SMITH LAKE TRAIL

Way trail, not maintained 
Length 2.1 mi/3.4 km 
Access Flapjack Lakes Trail 
USGS Map Mount Skokomish 
Agency Olympic National Park

Most of this route-which first leads to Black and White Lakes, then to 
Smith Lake-traverses high, subalpine country. The trail branches left 
from the Flapjack Lakes Trail at the Donahue Creek crossing (3500 ft/1067 m).

After climbing through stands of western hemlock, the trail traverses 
north along the side hill, and the forest changes to mountain hemlock, 
Alaska cedar, and silver fir, with an under story of vine maple. The 
leaves of the latter turn gold and scarlet in October, thus making a 
colorful autumn display.

As the trail climbs higher, one can look out across the Skokomish Valley 
to a number of sharp peaks. They include Mount Church, Wonder Mountain, 
and the Three Sisters, with Mount Lincoln far to the left.

Upon leaving the side hill, the trail crosses over into the deep woods, 
and then goes into an old burn. Here a thick growth of mountain ash and 
vine maple contrasts with the weathered trunks of old snags. Fireweed and 
pearly everlasting are abundant, and huckleberries grow everywhere in great 
profusion. Signs of civilization are present at the site of the Black and 
White Mine (1.2 mi/1.8 km): the foundation of a cabin, and a piece of 
machinery the miners used. Mule train packed the claim dates back to 1907, 
and during World War I, copper and manganese ore out. The trail then 
intersects with the Black and White Lakes Way Trail (1.3 mi/ 2.1 km; 
4200 ft/1280m).

At least four versions explain the origin of the name Black and White: 
that it stemmed from the mottled manganese ore: that it originated with 
the prospectors, who celebrated their discovery with a bottle of Black and 
White brand Scotch whisky; that it was elk hunters rather than miners who 
named the place for the whisky; and that the miners' last names were 
Black and White because prospectors usually named their claims after 
themselves.

The three Black and White Lakes, named after the mine, are not visible 
from the trail, but lie a short distance ahead, to the right. Two are 
little more than potholes, but the largest one attains respectable size. 
This lake is long and narrow and has fairly steep shores, too abrupt for 
campsites except near the south end. The old burn surrounding the lakes is 
huckleberry country, one of the best places in the Olympics to pick the 
delectable fruits because the berries ripen to perfection in the warm sunlight 
in late September. Both the large black variety and the dwarf, low-growing 
kind are present. During the fall the entire slope turns flaming red and 
purple, when cool breezes vie gently-in a mild tug-of-war-with the waning 
warmth of Indian summer.

Meandering through the burn, the trail climbs over the ridge north of the 
lakes. Here one has a view up the Skokomish to Mount Duckabush and Mount 
Steel and can look back and sec the largest of the Black and White Lakes. 
The path then traverses the north side of Mount Gladys through heather, 
huckleberry, mountain ash, and the bleached snags left by a fire that swept 
through here years ago. Patches of old-growth trees relieve the stark severity 
of the ghost forest.

After leaving the burn, the trail goes through a mixture of forest and 
meadowland. Not far beyond a small pond, a branch trail (1.6 mi/2.6 km) 
descends, left, to Smith Lake. The right branch, which was once the main 
trail, can be followed about a mile farther, alternately traversing meadow
land and groves of mountain hemlock. The trees are festooned with lichen, 
and the wind murmurs as it travels from grove to grove. The ground supports 
a luxuriant growth of azalea, heather, and huckleberry, and in late summer 
the meadows are resplendent with fields of blue lupine. At one time the 
trail contoured beneath Mount Henderson, then descended to the North Fork 
Skokomish opposite Eight Stream, where Chris Hamer, a retired logger turned 
prospector, once had a cabin. He was found dead, lying in front of his home, 
in the fall of 1918. Hammer Creek (spelling changed) was named for him.

The left branch of the trail, the main route today, descends sharply to Smith 
Lake, most of the way going through forest. The last part is virtually a 
staircase of roots and rocks, and one must use care when clambering down. The 
trail ends at the lake (2.1 mi/3.4 km; 3970 ft/1210 m), the source of Hammer 
Creek.

Smith Lake lies in a forest-rimmed bowl, and its log-choked waters reflect 
various hues of green. The logs were probably carried down the crescent-shaped 
avalanche track on the slope to the east. The lake-one near its outlet, the 
other on the north side, locates two campsites. The lake is fairly large and 
is stocked with rainbow and cutthroat trout. A silver forest of fire-killed 
trees tops the slopes to the north and east. The mountainside to the northwest 
drops steeply toward the Skokomish; to the south the forested slopes that the 
trail descends rise above the lake.