Tunnel Creek

October 8, 2016
Tunnel Creek trail has long been on my bucket list of trails to hike - I just didn't think it would be this year. We originally headed out to explore a different trail that would connect us with one we had hiked earlier in the year. However, after spending 45 minutes driving all over the forest on service roads following crappy directions, (even Siri got lost) I threw in the towel and headed for the well-signed Tunnel Creek trailhead. The WTA (Washington Trails Association) had a trail maintenance crew out there, so I figured we'd be okay, since we had no trail map, no trail description, and no clue what we'd find once we stepped onto the trail. My hiking partners today were Bill, Maddy and her boyfriend Aram, and Zillah.


Tunnel Creek is 8 miles in length and has two trailheads, one at the north end of the trail and a considerably more difficult one at the south end of the trail. It is located outside Quilcene, in the northeast corner of the Olympics. It was named Tunnel Creek due to the habit the creek has of disappearing during the dry season. Since I hadn't researched or prepared for this hike, I wasn't entirely sure which trailhead the signs were directing us to. I sighed with relief when we arrived and learned that we were at the north end. We stopped at the trail info board, determined our destination, signed in and headed on our adventure.

Foggy morning on the trail

The Tunnel Creek Trail starts out moderately uphill, then steepens to about a 20% grade. It was lightly raining as we hiked through low-lying clouds. The golden hue of the changing maples brightened an otherwise grey day. Our steps were quieted by the soft tread of a trail covered in needles, wet leaves and small hemlock cones. There were a couple trees down across the trail that we navigated without difficulty. They looked recent, as there wasn't evidence of much foot-traffic detouring around. The air was crisp and smelled of loam; I breathed in as deeply as my ribs would allow and slowly exhaled. Autumn was officially upon us and I was in heaven.

As we climbed, I found myself laboring up the trail. Again. Instead of growing frustrated and getting discouraged, I reminded myself that I am still healing. Recovery was going to be slow and I just had to let my body take its time. Zillah was content to trot up and down the trail, keeping all members of our group within her sight. We were maintaining a good, steady pace and, before we knew it, we had reached our 2.5 mile mark. It was at this point that we pulled off the trail to sit on the bank of Tunnel Creek and have a bite to eat. Here the creek cascaded over boulders on its way downhill on its way to meet up with, I believe, the Quilcene River. The forest was quiet, with no sound beyond that of the tumbling waters and our own conversation. I don't think we could have found a prettier spot in all the woods.

Tunnel Creek

After a quick lunch, we headed back towards the trailhead. It had been our intention when we started out to make this day a short day, with 5-6 miles as our goal. On our way down the trail, we encountered the WTA work crew, who were busying themselves with the task of removing the downed trees. We are very fortunate in this state to have some great volunteer organizations who build and maintain our many trails. We greeted them and thanked them for their hard work, the results of which were obvious. When once again we arrived at the trailhead, we signed ourselves back off the trail and peeled off our wet gear.

I look forward to returning to this trail to hike in its entirety next year. I learned that, roughly 1/4 mile from where we stopped, a surviving shelter still stands. The Olympic shelters hold a special spot in my heart, so I am already planning my visit. As advised by my doctors, I will keep my hikes on the shorter/easier side as I continue to mend from my fall. Fortunately, autumn is the perfect time of year for lighter hikes...

Hike 48 of 52.
Distance: 5 miles
Elevation gain: 1500'
Highest point: 3620'