HEART LAKE WAY TRAIL

Not maintained
Length 0.5mi/0.8 km
Access LaCrosse Basin Trail; O'Neil Pass Trail
USGS Map Mount Steel
Agency Olympic National Park

When traveling between LaCrosse Basin and Enchanted Valley, experienced 
backpackers often use this shortcut to avoid the long trek via O'Neil 
Pass.

The views are good, and the route is shortened almost 4 miles. However, 
this trail is rough and steep, and except for stunted subalpine trees, 
handholds are virtually nonexistent. This route is used mostly on descents; 
few care to struggle up the steep mountainside, preferring instead to take 
the delightful walk that overlooks Upper O'Neil Creek Basin and traverses the 
slopes above Enchanted Valley.

The way trail begins on the ridge (5170 ft/1576 m) just north of Heart Lake 
(reached via LaCrosse Basin Trail), next to a cluster of trees that resembles, 
from a distance, a large bush. The path descends steeply, with dwarfed 
evergreens providing much-needed handholds, to the O'Neil Pass Trail 
(0.5 mi/0.8 km; 4300 ft/1311 m), striking that route at a point about 3 miles 
south of White Creek Meadow. Years ago the way trail extended directly down to 
the floor of Enchanted Valley, following the route pioneered by Lieutenant O'Neil 
and his mules in 1890, but the path below the O'Neil Pass Trail has virtually 
disappeared and is no longer used.