Wow!! This was an amazing trip. Flowers everywhere, marmots, deer, you name it. The report will be divided up by days. Day 1- Deer Park to Moose Lake via Badger Valley. Day 2- Moose Lake to Upper Cameron Basin. Day 3- Upper Cameron Basin- Gray Wolf Pass junction campsite. Day 4- Gray Wolf Junction to Three Forks. Day 5- Three Forks to Deer Park.


Day 1- Deer Park- Moose Lake via Badger Valley (10.8 Miles)


Started out at 11:45 am from Deer Park on the Grand Ridge trail. The ridge is beautiful. The forest breaks and views start at about 2.5 miles from Deer Park. It was a clear day with a fog bank covering the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Views to the south were fabulous. To the north was fog. The fog did clear later in the day and views to Port Angeles were enjoyed from the Badger Valley cutoff junction. Trail had more elevation change than expected to this point, but was in great shape and overall was amazing. Took a left at the Badger Valley junction to hike Badger Valley cutoff to Badger Valley trail. This trail is in good shape despite being listed as a primitive trail by the national park. It was only slightly overgrown in places but is really just narrow. It is however VERY STEEP. The 1200 foot drop in 1.3 miles feels much longer and steeper. This section took us over an hour to get down. First marmot sighting was at the junction with Badger Valley trail. Badger Valley is full of flowers. The trail is slightly overgrown here but is easy to follow and is gorgeous. After two crossings of Grand Creek, We arrived at Grand Lake. The lake is a deep greenish color and is beautiful. Fish were jumping and campsites looked nice. The strangest thing was the we didn't see one group with camp set up here even though when we asked to camp here, the park service said it was full!!. After a short uphill, we arrived at Moose Lake at 7:15pm after 10.8 miles. This was a hard day of hiking but was all worth it for a great campsite at Moose Lake which by the way is home to an outrageous number of deer. 7 deer walked through camp that night.


Day 2- Moose Lake to Upper Cameron Basin (5.8 Miles)


Decided to get a little fishing in in the morning before leaving. Had 5 bites but no catches. Watched several large rainbow trout chase and nibble at my lures. These are the nibbliest fish I have ever seen. Left Moose Lake at 9am and headed for Grand Pass. Passed Gladys Lake and some nice campsites before heading into the upper valley. The upper valley is full of flowers and small tarns. Saw two more marmots up here before reaching the Grand Pass tarn. A few snowfields up here but nothing that caused any problems. Great campsties are located just below the pass. We were 100% fogged in at the top and had no views:(. The drop from the pass down to Cameron Creek is treacherously steep and long. We couldn't see the bottom for most of the trip down due to fog. We did see two marmots near the bottom of the meadow before it turns to forest. Took a lunch break just after the junction with Cameron Creek at a nice campsite right next to the trail. After this, it was up through the bushes to Cameron Basin. The trail was a total bushwhack here. The trail is always beneath you. Just focus on the tread and you will be fine. We spoke to some guys who had come up from three forks and had gotten a little lost before the junction with Grand Pass trail. Upper Cameron Basin is full of wildflowers, water, and views. The fog lifted after we got into camp and we were able to look up at Mt. Cameron and Cameron Pass. We arrived in camp at 4:30pm and were promptly greeted by 2 more deer. A few bugs here but not to bad.


Day 3- Upper Cameron Basin- Gray Wolf Pass Junction Campsite (6.8 Miles)

Left camp at 9:15am after being swarmed with bugs as soon as the sun came over the mountains. The temperature was into the twenties during the night and everything was frozen. Cameron Pass still has some snow on it but if you follow the trail, most of it is melted out. No issues here with anything. This is however a do not fall zone as the trail is very steep near the end with nothing but sharp rocks and cliffs below you. The view from the top of the pass is nothing short of spectacular. Top of the world. After spending time on the pass, we dropped steeply into the basin below Lost Pass where we took a break and dipped our feet in the creek. On the way, we saw two marmots below Cameron Pass. Next, we ascended Lost Pass, which was covered in flowers. The view is obstructed by trees. The drop from Lost Pass to Dose Meadows is another steep one, but is forested and short enough not to kill your knees that badly. Dose Meadows had some nice campsites where we stopped to eat lunch with another Boy Scout troop. We continued down the Dosewallips River trail to Bear Camp and on to just before the junction with the trail to Gray Wolf Pass. This section of trail is in great shape and is easy fast hiking. We paced about 4 miles an hour in the valley. The shelter at Bear Camp has four bunks. It is not is great shape though and the right two bunks were not usable at all. The roof did not look rainproof either. We set up camp at a trailside campsite just before Gray Wolf Junction. It was a little tight, but nice nonetheless.


