Wagonwheel Lake

Olympic National Park, Washington

As with many full time nomads one of my goals is to visit many of our National Parks. My travels have taken me to the State of Washington which hosts three of these gems, Olympic, Mt Rainier and the North Cascades National Park.

Over the July 4th weekend I stayed at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, Washington. This was a great little campground with water, electric (30/50) and a dump station. Each site is concrete and they have both back-in and pull through sites. Most importantly the cost was very reasonable and they had ample space even though it was the holiday weekend.

The Lucky Eagle Casino is roughly 30 mile south of Olympia, Washington and 1 hour 40 minutes to the Staircase Entrance of Olympic National Park. The Staircase Entrance is sort of a remote section of the park and consists of a short paved road that leads to a campground, picnic area, hiking trails and a Ranger Station.

Staircase Entrance

The goal of my visit was to hike either the Wagonwheel Lake Trail or the Flapjacks Lakes Trail. Upon arrival a Ranger greeted me and recommended the Wagonwheel Lake Trail do to its length and time of day in which I was starting my hike. So per his advice I settle on the Wagonwheel Lake.

Wagonwheel Lake Hike

The Wagonwheel Lake hike is a 4.9 mile out and back trail that terminates a short distance beyond Wagonwheel Lake. It is rated difficult and ascends 3200 feet in 2.9 miles. Per the sign it is very steep!

The trail immediately starts a gradual climb through large Hemlocks and Ferns. The ferns in this section were huge with their frowns so large they hung over the trail.

At about the .3 mile mark the real climb begins with a series of switchbacks. If my count was correct, there are 25 switchbacks. Some where longer and steeper than others and I found myself stopping to catch my breath on ever third turn.

• 

• 

As I climbed the switchbacks I kept thinking that once though this section the steepness will tapper off and it will be a ridge walk to the lake. However, that was a far cry for lay ahead as the trail became even steeper and I longed for the return of the switchbacks.

Once through the switchback the trail became evil and appeared to go straight the mountain with very little deviation. With a steady pace and lots and lots of stopsI finally found some level ground.

Once reaching the level area things changed dramatical. The trail left the forest and entered an open meadow that appeared to have been created by an old rock slide. The trail was thin and very rocky with roots to step over but it was worth every step as the view of the Olympic Mountains in came in full view.

What was most impressive to me was all the flowers in this section. Flower such as Lupin, Indian Paintbrush, Columbine and what appeared to be a form of Dutchman’s Britches were boldly showing their colors. This display of color naturally slowed me down as I took time to gauked at each unique bloom.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Once through the meadow the trail re-enters the forest and after a short climb, reaches Wagonwheel Lake. Be advised that there is not a sign indicating the lake. Instead, there are just side trails (rabbit trails) that will take you to an over look. Passing these side trails will lead you to another steep climb. I did not continue on the trail but have heard the views are at the terminus are stunning.

The lake, in my opinion was a little anti-climatic. It is very pretty with its crystal clear blue water but there is no real views surrounding the lake like you’d expect. Instead the lake is in a bowl and surrounded by steep hills and trees. I sat down and gazed at it for a while hoped a bear or Sasquatch would emerge from the thick words along the waters edge. No such luck!

After a 30 minute rest I packed up and started the long walk down to the Jeep. I am not sure if it was because I was rested or if it was just easier walking downhill but I started to see things that I had been invisible on my hike up. What I noticed was several odd woodland spring flowers. I am pretty good at identifying flowers but these were new to me and if anyone know the names of these please reach out as I would love to be able to identify them.

• 

• 

• 

Many hikers claim that steep downhills are worse than steep uphills. They say it hurts their knees and toes. Fortunately this has not been the case for me, well my toes do smush in the front of my shoe, and I tend to prefer the downhill. Today however that was not the case, due to the the steepness of the trail I found it very painful on the legs, knees and toes. By the time I made it to the trailhead I was exhausted and boy did my feet ache.

This is a great hike but not easy. After hiking on the AT with a full pack and climbing a fourteener in Colorado I found this to be just about the most strenuous hike in my career. It is a great hike and you will lose track of time but if you are like me your muscles will hurt for days after.

~slow-LEE hiking

Directions

Merge onto I-5 North toward Olympia, WA

Take exit 104 to merge onto UA 101 North toward Port Angeles (16 miles)

Keep right onto US Highway 101-NW toward Shelton, Port Angeles (6.0 miles)

Turn left onto N Lake Cushman Rd (29 miles)

Turn left onto SR-119 (9.3 miles)

Turn Right (6.6 miles)