Days 4 & 5
Day
4
On day 4 we awoke to dry tents and no rain in the offing. More unexpectedly, we had nearly dry tents. It was still tough putting on dry socks and then wet boots. This day we had two climbs surrounding one big drop. LaCrosse Pass would be the highest point of our trip. Hiking across the wet grass of Honeymoon Meadows quickly soaked our feet. At the trail junction we found a number of campsites. They were not visible from the Dosewallips Trail as we went by the day before. We crossed the river and began a 2000' climb in 3 miles. The lower part was a series of switchbacks in forest. We set a slow but steady pace.
Higher up we broke out of the forest into meadows. There were some wildflowers blooming and more ripe berries. Looking out the surrounding peaks went into and out of the clouds. The effect was quite beautiful. As we climbed the big grassy meadows gave way to small rocky basins. The progression from forest to meadows to sub alpine was terrific. Still the rain held off. My altimeter watch had been very accurate but was suddenly 300' feet off and I was pleasantly surprised when we suddenly reached LaCrosse Pass. The pass provided some great views out. We could see O'Neil Pass in the distance. We picked out First Divide. Part of Mt. Anderson was visible. Some great views.
We arrived at the 5566' pass at 11:00 am. We did not leave until 11:53 am. A long lunch break amidst a sea of peaks. Our first ritual was to wring water out of our socks. Over nearly 60 miles I was happy to have much lighter though not nearly waterproof boots. We all had extra dry socks for camp. Now came the big downhill section. 3000' down to the Duckabush River in 3.3 miles. It never felt that steep. We had good views from meadows at first before heading back into the forest. The route is nicely graded. We did have a little rain on the way down. More ripe berries too. As the forest grew thicker we found a number of saprophytes. These plants do not use the sun. They have no chlorophyll. I recognized candy stripe with red and white stripes. I did not recognize several others. Unfortunately non of us managed to get a well focused photo. We had a long way to still hike and did not take a lot of time.
It became a little muddy near the bottom. Since our feet were already wet this was not much of a problem. We reached the Duckabush River Trail at 2:05 pm. Now we just had another 1.8 miles to close our loop. Though uphill the grade was gentle. Lots of bright green grasses and moss. Some big trees too. The trail seemed to end as we reached the spot where we needed to ford the river. Poking around we found a few rocks and a log. Though the log was narrow it was easy enough to get across with hiking poles. There is a good sized campground at the junction of the Duckabush and the trail back up to Home Sweet Home. We did not check it out on the way in but had to walk through it to reach the junction. The Duckabush was very silty but the big creek at the trail junction was clear and we filtered water there.
Now came the 1400' and 2 miles up to Home Sweet Home and one more decision. Camp there or go up another 500' to First Divide then down 1.5 miles to Two Bear camp. The climb was at a steady grade. After nearly 13000' of gain over four days we were getting a bit tired. Getting over First Divide in case it rained over night was the deciding factor. It would be almost all downhill in day 5. We climbed up to the divide then down to Two Bear camp. We set up camp, had dinner, and went to bed by 9:00 pm. Bugs had been annoying on day 1 in the heat. We used head nets at Two Bear when we stopped for dinner. On the last three cooler days bugs were only a minor problem. I never did put on any bug juice.
For the day we hiked about 12 miles with 4,300' of elevation gain.
Day 5
The last day was by far the easiest. We started out with the steepest stretch, losing 1800' in the first 2+ miles. We met a group heading up and found a camper at Nine Stream. The route was much more up and down than we recalled form the hike in. No big climbs but lots of short ups and then downs. At about the 6 mile mark where the trail to Six Ridge goes off and a bridge crosses the Skokomish we took a lunch break. We saw a day hiker here. The last six miles went pretty fast though the bottoms of my feet really felt it. The old road section was rocky.
This time we planned to skip the suspension bridge and hike the main Skokomish Trail the last mile. We joked about a possible climb over "Skokomish Pass" and a closure that would force us to hike back to the bridge. Ha ha... Well, the trail started climbing. Way up above the river. then came the washout. The old road had collapsed into the valley. Another climb on a detour took us higher. Finally we dropped down to the trailhead. The one we had not seen when we drove in. Nice big trailhead signs. A little further and we reached the car. We started out at 7:30 am and cruised back to the car at 12:35 pm. Just over five hours to hike 11.5 miles.
This was a great trip. We packed a lot of hiking into five days. Hiking far into the Olympic Mountains on day one then making a big loop and returning the same way on day five. We crossed a total of five passes including First Divide twice. We spent half of one day day hiking LaCrosse Basin with light packs. The first two days were sunny and very hot. The third day was cool and wet, almost entirely in clouds. The last two were cloudy but mostly dry. We even had a little sun on day 5. Some wildflowers and lots of ripe berries. Not what is normal for early July but that's what we had this year. Due to the distances in we never had much of a crowd. We did see at least one person each day. Definitely one of the best backpacking trips I have been on.
For day 5 we hiked about 11.5 miles with 500' of elevation gain. For the entire trip we hiked about 59 miles with 15,200' of gain.
On day 4 we awoke to dry tents and no rain in the offing. More unexpectedly, we had nearly dry tents. It was still tough putting on dry socks and then wet boots. This day we had two climbs surrounding one big drop. LaCrosse Pass would be the highest point of our trip. Hiking across the wet grass of Honeymoon Meadows quickly soaked our feet. At the trail junction we found a number of campsites. They were not visible from the Dosewallips Trail as we went by the day before. We crossed the river and began a 2000' climb in 3 miles. The lower part was a series of switchbacks in forest. We set a slow but steady pace.
