Counting Rings-Hoh Rainforest Trail by Arlo Smith.
The most famous of all the Olympic rain forests, the Hoh is one of the busiest places in Olympic National Park. A visitors center and a couple of well-groomed nature trails attract bus loads of admirers from Seattle to Seoul, Boston to Berlin. And its not just camera-toting tourists that invade this valley; pan-toting backpackers and caribiner-clanking climbers flock here too. The Hoh River Trail also provides access to Mount Olympus and the High Divide. But who can blame all of these people for coming here? The Hoh rain forest truly is one of the world's most spectacular places.
While the Hoh rain forest is a busy place, most hikers visit during the summer months and on autumn weekends. Come in the spring or even winter and experience a valley more sedate. Besides, with fewer people in the off-season, chances are good of witnessing members of the resident elk herd. But even if you end up hitting the trail on a busy day, the crowds thin out dramatically after only a couple of miles.
The hike to Five Mile Island is far enough to experience the old-growth grandeur and pure wildness of this valley, yet close enough that it can be done by most hikers, young and old. The trail is impeccably groomed, and the way virtually level, with minimal elevation change. Five Mile Island, with its wide grassy banks along the mighty rainforest river, was designed for whiling the afternoon away.
Start by following the paved Hall of Mosses Trail for 0.2 mile to a junction. Now on bona fide tread begin your journey through this valley of primeval forest. A cacophony of birdsong from wrens, nuthatches, woodpeckers, chickadees, and thrushes can be heard over the distant hum of the river. Pass by colonnades of spruce and under awnings of moss-cloaked maples. Licorice ferns and club mosses cling to overhanging trees like holiday decorations on New York's Fifth Avenue. And while the surroundings are lush, the understory is fairly open. Browsing elk keep the shrubs and bushes well trimmed.
In 1 mile get your first unobstructed view of the river. Gaze out to the High Divide and snow-capped Mount Tom, a peak on the Olympus massif. Pass the Mount Tom Creek Campsite at 2.3 miles; then climb above the river, catching glimpses of deep emerald pools below. Cross Mineral Creek by a lovely cascade. Five minutes later another cascade delights. At 2.9 miles come to a junction with the Mount Tom Trail. If you'd like, follow this path right 0.25 mile to open gravel bars and spectacular valley views.
Veering away from the river, the main path continues. Traverse impressive stands of Sitka spruce and at 4 miles come to the Cougar Creek cedar grove. Stand in awe beneath these trees, older than the great cathedrals of Europe-and just as inspiring. At 5.3 miles arrive at Five Mile Island. Formed by river channels, the island is an inviting grassy bottomland graced with maple glades. Sit by the churning river and enjoy views up the valley all the way to Bogachiel Peak. If it's raining, the nearby Happy Four Shelter (0.5 mile farther) will provide cover for your lunchtime break.
Headed up the Hoh River to Climb Mt. Olympus... The trail suffered a lot of damage over the winter, but...
Headed up the Hoh River to Climb Mt. Olympus... The trail suffered a lot of damage over the winter, but the park service has basically cleaned it all up, and things are in really good shape. Of course, the forest along the trail is stunning - the gigantic trees make one feel small, like a little kid again. Just thought I'd note a couple minor obstacles.
About 7 miles in (a mile before Olympic Guard Station), the trail crosses a side-channel of the Hoh. You can ford the stream just about 20 feet downstream of where the more obvious ""horse ford"" is... it's about knee-thigh deep and maybe 20 feet across, and moderately swift. (the horse ford spot is chest deep, so don't cross there!) Or, immediately downstream from that (like another 20 feet downstream), there is a log-jam, and you can cross on two logs. The second of these can get covered by water when the runoff is high (i.e. evenings after a hot day), but when we were there, the water was down about 8 inches in the morning vs. evening, and this will be less of a problem as the season goes on.
Then, about a mile from Glacier Meadows, the trail traverses a washed-out area. If you're a little unsteady on your feet, it might cause you some angst. There's a bit of loose scree to cross, but if you take your time and watch your step, you'll be fine.
Mosquitoes were out, but only horrible in random patches in the thick woods. Near the river, where there's often a breeze, you might find some relief.
FYI, the trail crews were working hard on the trail to Hoh Lake, which had a lot of blowdowns... I imagine that'll be cleaned up in the next couple weeks.
The climb went well btw. But that's a different story!
Sixty years ago I climbed Mt. Olympus with the Seattle Mountaineers. I was 19 at the time. This July I...
Sixty years ago I climbed Mt. Olympus with the Seattle Mountaineers. I was 19 at the time. This July I returned to the mountain with four friends to try the summit again. We left Seattle on July 11 and were on the Hoh River Trail by 2pm. In 90 degree temperature. We hiked five miles to Five Mile Island where camp was made for the night. The next morning was cooler and our group headed for Elk Lake some ten miles distant. The trail was in good shape with only one thigh deep ford.
LIttle elevation is gained in the first 12 miles from the trail head, but upon reaching the high bridge the trail starts up in earnest with no respite. Elk Lake was reached in late afternoon, and it was early to bed as we were all bushed. The next morning our hike continued to Glacier Meadows some 2.5 miles and 1700 feet in elevation gain. Near the Meadows, the trail crosses a slide area where there is little tread left. It was a dicey crossing with each step being measured. We rested most of the day in preparation for the summit assault and were up a 3:30 the next mroning. We left camp at 4:30 and were on the lateral moraine by 5:30. Dropping down from the moraine onto the relatively flat Blue Glacier, we crossed it with ease. It was at this point that the climb starts in earnest. The snow was in good shape for kicking steps, but where possible we chose to scramble up rock that was free of snow. The snow dome was reached by late morning where two of our party chose not to go on. They would remain at the research building until we returned from the summit. (The research building is nothing more that a big prefab box.)
