northwest Forest Pass or Inter-agency Pass GPS WAYPOINTS: Trailhead: N47 34.517, W123 15.672 Upper Lake: N47 33.461 W123 18.021 Features: Trio of backcountry lakes in a rugged wilderness setting; excellent views of Sawtooth Ridge and Mount Pershing; challenging trail requiring use of hands in places.
57
FJORD