Day 4- Gray Wolf Junction Campsite to Three Forks Camp (12.8 Miles, GPS had it at 14.6 though)


Left camp at 8:30am. Was on the top of Gray Wolf Pass at 11:30. The GPS clocked it at 4.1 Miles, even though the map said only 3.4. It was likely somewhere in between. The view from the pass is great, but was shortlived due to strong cold winds. It was very cold up there. After dropping into the basin, the wind died and it was comfortable. There is snow on the north side of the pass. It covers the trail in places and is treacherous, but it is go aroundable, which is the best way to deal with it, other than sliding down the one large snowfield all the way to the bottom which one member of our group took advantage of. The basin below the pass is thrilling. Waterfalls are everywhere, tarns small and large and wildflowers cover the whole place. One of the best spots on the whole trip. The bridge is out over the Gray Wolf River just below the basin. It can be easily forded and is only shin deep or can be crossed on a down tree. The trail then continues to Falls Camp, our lunch break. The camp is large enough for many groups and looked fine. The shelter is burned down though. An axe was there laying up against a tree (hmmmm). We continued down the Gray Wolf after lunch. The section between Falls Camp and Three Forks is easy hiking. Camp Ellis also looked nice. Gray Wolf Camp is very large. There was a shovel leaning up against a sign there too. Where did all these heavy tools come from? Upon arriving at Three Forks, we found the shelter in use and set up camp between Grand and Cameron Creeks.

Day 5- Three Forks Camp to Deer Park (5.6 Miles)

Left camp at 9am and was at Deer Park by 12:30. The climb out of Three Forks is very difficult and does not relent. The trail is in perfect shape though and the views get better and better as you go up.


Summary-

All trails were in good enough shape for safe travel. 50 miles was acheived on this trip through day hikes around camp areas. This entire loop is awesome. One of the best trips I have ever been on and definitly the best multi night trip. Better hurry and do this trip before it snows. Note: 25K feet of elevation change.

This is a stunner of a hike and while not trivial to get to, has good roads to get you to elevation and then enjoy the views.

We started about 6:30 from Seattle and made the 7:10 ferry out of Edmonds without problems. The drive to Deer Park Road was without problems and the road in the park (gravel, one lane, and steep-winding) was in excellent shape with no real pot holes or rocks on the road. {This was a nice change from the Corral Pass Road which was not a pleasant driving.} We were on the trail about 9:45 and were the first car at the trail head.

The trail starts by dropping 300 feet to the base of Green Mt. and the beginning of the uphill part of the trail. Like most Olympic Trails, it is very well maintained if a bit narrow in spots on steep slopped ridges, but nothing an average hiker can not handle. We did most of the hike in sub-alpine forest which gave cover from the sun.

Near Maiden Peak the trail rises to about 6000 feet and gets out of the trees with views of Mt. Baker, PA, Sequim, and the Straits. We only saw Mt. Baker, however, due to fog in the Straits. After lunch on Maiden Peak (about 200 to 300 feet below the summit) we headed back from our glorious day in the Olympics.

This is definitively a hike anyone who loves the Olympics or just mountain views should take. We did about 8 miles RT with about 1500 feet of elevation gain.

Wildflowers were still out but will likely be gone in the next few weeks.
 

Almost didn't go because it was cloudy on Bainbridge and raining on our drive through Sequim. The views on this hike are spectacular on a sunny day but can whiteout quickly. Glad we decided to drive the mountain road to the trail head at Deer Park. Very dramatic light - sunny and cloudy. Wild flowers were outrageous. We could hardly hike for taking photos: lupine, paintbrush, white lilies, yellow lilies, asters, daisies of every variety, queen anne's lace, etc. One of my favorite day hikes. If you love flowers - get out there soon.

Only word of caution, and I think this is why so many people just hike to Maiden Peak and back, scree fields start soon after Maiden Peak and can be a heady experience for 2-D people who spend more time in front of a computer than in the 3-D world, if you know what I mean. It looks worse than it is. Walking poles might help a tentative hiker.

Hiked from Deer Park to Maiden Peak. The trail remained in the forest for 3 out of the almost 4 miles, but with several meadows and views. To reach Maiden Peak, we followed a short boot path from the trail straight up to the peak.

The trail was in good condition, and not too crowded: Encountered perhaps a dozen parties, and there were just two other cars at the trailhead at 10am. The Deer Park road was also in good condition, except for some washboarding on the last 2 miles.

Wildflowers: Fields full of Lupine and Harebells, and many others.
Wildlife: 1 marmot

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/eric.jain/GrandRidgeAugust2011
Panorama (Maiden Peak): http://photosynth.net/view.[…]b98b-4a99-a505-8901d58ac936
Tracklog: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/110678922