Appleton Pass-Cat Lake Traverse,  Olympic National Park,  Sep 8, 2008 - Sep 12, 2008     page 36 / 71

As I neared Cat Lake I saw the hiker who had passed us setting up his tent in a prime camping spot. Knowing that Cat Lake was also in part of the park's quota areas I was hoping that the spot he was in, was not the only campsite at the lake, for we had made the appropriate reservations to camp there a few days prior to our trip. As I neared the hiker, I exclaimed "We thought you would be well on your way over the ridge to Haigs Lake by now."

He immediately responded with "This IS Haigs Lake."

I countered with "No, this is Cat Lake, also known as Swimming Bear Lake."

I explained that Cat Lake was mistakenly omitted from the USGS maps, but it was described in several of the hiking books for the area. It was also visible on Google maps, which is where I obtained accurate GPS waypoint data for the lake. He was not at all pleased, knowing that he had not reached his intended campsite, and that he did not have the appropriate reservation to camp at Cat Lake.

I broke off my conversation with him and headed back toward Dad, who was now nearing the lake. I explained the conversation I had with the hiker, and we both had a good chuckle.

As we returned to the lake, the hiker was repacking his gear. We quickly found another great campsite for our own use. Shortly thereafter, the other hiker returned to discuss his predicament. Ultimately, he decided to spend the night at the lake despite his lack of a reservation. While he probably made an honest mistake thinking this was Haigs Lake, it showed that thorough planning can prevent lots of problems later on.

We set up our camp, ate dinner, and had a delightful evening.