MILDRED LAKES WAY TRAIL

Limited maintenance
Length 5.5 mi/8.9 km
Access Hamma Hamma River Road (FS Road 25)
USGS Map Mount Skokomish
Agency Olympic National Forest

One of the primitive "roots and rocks way trails" found 
throughout Olympics, this path leads to several subalpine 
lakes at the eastern base of the Sawtooth Range in the 
Mount Skokomish Wilderness. The trailhead (1678 ft/ 511 m) 
is located at the end of FS Road 25.

Near its beginning the trail crosses little streams, but 
beyond them water is not available for some time. At first 
the trail is fairly level and goes through stands of second 
growth fir, the virgin timber having been cut, then burned. 
The huge fir and cedar stumps are silent reminders of the 
forest's former glory. Looking back, one can see the 
Boulder Creek Road and the logging scars on the ridge south 
of Mount Bretherton.

As it traverses the mountainside, the trail gradually 
steepens. Upon reaching tie end of the logged area, it 
enters virgin forest—at this point mostly western hemlock 
and silver fir, with only an occasional large Douglas fir, 
the forest having been logged to the "fir line."

Up to this point the hiker will wonder why this route has 
such a bad reputation and will probably be inclined to 
dismiss it as hyperbole. However, the path now 
deteriorates, and it alternately consists of rough stones 
or masses of tree roots that ate slippery when wet. The 
trail steepens as it climbs over a ridge of upthrusted 
sandstone and loose boulders. Here one can look both right 
and left, through stands of little trees, to rocky peaks. 
The sharp Sawtooth Range looms ahead; the sound of a 
rushing stream can be heard to the right. The route then 
descends to a large creek, a major tributary of the Hamma 
Hamma River. A log bridges the stream, but one is better 
advised to make a quick dash through the shallow riffles. 
Two campsites are located here (2.4 mi/3.9 km; 3000 ft/914 
m).

The trail climbs steadily, crosses another stream, and then 
comes to the ultimate challenge—a deep, steep-sided ravine 
spanned by a large log from which the bark is missing. A 
cord stretched across serves as a handrail but offers only 
psychological security. Over the center of the ravine, the 
log is about 25 feet above the rocky bottom. If not killed 
by a fall, one would surely be seriously injured. 
Consequently, the prudent hiker descends into the ravine, 
and then clambers up the other side.

The trail now goes straight up the mountain, climbing a 
rock staircase. Many hikers give up at this point, but the 
grade eases once this obstacle is overcome. The path 
emerges at a campsite located among outcrops of sandstone 
in the heather-covered meadows on a little ridge. The peaks 
of the Sawtooth Range are visible; apparently near, yet far 
away.

Descending steeply through subalpine forest, the trail 
crosses a wet area, where dark ponds lie among sandstone 
ribs that protrude from the heather. At the second pool a 
little mountain hemlock, its trunk twisted like a pretzel, 
awaits the photographer at the water's edge. The forest 
here is beautiful, growing among big boulders composed of 
basalt.

Bordered by mountain hemlocks, the Mildred Lakes lie in 
basins scooped in the sandstone by a glacier that came down 
from the nearby Sawtooth Range. Huge blocks of basalt, 
carried down by the ice from the peaks above, lie scattered 
about. The first lake now comes into view (4.9 mi/7.9 km; 
3850 ft/1173 m). A rock sticks out of the water near the 
far end, and many large chunks of basalt edge the shores, 
where the trail goes by several campsites littered with 
debris. The trail then traverses a mixture of forest and 
meadow dotted with many little ponds to another lake (5.5 
mi/8.9 km; 3900 ft/1189 m). This one is the largest 
subalpine lake in the Olympics. The deep lake, which covers 
an expanse of almost 40 acres, is shaped like a whale, with 
the head pointed southwest, the tail northeast. The rocky 
shores—in places they are smooth sandstone faces—drop 
steeply to the water. 

The trail ends here. The rugged peaks of the Sawtooth 
Range, now only a mile distant, overlook the lake on the 
north and west. Mount Lincoln stands to the left Mount 
Cruiser and Alpha to the right.

This lake is about six times as large as the first one, and 
the setting is cal peaceful, serene. Unfortunately, the 
campsites are littered with cans, broken bottles, jars, and 
plastic food containers. Above the rim of forest, the 
cliffs support a jungle of Alaska cedar, and bits of 
meadowland appear here and there; mostly, however, the 
sheer cliffs alternate with scree slopes that extend up to 
the walls of the Sawtooth Range.

The third lake in the trio lies somewhat to the north and 
is away from the trail.