New to the backcountry

[Nibornos]

Myself and a friend are looking to get away, do some camping, fishing , and hiking. But I am not sure where to go. Do you guys recommend anywhere that we can get to that's about a 6-8 mile hike into? Would be nice to do some trout fishing and camp near a lake.

[Nibornos]

Sorry, I knew I was leaving something out. West side. Maybe the Olympic Peninsula?

[BowForElk]

Alpine lakes wilderness has over 700 lakes. I've never been it fished em but they're there. If you get on google earth there's a lot f pictures people post and it will show you that particular lake and it's surroundings to give you a better idea of options

[boneaddict]

dont forget when?    This weekend or this summer?

[Nibornos]

was thinking early summer. I will check out the Alpine lakes. Thank you

[Bean Counter]

There's nothing quite like the Enchantment Lakes 

[MLHSN]

There's nothing quite like the Enchantment Lakes 

Ya, you have to enter a lottery, not have a campfire, and deal with hords of other people.

[Ryans71]

Go to WTA.org.  They have a hike finder and there are a lot of hiker reports that you can read.  Most hikes give you mileage & elevation change, difficulty rating, etc.

Quite a few of the trails to the Alpine lakes may not melt out till mid to end of June.  There are a few good ones in the Olympics and and in the cascades in between White Pass & Chinook Pass.

[Nibornos]

Thanks guys. All good help. I will do some research now and check them out. Lena Lake seems nice and easy, but may get pretty crowded there.

[addicted2hunting]

lena lake is beautiful! used to backpack there a lot! good fishing too!

[sirmissalot]

Lena lake is an easy hike, upper Lena is a tougher hike and will get you further from people.

After having a Margaret bull tag last year I sure learned to love that Margaret backcountry. Beautiful country and pretty easy walking, but you can really get up there and away from people. Some great fishing as well.

Mildred lakes is good. Staircase has some good hikes, but all those areas seem to get real crowded in my opinion. I went up to  Ellinor two weeks ago and couldn't believe all the people, and it's early in the season.

I've also had some great hikes off chinook pass, it's an easy spot to access the pacific crest trail and get into the high country. Great trails and awesome scenery.