Leaving Trinity from the Buck Creek Pass Loop Skier Dan dropped me off near Leavenworth before my friend Ben picked me up. Like most of my friends he had also moved from Seattle over to the East Side. After spending a night at his new house we decided to head off for a camping trip. Over the years we had talked about going to Robin Lakes and decided to go check it out. A few years earlier I had visited the place during winter but also wanted to see it during the Summer.
Robin and Tuck Lakes
The night before the hike Ben and I drove up to the Hyas Lake Valley and slept in his van. Waking up my made some coffee and drove the final few kilometres to the trailhead. Once arriving the parking lot was backed a mile with cars back to back. I had heard that hiking was super popular and I wanted to see one of the more busy places.
After a few minutes getting ready we were off on the trail heading up the valley. Arriving at Hyas Lake we chatted for a few minutes about swimming but in the end decided to wait until we got to Robin Lakes.
Every few minutes we would run into people walking back down the valley as we climbed up near the low pass of the valley. after a few minutes connecting to the Pacific Crest Trail we cut off onto the Robin Lakes Trail.
Making our way through the forests the trail up was far more aggressive then normal hiking trails. The story was that climbers were heading up there so before long it got so popular that it had to be incorporated into Washingtons trail system. While not being too hard we did have to occasionally climb with our hands arriving at Tuck Lake after a few hours.
From Tuck to Robin Lakes it was a bit more interesting as there were a handful of random trails climbing up the rocky slopes. Once we arrived at Robin Lakes there were over 30 tents surrounding the shores. Across the bay there was an isolated area that still didn’t have any tents yet so we went that way.
For the rest of the day we people watched as new groups arrived every 15 minutes. Being that the area was popular we decided to hang around until the next morning.
Waking up we waited for most of the groups to leave before we started checking out the lake.
Heading back to the area I had camped at during the winter we had an open view of Mount Rainier. Looking at both Robin Lakes we wished we had another day to camp.
Looking at Upper Robin Lake during the winter.
Hiking back down we took in the views of Mount Daniel and Tuck Lake below. It was obvious why so many people were heading out there as all 3 lakes were so clear and pristine….just not the shorelines.
If was a brief trip into Alpine Lake Wilderness but it was nice to finally tick Robin Lakes off the list. Most important was just hanging around cool alpine areas. Would I go again……Sure.
Thank you for making it to the end and here is a list of the hiking trips in Summer 2022.
Stevens Ridge to Cowlitz Park-MRNP
Norse Peak Trail to Silver Basin near Crystal
Hawkeye Point Goat Rocks Wilderness
If you want to read about more hiking trips click here