Backpack - Indian Heaven via Thomas Lake

Meet at 10 AM Friday at the Lone Fir Cafe in Cougar, reached by driving south on I-5 and then east onto SR 503 in Woodland. 

At the Lone Fir Cafe on Friday we'll have an early hot lunch to fuel up for the backpack into our campsite.  We'll caravan for an hour from Cougar to the Thomas Lake trailhead on mostly paved roads, with a short stretch of well-maintained gravel road at the end.  We'll then hike in four miles to Junction Lake, where we camp two nights.  Sunday we'll do an optional easy loop day hike past eight other beautiful alpine lakes and stop for lunch and a possible swim at one of them.  After our camp dinners on Friday and Saturday, we'll have smores around the campfire.  During the drive out on Sunday we'll have an optional lunch stop at the Lone Fir Cafe in Cougar.  There are public restrooms in Cougar, across the street from the Lone Fir Cafe.  There are also restrooms at the Lone Fir Cafe and the Thomas Lake trailhead.  There are no restroom facilities on our hiking route.  A Northwest Forest Pass, or the equivalent, must be posted by each car parked at the trailhead.