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Trip Report    

Royal Basin - Royal Lake

Perfect chilly-weather day hike through mossy forested terrain ending in lake and mountain views.

  • Sun, Oct 23, 2016
  • Royal Basin
  • Day Hiking
  • Successful
  • Road suitable for all vehicles
  • The road to the trailhead is long and gravelly but doable for most vehicles (approx 16 miles). The trail to Royal Lake was in relatively good shape except few areas of standing water and mud.

Most of the trail skirts through mossy forested terrain. There were a few spots where waterproof boots are a must (standing water from rains, some stream rock skipping). Gaiters a big help in keeping mud under control. The weather forecast called for rain but we encountered no rain, in fact it was perfect hiking weather. We brought microspikes but none were needed, no snow except on the surrounding peaks and mountains. We did 15 miles RT to the lake and back -- windy and cold at lake, bring layers. Parts of the lake still had ice crystals on it. Gain was 3138 (measured by Gaia app). All-in-all a challenging but rewarding hike.