Trip
Backpack - Indian Heaven via Thomas Lake
This is an easy loop backpack trip through the beautiful Indian Heaven Wilderness, passing by at least 15 picturesque lakes and lots of berry bushes, camping two nights at Blue Lake, so most of the lakes can be experienced on Sunday's day hike.
Contacts
- Sat, Sep 3, 2016 — Mon, Sep 5, 2016
- Tacoma Hiking & Backpacking Committee
- Backpacking
- Retired Rovers, Families, Adults, 20-30 Somethings, Singles
- Easy
- Easy
- Mileage: 7.0 mi
- Elevation Gain: 700 ft
- 1 (11 capacity)
- Cancellation & Refund Policy
From the Lone Fir Cafe, where we can eat lunch, we will caravan for about an hour to the Thomas Lake trailhead over mostly paved roads, with a few miles of well-graded gravel Forest Road at the end. Then we will backpack in to Blue Lake, where we will camp Saturday and Sunday nights, gaining 700 feet over 3.3 miles on the hike in. Sunday we will do a 7.7 mile, 300 feet gain loop day hike, heading north initially on the Pacific Crest Trail, and passing many picturesque lakes, one of which we will stop at for lunch and a possible swim, weather permitting. We will hike out Monday morning and have an optional lunch stop in Cougar on the way home. Cars need to display the Northwest Forest Pass at the trailhead.
Meet at 11 AM on Saturday at the Lone Fir Cafe in Cougar, WA, which is reached from Seattle via I-5 and SR 503 in about three hours.
Indian Heaven via Thomas Lake
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Green Trails Indian Heaven Wilderness No. 365S - See full route/place details.
Required Equipment
The Ten Essentials plus overnight gear which may include:
- Tent with footprint/ground tarp
- Stove and fuel
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping pad
- Water filter
- Bear canister or extra stuff sack and cord designated for hanging food
- Cooking pot/pan with plate and utensils
- Toilet paper and shovel or blue bag to deal with waste