If for some terrible reason you are only allowed one hike in the Olympics in your lifetime, this should be it. The trail to Marmot Pass captures the very essence of what makes the Olympics so special, and so darned pretty. Towering old growth, a tumbling pristine river, resplendent alpine meadows, and horizon-spanning views that include majestic snow-clad craggy spires-they're all part of this amazing hike. And it gets even better-being in the Olympic rain shadow, Marmot Pass is often kissed with sunbeams while nearby ridges swirl with clouds.

While Upper Big Quilcene River Trail No. 833.1 gains 3500 feet in its 5.3-mile journey to 6000-foot Marmot Pass, the climb is quite agreeable. The grade is mostly moderate, the tread smooth, and the scenery is spectacular throughout the hike, enabling you to easily overlook any discomfort along the way.

Immediately enter the Buckhorn Wilderness and a magnificent stretch of primeval forest. For 2.5 miles the trail winds its way through hulking hemlocks and colossal cedars and firs hundreds of years old, all while the Big Quilcene River keeps you company. Mossy overhanging boulders and numerous gurgling side creeks greet you along the way.

At Shelter Rock Camp (elev. 3600 ft) the trail parts ways with the Big Quilcene, making a short and steep ascent away from the valley floor. About a mile beyond, the forest yields to open avalanche chutes and scree slopes fanning down from Buckhorn and Iron Mountains. Enjoy breathtaking views of the rugged surroundings from these hot-in-the-sun slopes. Rocky knobs sit on the steep ridge above like gargoyles on a medieval cathedral, while slender stalks of fireweed dance in the gentle breezes whisking down from the pass. At 4.5 miles enter groves of yellow cedar and subalpine fir. Inviting Camp Mystery, with its dual springs, makes a good spot for refueling.

Next break out into a meadowed corridor painted in red, white, and purple flowers and pockmarked with marmot burrows. Skirt beneath a steep rock face, emerging at a small hanging valley just below the open pass. One final push and-voilá!-you're standing on one of the supreme viewing spots in the Olympics. Gaze east to Hood Canal, Puget Sound, and the Cascades. The Dungeness Valley spreads out below to the west, flanked by a wall of some of the highest summits in the Olympics-Mystery, Deception, and the Needles.

The high slopes are dry and open here, quite different from the rest of the Olympics-

looking more like the Cascades' eastern slopes. The rainshadow environment allows lodgepole and whitebark pines to grow here. Clark's nutcracker, a jaylike bird, roosts in the subalpine forests, feeding on pine nuts. Listen for their raucous call, a rare sound in the Olympics.