Doris the Explorist: Repeat: Ancient Lakes

A little bushwhacking in the canyon

Ryan lugging out wood!

Easy 2 mile hike out to the lakes

Tent Views

Tent shots are my favorite!

Location: Ancient Lakes in Quincy, WA (Central Washington)
Dates backpacked: April 1-2, 2017
Miles hiked: 7 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Permits: no permits needed, only need a Discovery Pass
Water: you have to carry it out, the lakes are not drinkable (for a 1 nighter, I carried out 4-5 liters)

We did the same backpacking trip around this time last year. We had such fond memories of the good weather and unique terrain, we headed back out there again this year! The weather is a lot better east of the mountains this time of the year, with Seattle still being in full gloom, we wanted some sunshine in our life!

We headed out with a larger group this year, last year was a head count of 4, this year was a head count of 8 people + 3 pups! We also learned our lesson last year, there wasn't much to forage for a decent fire, which had only last us 30 min. So this year, we each carried out a log of wood so that our fire would last all night, which worked out great!

Sarina, Ryan, Catherine, Cody, and I got to the trail head first. The others trickled in through out the day and met us. It's an easy 2 miles hike out to the lakes. We found a spot big enough for 5 tents and posted up near the lakes. The weather was perfect again this year! We setup camp, ate lunch, and hiked around during the day. At night we built a fire, made dinner, and had some s'mores to end the night.

Following morning was a quick breakfast, packed up, and hiked out by 10 am. It's about a 2.5-3 hour drive from Seattle, so it was nice to head back early to wind down from the weekend adventure.

Overall, it was an awesome time with everyone! Kudos to Caitlin for trekking out with us at 7 months pregnant! The 3 dogs got a long just fine, and there were no big mishaps. Another great weekend to add to the books.

Until next time Quincy!