LACROSSE BASIN TRAIL

Length 1.5-mi/2.4 km 
Access Duckabush Trail 
USGS Map Mount Steel 
Agency Olympic National Park

LaCrosse Basin is a band of high country-the O'Neil expedition called it a level plateau-that 
extends about 3 miles in a north-south direction from Fishers Notch to O'Neil Pass. This 
upland varies in width but is generally about a half mile across except in (he north, where 
it broadens. Marmot Lake and Heart Lake are located at midpoint; Lake LaCrosse nears the upper 
end. The lakes occupy glacier-carved depressions or little cirques. Broken by rocky knolls 
and groves of mountain hemlock, the basin is mostly open meadowland, where meandering brooks 
glint in the sunlight. During the winter the snow accumulates to great depths, and patches 
linger until late summer. Consequently, the lakes may remain frozen well into July, or 
sometimes early, August. When bare spots appear on the mountainsides, the meadows turn into 
brilliant wildflower gardens, where elk, deer, and bear may be observed on occasion.

The trail through the basin traverses subalpine country equal to any found in the Olympics. 
The path begins at a junction with the Duckabush Trail near Marmot Lake (4350 ft/1326 m) and 
climbs steeply through subalpine forest to a viewpoint that overlooks the Duckabush Valley. 
Far to the east, Mount Jupiter appears to rise directly from the valley's center. The trail 
levels out, then forks (0.5 mi/0.8 km; 4900 ft/1494 m). The left branch meanders several 
hundred yards to Heart take (4850 ft/1478 m); the right branch traverses northward, with a 
few ups and downs, over meadowland, ending at Lake Lacrosse (1.5 mi/2.4 km; 4750 ft/1448 m). 
Beyond the ridge bordering LaCrosse Basin on the northeast, Buck Lake (5050 ft/ 1539 m) lies 
in the bottom of a small cirque. No trail goes to this deep blue tarn, and the steepness of 
the slope leading down to it discourages many from attempting the descent. The lake was 
originally called Indigo Lake by the O'Neil expedition.

Heart Lake is fairly large-16 acres in extent-and lies cupped in a deep hollow bordered on 
the north and west by steep slopes that extend up to a peak, which overlooks the lake. A 
small peninsula juts into the water from the east. From the outlet, one can look down upon 
Marmot Lake and across to Mount Duckabush, which slashes the southern skyline. However, the 
best view of Heart Lake itself can be obtained from the ridge to the north, and it is 
especially scenic when the Beargrass is in bloom and chunks of snow and ice float in the lake.

Lake LaCrosse, about half the size of Heart Lake, is shaped somewhat like a pear. The greenish 
waters are surrounded by lush meadows and by heather slopes that lead up to cliffs and rock 
slides. Below the lakes outlet the creek plunges over a ledge to form the lovely Cascades 
of the Holy Cross.

During the summer of 1890, LaCrosse Basin was explored for the first time- by the Banner 
Party, led by Judge James Wickersham, and by the Olympic Exploring Expedition, under the 
leadership of Lieutenant Joseph P. O'Neil. The latter was a joint endeavor of the U.S. Army 
and the Oregon Alpine Club.

On August 12, during a scouting trip, two of O'Neil's men (H. Fisher and N. Linsley named 
three lakes in the basin. The first one they came upon had a isle in its center and 
they named it Marmot Lake. They called the largest one Heart Lake because it was shaped like 
a heart, and they gave the name Lake of the Holy Cross to the third one because a moss-draped 
snag with two extended limbs resembled a cross overlooking the lake.  About ten days earlier 
the Banner party had called it Lake Darrell.

In his official report on the expedition, Lieutenant O'Neil states that two lakes at the 
head of the Duckabush were named Francis and John. An expedition photograph identifies Lake 
Francis as Lake of the Holy Cross; therefore Lake John must have been either Heart Lake or 
Marmot Lake.

The Lake of the Holy Cross later became known as Maltese Cross Lake, and eventually the 
name was shortened, probably through local usage, to simply Lake LaCrosse. Years later, 
in the early 1950s, the name Heart Lake was changed to Hart Lake by the U.S. Board on 
Geographic Names because a man named Hart alleged it had been named for his uncle, a 
prospector who had roamed the high Olympics in the pioneer days. The members of 
the Board were not aware at that time that clear, cogent, and convincing evidence to the 
contrary reposed in the vaults of the Mazamas, successor to the Oregon Alpine Club.