Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Slab Camp Creek and Gray Wolf River
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. From a 2500-foot saddle between Deer Ridge and Ned Hill, the Slab Camp Creek Trail begins its delightful descent into the Gray Wolf River valley. A mosquito-breeding marsh at the trailhead may have you picking up the pace before you're warmed up. Immediately enter the Buckhorn Wilderness, winding your way through a thick forest of second-growth hemlock. Much of this area succumbed to major fires early in the twentieth century. After about 0.5 mile of level walking, begin descending. Through open forest lined with an understory of leathery-leaved rhododendrons, salal, and Oregon grape, catch some good views of Deer and Gray Wolf Ridges hovering over the valley. At about 1.5 miles the grade eases. Slab Camp Creek now bubbles alongside the trail. As you descend deeper into the Gray Wolf Valley, bigger and older trees become the norm. Evidently a cooler and moister microclimate helped protect these trees from the ravages of wildfire. With the Gray Wolf River now audible but not yet visible, the trail makes a final, somewhat steep drop to the valley floor. Cross cascading Slab Camp Creek on a good bridge on your way down. At 2.8 miles emerge in a rich bottomland known as Duncan Flat, with towering cedars. Here a scattering of campsites along the tumbling and thundering Gray Wolf River make good lunch and nap spots. A little beyond the flats the trail crosses the Gray Wolf on a sturdy iron-beamed bridge, which was flown in and constructed in 2005. More camp and contemplation sites can be found on the other side of the mighty river. A quarter mile beyond the bridge, the Slab Camp Creek Trail ends at Camp Tony on the Gray Wolf River Trail. With the bridge out downriver on this major trail, don't expect to encounter very many fellow hikers if you continue to further explore this wild valley.
Driving Directions:
From Sequim head west 2.5 miles on US 101. Turn left onto Taylor Cutoff Road (just after crossing the Dungeness River). In 2.6 miles bear right onto Lost Mountain Road. In another 2.6 miles turn left onto dirt Forest Road 2870. After 1 mile enter the Olympic National Forest, coming to a junction. Bear right on FR 2875 and in 3.5 miles come to an intersection at primitive Slab Camp. Park here. The trail begins on the south side of road. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
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The last mile of the road to the TH has compact snow and ice an requires 4 WD or chains....
The last mile of the road to the TH has compact snow and ice an requires 4 WD or chains. Needless to say this will change with weather conditions. There was only an inch of snow at the TH. Ice on the road was the main problem. The temperature was 26 as we began our hike. We hiked the Slab Camp Trail to the junction with the Lower Gray Wolf Trail and turned left to hike to the washout of the trail near the former log stringer bridge. After crossing the bridge over the Gray Wolf River at Duncan Flat, the Slab Camp Creek Trail has an excellent reroute near its junction with the Lower Gray Wolf Trail. The Lower Gray Wolf Trail is in excellent condition and is beautiful as it climbs above the Gray Wolf River and then descends to river level passing through lush forest and boulders covered with moss and lichens. This is one of our favorite fall and winter hikes. It is 8 miles RT.
Slab Camp Creek and Gray Wolf River
— