r/PNWhiking • u/figfish • 4d ago
Alpine Lake Camping Recs? Early October
Hi! Trying to plan a last minute camping trip around Seattle the second weekend of October. I haven’t camped in the PNW before so I am a little out of my depth as far as what spots are feasible to get a site at this last minute 🤔 but also I feel like October isn’t the most busy season. Any advice would be appreciated!
-pretty, car accessible campsite, in an alpine hiking region. (Could be dispersed campsite)
-near long hiking loops with lake views. It would be day hike and not overnight so max 10 miles
-areas of interest are lake colchuck, robin lakes, jade lake, the enchantments but I know these are popular spots
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u/BackwerdsMan 4d ago edited 4d ago
I've been doing alpine hiking in WA for 25 years. Just trust me, forget about Enchantments. The place is so fucked at this point I would argue it's almost a moral dilemma to consider hiking it. On top of that, there's plenty of equally awesome places to go that don't have all the hype and ridiculousness tied to it.
Considering you lack familiarity with backpacking in WA, I would say you should look for fairly straightforward places to go. October can be unpredictable and you can encounter weather that could really sock you in and make it difficult to navigate.
For ease of access I'd probably say take a look at some stuff off the PCT. Or maybe Foss or Necklace Valley.
Edit: other poster makes good points about Cle Elum/Teanaway for potential of dryer weather.