March 19, 2016
Last weekend the PNW was hit by extremely high winds. The coastal areas were hit the hardest. Our group decided to play it safe and cancelled our planned hike. We stayed indoors, hunkered down and waited out the storm. As we listened to news reports in the days following the storm, we were glad we did. Heading out on this week's hike, I wasn't sure what we'd find on the trail, but knew our group could tackle most any obstacle that may lay ahead.
Our plan was to hike the Graves Creek trail; a pretty seven mile trek through the Quinault rain forest with about 1200 feet of elevation gain. However, the road was closed about six miles from the trailhead due to a major washout. We hauled out our trusty guidebook and located another trail just a few miles up the other side of the river - the North Fork Quinault trail. The trail distance was comparable, with a bit less elevation.
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| Evie on the North Fork Quinault trail |
The portion of the trail that we travelled was once part of the Press Expedition's 1889 route across the Olympics, and followed an old roadbed that had long ago been abandoned due to the cost to constantly maintain and rebuild it. The Quinault River rages high during the winter and with spring runoffs and frequently jumps its banks, continually changing its course. About 5 miles up the trail is the site of a former lodge, however we weren't headed that far this trip.
A short way up the trail we encountered the first evidence of how strong the windstorm that hit the coast truly was. A beautiful cedar, who's trunk was over 4 feet in diameter, lay across the trail, uprooted by the gales. We are accustomed to encountering smaller trees across the trail from time to time, but seeing one this size was humbling. We climbed up and over it, and continued up the trail to the next downed tree, and the next. There were a few small creeks to cross, a marshy area, and a large rocky wash, none of which caused us much difficulty.
Before we knew it we had arrived at Wolf Bar Camp - our lunch destination and turnaround point. It was peacefully quiet there among the trees on the riverbank - the only sound that of the river and a lone songbird serenading from its perch above us. We weren't the only ones there for lunch - a few early season mosquitos pulled in and started dining on Evie, so after watching her aerobic bug-swatting workout, we packed up for the return trip.
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| Evie making her way across a stream and under a downed tree |
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| Storm damage - Snapped Hemlock (3' dia trunk) |
This really was a nice trail, easy up to the camp (400 ft gain). Any readers wanting to hike this trail should be prepared for the downed trees and marshy area - and bring bug spray. The highlight of this hike, I think, was the three herds of elk we encountered near the trailhead. They were majestically beautiful. I fully intend to do this one again next year with my grandkids. By then the trees should be cleared.
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| Maddy, Me, Evie, Andrea & Bill in front of the ranger station |
Distance: 5.2 miles
400' elevation gain
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