My girlfriend and I wanted to get one last camping trip in before the weather turned cold again. Even though we may have been a week too late it was still a great few days. Total distance from the washout along Dosewallips Road up to Anderson Glacier and back was 33-34 miles. We set out Friday evening and made it on the trail by 4:30 giving us only a few hours until dark (it was the start of October...). The hike along the road and through the old car campground provide a real neat sort of eerie feeling as it is clearly a once developed and well maintained area that has since been left to nature (not sure when it was abandoned by trail reviews this site indicate sometime between 1998 and 2003). I'd highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good day hike. There's some great views of the river along the way too. Our goal for the night was to cover the 5.5 miles along the old road and make it to the old Dosewallips River car campground by dark but with a bit of daylight remaining and only 1.6 miles to Dose Forks camp site we decided to keep going. The last 10 mins or so required us to hike with lanterns but the trail was well marked and cleared of all major obstacles so it was manageable. With the looming nightfall we were certainly hiking faster than normal (the road makes a pretty easy first 5.5) and not stopping for many breaks but I'd say that distance/time would be manageable for most experienced hikers.

The plan for Saturday was to get an early start and cover the 7.5 miles to Honeymoon Meadows, drop gear, set up camp, and trek the 2.3 miles up to Anderson Glacier. We arose to a beautiful river side view with cool temperatures, perfect for hiking. After packing up camp and a short breakfast we were on the trail by 9:15. The trail makes a number of ups and downs while crossing the river multiple times including the west fork bridge which sits 100 ft above some pretty wild rapids. With a short stop for a mid morning snack along the way we made it to Honeymoon Meadows just after 1:00 right as it started raining. We dropped most of our gear there and covered it with a tarp before continuing onward. There was a poorly marked fordable river crossing 100 ft past the camp which required some clever stone stepping and caused a few wet socks (hiking poles/sticks made this much easier). I'd recommend bringing an extra pair of old shoes to use as fording shoes; had the water been only a bit higher as it undoubtedly is during melt season, we could have easily been knee deep and walking across. Also some of the other crossings may wash out and not be restored if hiking during the early part of the season. The rain continued to fall but we were determined to make the summit so onward we went. Once past Honeymoon Meadows the trail opens up to numerous small valleys which, had it not been for the 4000 ft cloud ceiling, I'm sure make for some great views. We reached Anderson Pass by 3:00 with visibility fading as we ascended further into the clouds. At least the rain had let up by this time but it was still in the mid 60s and rather damp. The .9 miles from the pass to Anderson Glacier is a very steep grade with numerous switchbacks. Sadly for us though the clouds/fog was too thick by the time we reached the top to allow much more than 40 yd visibility. Even though we were likely a few hundred yards from the glacier, it was completely obscured. We lingered in the almost whiteout conditions for a short while marveling at the silence and vastness that we knew was in front of us, though could not see. The short trek back to camp had us prepping dinner by 6:00 and settled in to rest up for the long walk out in the morning.

Sunday consisted of the 14 miles back to the car which went rather well. The elevation gain/decline is a pretty steady pace and rarely too steep making for a rather quick return. We were on the trail by 9:30 and back at the car by 4:00.

Despite the weather not being on our side, this was a great hike. Even beginning from the road washout there are camp sites almost every 2 miles all the way up to the pass so any level of hiker can be accommodated. We managed the whole round trip in about 48 hours (Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon) over 2 nights. While this is doable I wouldn't suggest it for novice hikers or those who enjoy frequent stops and off trail exploring; we had our eye on the destination and kept moving. Getting an earlier start on Friday of as little as 2 hours would make a big difference though so it's safe to plan it as a 3 day, 2 night trip at the minimum. Also, if coming from Seattle, consider ferry traffic coming home and check schedules before hand or you may end up with lots of extra wait time.

This is a continuation of the August 19th trail report.
We spent the night at Big Timber Camp. What an awesome backpacking campsite. To be able to have a campfire in the evening/morning makes for a truly wonderful multiday backpacking trip. The Dosewallips river roar next to this campsite, a nice way to go to sleep at night. We were able to sleep without the rainfly on our tents. What a treat to look up as your going to sleep and see the tree branches and stars while falling asleep.
This was an awesome three day trip. We were the only ones on the trail until late Friday night, so it seemed that we had the forest to ourselves two out of the three days.
Hope you have enjoyed this trail report and a big THANKS to the TWA for having such a wonderful website that allows us to share our experiences. I really enjoy Nutmeg's, BobandBarb's, HikingQueen's and many others trail reports. Thanks everyone!

Continuation from August 18th trail report.
Friday morning dawned clear and beautiful. Our goal was to reach Anderson Glacier. 2.3 miles from our camp at Honeymoon Meadows. After a very cold (the water must be 33 degrees) Dosewallips river crossing we hit small snow fields on the other side of the meadows. We hiked up to Camp Siberia and Anderson Pass to where the trail split to Anderson Glacier. The trail to Anderson Glacier is .8 of a mile.... UP! But what a beautiful hike!!!! You can walk a hundred yards or so just out of Camp Siberia to a meadow that opens up to grand views of the surrounding mountains peaks. Truly awe inspiring. We had lunch in a small meadow of wild flowers in the Mt Anderson basin overlooking the lake. We then returned down the trail, broke camp at Honeymoon Meadows and proceeded to Big Timber camp so that the Saturday hike back to the trail head was only ten miles. Trail report continued on August 20th trail reports.

We had planned to hike across the Olympics from Graves Creek campground through Enchanted Valley, Anderson Pass, Honeymoon Meadows to Dosewallips trailhead. The Park Service choose to close the road to Graves creek campground even foot travel (hikers) during the best hiking time of the season (August 10th to Sept 10th) so we decided to hike from the Dosewallips trail head to Anderson Glacier on a three day/two night back pack. This part of the trail report is for the first 14 miles from the trailhead to Honeymoon Meadows. We started hiking at 7:30 Thursday morning. It was a beautiful day for hiking uphill. Overcast and cool the whole day. The first five miles of the trail is on the abandon road to Dosewallips campground. An easy stroll on a wide footpath. Then the next nine miles to Honeymoon meadows on a great trail. You don't gain a lot of elevation until the last few miles before Honeymoon Meadows. There are several camps (Dose Forks, Big Timber and Diamond Meadows) before Honeymoon Meadows, so if you want you don't have to hike the 14 miles the first day. Our destination was Anderson Glacier so we choose Honeymoon Meadows so that the hike to Anderson was only 2.3 miles of strenuous hiking to the glacier. The 14 miles were great hiking on excellent trail.
Continued on Friday the 19th - Anderson Glacier