This is a perfect 2-3 day backpacking trip. We drove to Quinault Friday after work and hiked the 2.2 miles into Pony Bridge camp. This is probably the most scenic camp on the whole trip, sort of dark and mysterious. The trail is in great shape all the way to the crossing of the Quinault R just before the Valley. We missed the turn-off for O'Neil Cr camp as the sign is buried under the overgrowth, but if you want to check it out look for the thin trail just after an unnamed creek crossing an hour after crossing Fire Creek. The suspension bridge is out so bear left towards the horse ford. There are some jerry-rigged footlogs over the river, but we opted for the safer, if wetter fording of the river. Mid-afternoon Sat the river was at mid-thigh, Sunday morning was just below the knee. Enchanted Valley in incredible. The waterfalls (all dozen or so) are in full force with 3000' drops. Saturday was clear so we had good views up the valley to Mt Anderson and back down the valley towards Mt Steel. There's a large herd of resident elk in the valley as well as several bears. We also saw several bears around the Pyrite Cr - Lamata Cr area. We talked to the rangers about Anderson pass, apparently it is still quite buried. The trip out on Sunday took ~6 hours.

This hike has clearly regained its popularity with the new foot bridge over Graves Creek (Nice one too. Don’t believe the “thin log” referenced on the Park’s web site) and the rerouting of the river crossing into Enchanted Valley (you can now cross on a series of logs vs. fording).

The wildlife was in abundance, though not nearly the number of bears as last year. I suspect the influx of people into the area has influenced this greatly. A mother with very young cubs is residing in the area (and should not be disturbed), and another bear makes cameo appearances in the area of the upper meadows. Bears were sighted around Pyrites Creek, No-Name Creek and at the stock gate before Enchanted Valley, though not by us. We did find fresh scat around Pyrites Creek on our exit.

A large number (40?) of Canadian Geese are making the river in Enchanted Valley their home, sunning and sleeping all day along the riverbed rocks. In the evening they take off, forming the largest “V” I have witnessed.

The herd of elk is also constantly present, though quite skittish. I learned a disappointing trick in photographing them. Every time I bent down to pull film out of the Ziploc bag in my pack, I would look up to see the curious elk taking several steps toward me with its head cocked slightly. I would then photograph it some more before it began to retreat, and then we would go through the process all over again. It finally occurred to me that it was the “wrapper” sound that my Ziploc film bag was attracting them. Associating wrapper noise with food leads me to suspect that people have been feeding them. I hope this is not the case. There is a sign posted on the chalet that a couple of bears have had to be destroyed the last couple of years for this reason. This would also explain the declining number this year, though I’m not certain how old the sign is.

The trail to the Western Hemlock is completely snow-free, though snow was reported shortly thereafter.

Photos will eventually be posted at www.mountainscenes.com (I am behind in my deadlines and must prioritize tasks, unfortunately. You may currently view many from last year’s visit however).

Don Geyer

The trail is in great shape until you reach Pyrites Creek. Between Pyrites and Lamata there are about 10 trees over the trail. None of them present any great problems and don't slow you down very much. The creek crossings are very easy. If it wasn't for slippery rocks, Graves Creek would be a rock hop. Both crossings are less than knee deep. The weather was clear and warm. Biting flies were a problem, no mosquitos. The valley was changed quite dramatically by the winter of 98-99. You will be quite shocked by the changes. Many of the evergreen trees in the valley are gone. There was a bear wandering camp early last week, according to the ranger, but most bears have gone up high to eat the berries which have started to ripen.

Excellent Hike, excellent weather. Our party hiked into Pyrites Creek and stopped there due to an accident that prevented us from proceeding into the valley. Hikers coming out of the valley reported bad bugs. Set up camp as close as possible to the Quinault river where the breezes are strongest. Sandbars are the best. The river itself was running surprisingly warm and fords were no problem. In fact we spent Friday the 23rd fishing up and down the river around Pyrites, in our shorts and tevas, fording back and forth to find optimum casting positions. As for the fishing: unbelievable! There was action on flys at every new position (but the fish would spook quickly), and in the deeper holes rested BIG dollys that were easy to spot in the crystal clear waters. Biggest fish I have ever seen on a backpacking trip anywhere. Bring your spin rod and your fly rod and enjoy!