Higher up we broke out of the forest into meadows. There were some wildflowers blooming and more ripe berries. Looking out the surrounding peaks went into and out of the clouds. The effect was quite beautiful. As we climbed the big grassy meadows gave way to small rocky basins. The progression from forest to meadows to sub alpine was terrific. Still the rain held off. My altimeter watch had been very accurate but was suddenly 300' feet off and I was pleasantly surprised when we suddenly reached LaCrosse Pass. The pass provided some great views out. We could see O'Neil Pass in the distance. We picked out First Divide. Part of Mt. Anderson was visible. Some great views.
We arrived at the 5566' pass at 11:00 am. We did not leave until 11:53 am. A long lunch break amidst a sea of peaks. Our first ritual was to wring water out of our socks. Over nearly 60 miles I was happy to have much lighter though not nearly waterproof boots. We all had extra dry socks for camp. Now came the big downhill section. 3000' down to the Duckabush River in 3.3 miles. It never felt that steep. We had good views from meadows at first before heading back into the forest. The route is nicely graded. We did have a little rain on the way down. More ripe berries too. As the forest grew thicker we found a number of saprophytes. These plants do not use the sun. They have no chlorophyll. I recognized candy stripe with red and white stripes. I did not recognize several others. Unfortunately non of us managed to get a well focused photo. We had a long way to still hike and did not take a lot of time.
It became a little muddy near the bottom. Since our feet were already wet this was not much of a problem. We reached the Duckabush River Trail at 2:05 pm. Now we just had another 1.8 miles to close our loop. Though uphill the grade was gentle. Lots of bright green grasses and moss. Some big trees too. The trail seemed to end as we reached the spot where we needed to ford the river. Poking around we found a few rocks and a log. Though the log was narrow it was easy enough to get across with hiking poles. There is a good sized campground at the junction of the Duckabush and the trail back up to Home Sweet Home. We did not check it out on the way in but had to walk through it to reach the junction. The Duckabush was very silty but the big creek at the trail junction was clear and we filtered water there.
Now came the 1400' and 2 miles up to Home Sweet Home and one more decision. Camp there or go up another 500' to First Divide then down 1.5 miles to Two Bear camp. The climb was at a steady grade. After nearly 13000' of gain over four days we were getting a bit tired. Getting over First Divide in case it rained over night was the deciding factor. It would be almost all downhill in day 5. We climbed up to the divide then down to Two Bear camp. We set up camp, had dinner, and went to bed by 9:00 pm. Bugs had been annoying on day 1 in the heat. We used head nets at Two Bear when we stopped for dinner. On the last three cooler days bugs were only a minor problem. I never did put on any bug juice.
For the day we hiked about 12 miles with 4,300' of elevation gain.
Day 5
The last day was by far the easiest. We started out with the steepest stretch, losing 1800' in the first 2+ miles. We met a group heading up and found a camper at Nine Stream. The route was much more up and down than we recalled form the hike in. No big climbs but lots of short ups and then downs. At about the 6 mile mark where the trail to Six Ridge goes off and a bridge crosses the Skokomish we took a lunch break. We saw a day hiker here. The last six miles went pretty fast though the bottoms of my feet really felt it. The old road section was rocky.
This time we planned to skip the suspension bridge and hike the main Skokomish Trail the last mile. We joked about a possible climb over "Skokomish Pass" and a closure that would force us to hike back to the bridge. Ha ha... Well, the trail started climbing. Way up above the river. then came the washout. The old road had collapsed into the valley. Another climb on a detour took us higher. Finally we dropped down to the trailhead. The one we had not seen when we drove in. Nice big trailhead signs. A little further and we reached the car. We started out at 7:30 am and cruised back to the car at 12:35 pm. Just over five hours to hike 11.5 miles.
This was a great trip. We packed a lot of hiking into five days. Hiking far into the Olympic Mountains on day one then making a big loop and returning the same way on day five. We crossed a total of five passes including First Divide twice. We spent half of one day day hiking LaCrosse Basin with light packs. The first two days were sunny and very hot. The third day was cool and wet, almost entirely in clouds. The last two were cloudy but mostly dry. We even had a little sun on day 5. Some wildflowers and lots of ripe berries. Not what is normal for early July but that's what we had this year. Due to the distances in we never had much of a crowd. We did see at least one person each day. Definitely one of the best backpacking trips I have been on.
For day 5 we hiked about 11.5 miles with 500' of elevation gain. For the entire trip we hiked about 59 miles with 15,200' of gain.
 Honeymoon Meadows |
 Trail To LaCrosse Pass |
 Wet Open Meadows |
 In And Out Of Clouds |
 View To The Northeast |
 All Smiles |
 Meadows & Ridges |
 Pink Paintbrush |
 Rocky Basins |
 Nearing The Pass |
 Partial Clearing |
 Dosewallips Drainage |
 LaCrosse Pass |
 Shades Of Gray |
 Happy Gary |
 O'Neil Pass |
 Little Snow |
 First Divide? |
 Gee, Fireweed |
 Red Paintbrush |
 Butterfly On Thistle |
 Tree Hugger Tree |
 Twisted Beargrass |
 Saprophyte |
 Candystick |
 Ants At Work |
 Mossy Ground |
 Duckabush Junction |
 Brown Strip |
 Crossing Duckabush |
 Greenness |
 Creek At Junction |
 Home Sweet Home |
 Two Bear Camp |
 Day 5 Creek |
 Queens Cup Berries |
 Log Bridge Again |
 High Above Skokomish |
 Trailhead Sign |
 Big Map Of Route |
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Olympic Mountain Loop Report
Trips - 2015
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