A Royal Hike in Olympic National Park: Photo Diary

7/20/19 - 7/21/19

Last weekend Alex and I headed out on a quick overnight backpacking trip that we’ve had permits for since March. I’ve been wanting to spend a night in Royal Basin for a couple of years now but had never reserved permits ahead of time, and the walk-up permits proved tough to come by. This year I was able to snag a permit for the Royal Lake backcountry site the day they released, and Alex and I had been looking forward to it ever since.

The summer here in the Pacific Northwest had been a little gloomy and wet so I was a bit apprehensive as our permit date approached. Thankfully, the day of our hike was the first forecasted clear and sunny day in quite some time. We took advantage of the favorable weather by taking a quick dip in the lake in the upper basin and by taking Milky Way photos of the clear night skies reflected in Royal Lake. It was the perfect way to fill a summer weekend in Washington!