Just ahead of our party was a well equipped group of five climbers. They had helmets, harnesses, carabiners and other assorted climbing gear. We, on the other hand, had only ice axes. Following their footsteps, we skirted a massive bergschrund and proceeded around to the backside of the mountain and up some very steep slpes to the middle or false summit. This summit is slightly lower than the real summit. It was here we chose to end our climb, as going on without a rope was not prudent. After the requisite photos and a bit of lunch, we headed down reaching camp after more than 12 hours on the mountain. The next day we hiked 12 miles to Five Mile Island and the following day reach the car by noon. In six days we had hiked more than 40 miles and climbed over 7000 feet.
Started out on the Hoh River trail Saturday morning in spite of reports of bad conditions due to winter storms....
Started out on the Hoh River trail Saturday morning in spite of reports of bad conditions due to winter storms. Indeed, the blowdown resulting from winter storms was quite astonishing, and it's amazing seeing 200-year old trees strewn about like pick-up sticks all over the trail. That being said, the park service has already done a lot of maintenance and largely cleared all the debris up to the sandbar camp at mile 7.8, making the trail very passable up to that point. If you plan to stay at that camp, there is a creek ford just before which will probably require you to remove shoes and socks to walk across, but the water is shallow and no current to speak of at that point, so crossing is relatively easy. After mile 7.8, trail maintenance has not yet been done this year and the effects of the winter flooding and wind storms are really seen in full force. For the next 1.3 miles to the Olympus guard station (where we camped) at mile 9.1, expect several areas of bushwacking, trail washouts, crawling on hands and knees under limbs of various sizes, and climbing over very large tree trunks in your path. Do not expect to make good time over this last 1.3 miles. I imagine however that some maintenance will be done on this last 1.3 miles within the next few weeks.
Day 2 we took the Hoh Lake trail, past the Olympus guard station and left at the junction and up the ridge. More of the same difficult travel experienced between 7.8 camp and the guard station as described above. Lots of debris all along this trail, and I suspect it may be significantly longer before they're able to clear this one up. Didn't make it all the way to Hoh Lake as we decided to turn around high on the ridge with about a mile to go due to time constraints.
Camped night 2 at the guard station again and hiked back out on day 3. All in all, conditions were better than I expected, and in spite of some challenging traverses, the hike was well worth it. The valley and Hoh River are stunning and teeming with wildlife (we saw Elk, Sage Grouse, snakes (harmless, not rattlers), and hummingbirds), and gained an appreciation for the circle of life in the rainforest, seeing how even a ""hundred-year storm"" as we had this last winter plays a part in developing new nurse logs that will eventually be teeming with new flora. I highly recommend this trail.
Trail cleanup has only just begun to address down trees from last November's storms. Crews have made it as far...
Trail cleanup has only just begun to address down trees from last November's storms. Crews have made it as far as Happy Four shelter with chainsaws, beyond which is a disaster.
The NPS trail conditions page said 53 down trees, and while we weren't counting, there were enough to add a few miles and many hours of bushwhacking to our round-trip. A few trees have fallen lenghtwise down the trail, requiring substantial detours. Note that the shelter at Elk Lake has been chopped in half (literally) by a fallen tree!
Both 5/19 and 5/20 saw persistent rainfall, and the trail was very muddy and washed-out in a number of places. Two total washouts require either a muddy scramble or a major detour and bushwhack. I've heard something about bushwhack ratings (e.g. BW1 - BW5, where BW1 is no trail no brush and BW5 requires a machete).. we were joking that some sections were BW10.
In all, the trail is still in gorgeous country and worth hiking. It will just take longer and require more effort than usual.
We do not like long hikes in the trees, so we must have been crazy to choose this trip over...
We do not like long hikes in the trees, so we must have been crazy to choose this trip over the 4 day weekend. Maybe it was because we had heard how stunning the Blue Glacier is, and we had the time and good weather forecast.
The Hoh River trail is in good shape to just before Glacier Meadow.There are many campsites along the way (at .9,2.3,2.9,5,5.7,9.1,10.5, and 13.3 miles for example), and we spent our first night at the Olympus Guard Station camp (9.1 miles).
The second day we continued in the trees to Glacier Meadow. There were no views until above Elk Lake (a pond), and then back into the trees again. About .25 miles before the Glacier Meadow camp the trail is washed out and very hazardous! Hikers have just kicked steps into loose dirt and gravel on a very steep slope. It took us 10 minutes to carefully cross this section. Upon arriving at Glacier Meadow we were very disappointed. We were still is trees! We set up camp and continued the last 1.3 miles to the Lateral Moraine. Finally! A beautiful meadow and then the Blue Glacier! We watched a group of climbers descending, and another group ascending to spend the night on the dome of Mt. Olympus.
Mt. Olympus looks like a fun climb. We kicked ourselves for not bringing our climbing gear. We were probably the only people at the campsite who did not climb.
The following day we hiked out 12.5 miles, and spent the last night at 5 mile Island. We both had sore feet.
Although the Blue Glacier is beautiful, it is a long, long slog in the forest to get there. Unless you are going to climb Mt. Olympus it would be best to camp below on the river and just dayhike to the Lateral Moraine.
From Forks travel south on US 101 for 12 miles to the Upper Hoh Road. (From Kalaloch head north on US 101 for 20 miles.) Head left (east) on the Upper Hoh Road for 18 miles to its end at a large parking lot, visitors center, and trailhead. Water and restrooms available.
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