Note: this is from a trip in July 2024 so far. So your experience may vary.

Fishing and Hiking the High Divide + Seven Lakes Basin Loop

This is an absolutely beautiful trail in the Sol Duc area of Olympic National Park. Clocking in at around 20 miles with nearly a mile in elevation gain, the mountain views make for a picturesque weekend backpacking trip, or a buttkicker of a day hike. There are plenty of mosquitoes to go around, so bring a bug net and enough bug spray to

About the Hike

You’ll start by hiking through a classic PNW forest to Deer Lake, which clocks in at about 4 miles. It’s a shallow tarn surrounded by mud and weeds, but many birds and deer call this lake home. This is a nice place to set up camp, stare at the stars and lose yourself in the sounds of nature.

Past Deer Lake, you’ll hike past mountain meadows and rain-fed ponds as you work your way up a ridge. Eventually, you’ll break through the trees and lay your eyes onto a beautiful valley, which I believe is the origin point of the Bogachiel River.

The trail clings to the side of the ridge as it works its way into higher elevation. Wildflowers hang on for dear life from the side of the mountain by the trail. At about 3 miles after Deer Lake, you’ll hit the cutoff for the Seven Lakes Basin. If you have time, take this trail and bask in the lake views. They make for good swimming and camping.

Continuing on the main trail, the ridge eventually breaks off, allowing for beautiful views of both the Seven Lakes Basin below as well as Mount Olympus. Here, it doesn’t matter what direction you’ll look — your eyes will find something to feast on.

The wildflowers, mountain views and lake vistas make for a spectacular combination. I would like to come back here with a proper camera to be able to properly capture everything — I was stuck with my crappy phone camera, which did none of the landscape justice.

Continuing on the trail, you’ll eventually hit the glorious Heart Lake. Aptly named for its shape, the meadow bowl that the lake sits in makes for a charming landscape.

After Heart Lake, the trail turns into forest, where it winds along the Sol Duc River until you reach the trailhead. Berries are abundant here — I lost count of the blueberry and salmonberry bushes that surround the trail. 8 miles of woods, and you’ll be back to your car, thoroughly exhausted but dreaming of your return.

About the Fishing

I tried fishing 3 lakes — Deer Lake, the unnamed pond by Deer Lake, and Lunch Lake. All of them were full of small brook trout, which I easily enticed with a black-and-yellow Panther Martin or a small mini-jig. I didn’t bring my fly rod this time but I saw many trout surfacing, so I imagine flies would do just as well. I talked to someone who said they caught a bunch of small cutthroat in a few of the other lakes in the basin, but I didn’t get to try myself.

Deer Lake was pretty shallow. If you’re planning on fishing here, I might recommend heavier lures for longer casts.

Notes

Backpacking here requires a wilderness permit. Given that this is an extremely popular area, be ready to secure your permit in advance — they typically are released in mid April.

Earlier in the season, there can be significant amounts of snow that cover the trail. So be prepared with crampons and poles.

Recommended Fishing Gear

For the trout:

Acme Kastmaster, 1/8 oz

One of my favorite lures for trout fishing, very useful for covering a lot of water and finding where the active fish are. It's a very aerodynamic lure that can be casted quite far on light line. I've had the most success on stop-and-go, erratic retrieves. Use gold Kastmasters on sunny days or in murky water. Use silver Kastmasters on cloudy days or clear water. Kastmasters can be somewhat expensive - South Bend also sells Kastaways which are somewhat cheaper but can't say I've personally used them.

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Thomas Buoyant, 1/4 or 1/6 oz

A Kastmaster alternative. It casts a somewhat smaller distance, but the spoon has a slightly different fluttering action that seems to sometimes entice more hits.

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Panther Martin, 1/16 oz

A classic trout spinner. I like a retrieve with many erratic jerks with these spinners, to let the blade flutter as much as possible. Traditionally the gold blade with black body and yellow spots has been the most effective for me, but the other colors should also work.

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