Lake Angeles & Klahhane Ridge - Olympic N.P.

Hiked: May 29, 2021

My boyfriend and I camped the night before at Heart O' the Hills campground, so we didn't have to worry about finding a parking spot early in the morning. We started hiking at 11:50am and the lot was nearly full, but by that time, people were hiking out, so spots were opening up.

The hike up to the lake only had one obstacle, a medium-sized blowdown, which had a foothold carved into it. There was also evidence of people walking up and over it, without disturbing too much wildlife or causing excessive erosion.

Once we got near the lake, large snow patches were present. The lake itself had quite a bit of snow and ice still covering the surface, but the patches of liquid water revealed some beautiful trout! One of the campsites was still covered in snow, but the others were clear.

After eating a quick snack, we continued up the trail to Klahhane Ridge…or we tried to. About a quarter mile up from the lake, we began running into deep snow covering the trail. The steepness of this section really made climbing difficult, but we continued on for another quarter mile before the melting snow, steep grade, and tree-well danger caused us to turn around. We had lunch just above the first patch of snow, so it was still worth it. I wish we had micro spikes, poles, and gaiters, but even then some of the trail was too sketchy to hike. If you have the equipment (maybe an ice axe), it is possible.

Overall, the hike was very worth it. There were gorgeous views of Vancouver Island, Mt. Baker, the Cascades, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.