Tuck and Robin Lakes

 Drove out to Salmon La Sac and to the end of FSR 4330 for 11 miles on a very pothole filled road to hike up to Tuck and Robin Lakes a 14 -16 mile round trip hike with 3,000 ft gain mostly in the end of the hike. I've seen several different mileage amounts for this hike.

We saw lots of deer while driving this forest service road.

 The trail begins with the Deception Pass trailhead. The first 3 miles of this hike is fairly flat. It goes through the forest and there were many wildflowers in bloom.

 Before reaching Hyas Lake we passed a large marshy area with many wildflowers in bloom.

 Hyas Lake is reached about 2 miles from the trailhead, Cathederal Rock and Mt Daniel are on the west side. The trail goes up along the east side of Hyas Lake and Little Hyas Lake and continues beyond the Lake.

 Many creeks run across the trail, these were either narrow enough to jump over or we found rocks and logs to cross on.

 The trail then begins to gain elevation in a series of switchbacks up to the junction with the Robin Lakes trail at 4 - 4.5 miles from the trailhead. The Deception Pass trail continues straight, while the trail to Tuck and Robin Lakes is to the right.















After a short easy section of the trail, the trail climbs very steeply in parts up to Tuck Lake gaining 1,000 ft in about a mile - mile and a half. As the trail climbs, we began to get views of Hyas Lake below and Cathedral Rock across the valley.

 Part way up the trail, we found a side trail that overlooked a stream pouring over the rocks and great views of Cathedral Rock and Mt Daniel.

Tuck Lake from the west shore.

 An unmaintained trail on the right leads from Tuck Lake up to Robin Lakes. This "trail" is on the south side of Robin Lake, beginning by crossing this log jam over the lake's outlet on the south side of the lake.
















Wide angle view of Tuck Lake from the south side.

 We passed Tuck Pot,  on the right side of the trail.













There are lots of social trails in this area, but cairns mark the way up to Robin Lakes, Many parts of this trail are a scramble.

 In some places we fit our feet into cracks in the boulders,

 other areas had roots we could hold on to.














This is a steep 1.5 mile hike up to the ridge line. Fortunately, there were many places to stop and enjoy the views. Tuck Lake seen below on the right:

There were a few snow fields to cross, the snow was soft and there was no steep exposure to worry about.

High on the rocks above us, we spotted a mountain goat.

Near the top of the Granite ridge above Robin Lakes, we began to see more alpine wildflowers in bloom.

View of Mt Daniel across the valley near the top of the ridge above Robin Lakes.

Looking down into the basin that holds Robin Lakes.

 Far to the south, we could see a hazy Mt Rainier partially hidden by clouds behind these rocky peaks.

 We spent some time exploring the basin and the different Robin Lakes.

 We saw small fish jumping in the clear water.

 More wildflowers here.













Panos of the larger of the Robin Lakes:

 The water was so clear!

 This is a beautiful area to explore.

We took our time hiking back down, as the way was steep and the dirt was dry and slick. So lovely, to have these views for so long.

 Looking back down at Tuck Lake.

 We reached Hyas Lake at sundown, and enjoyed the flat 3 mile back to the trailhead to stretch our our muscles.

Some of the many wildflowers we saw along the trail today: