Olympic National Park
April 13 - 18th 2008
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Note: we used my parks pass to get in, and therefore didn't have to deal with the park entrance fee.
Sunday April 13th
Start: Camp Orkila, Orcas Island
End: Elwa Campground, Olympic National Park - $12 per site
Travel Notes: After ferry hopping we stopped into the Backcountry office in Port Angeles, where we got our backcountry permits and borrowed bear cannisters. Permits cost $5 for the group, plus $2 per person; bear cannisters are free to borrow. The people in the backcountry office were very helpful in suggesting routes for our trip when I said we wanted to do an x night trip covering y miles per day.
Monday April 14th
Start: Elwa Campground, Olympic National Park, Drove to 3rd beach
Backpack start: 3rd beach trailhead off LaPush road
Backpack End: Toleak Point
Backpacking Mileage: 6 miles
Trail Notes: The trail alternates between beach hiking and crossing headlands to navigate around steep rocky precipices. Headland trails were very muddy. Most of the rope ascents on this section aren't too bad, however just down the beach from Toleak point is a much more difficult rope & ladder ascent. If it was wetter out some of the sections would have been very difficult to ascend/descend. The Toleak point area is amazingly beautiful and I highly recomend it for camping.
Tuesday April 15th
Start: Toleak Point
End: Scott's Bluff
Mileage: 3 miles
Trail Notes: Today was super mellow and we explored the beach around Toleak point before heading back north to Scott's Bluff. As far as camping goes, we camped up on the headland, but apparently there are also some sites closer to the freshwater source and the beach. This area isn't nearly as nice to camp at as Toleak Point, although one of its downfalls was the distance we had to walk to get water.
Wednesday April 16th
Backpack Start: Scott's Bluff
Backpack End: 3rd Beach Trailhead
Day End: Hoh Rainforest Campground - $12
Backpacking mileage: 3 miles
Frontcountry trails hiked in Hoh:Hall of Mosses trail (1 mile)
Trail Notes: Hall of Mosses Trail - Winds amazingly through the rain forest, a great easy hike that feels like you suddenly were dumped on another planet. Total milage is more like 2 miles because of the distance required to get to the trail head.
Thursday April 17th
Start: Hoh Rainforest Campground
Day End: Deception Pass State Park - $18
Day Hikes from Hoh Rainforest Campground/Visitor Center: First ~3 miles of the Hoh river trail to the waterfall, Spruce Nature trail -1.2 miles (Note, again mileages are a bit deceiving because they start off of other short trails, not at the VC)
Trail Notes: I did the section of the Hoh River trail solo in the morning and I really would love to return and backpack up into the park. The waterfall I turned around at was wonderful, as was the whole experience of being in a rainforest. The trail itself is fairly easy terrain; I ran sections of it so I could get as far as I did and make my return time. The Spruce Nature trail is also something I highly recommend as an easy loop to get out into the rainforest. We stopped at the Backcountry office to return our bear cannisters. Even if you can't return while they're open they have an return area so you don't have to plan you trip around returning the cannisters.
Friday April 18th
Start: Deception Pass State Park
End: Camp Orkila, Orcas Island
Travel Notes: Today was mostly a travel day, with two of us starting work at 4 that afternoon. We briefly stopped at Deception pass itself to take pictures and be amazed at the narrow passage.
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