Appleton Pass-Cat Lake Traverse,  Olympic National Park,  Sep 8, 2008 - Sep 12, 2008     page 34 / 71

As we climbed to the last ridge we spotted a couple of bear in the meadows nearby. One quickly climbed over the ridge, disappearing. The other kept busy foraging well below us.

Another hiker made his way up the trail behind us. We spoke with him for a few minutes. He had come in from Olympic Hot Springs and was on his way to Haigs Lake. I knew that it was about 3000 feet of gain from the Hot Springs trailhead to Appleton Pass. We had covered perhaps another thousand feet of gain during our traverse from Oyster Lake, and he would need to climb over a prominent ridge to drop into Haigs Lake, for which there were no trails. I was surprised this guy didn't have a big "S" on his shirt! He continued after we wished him a good trip.

As we topped the next ridge, our destination came into sight. Cat Lake could be seen surrounded by colorful meadows. We continued along the path, descending steeply through trees, then more gradually across a large rock field.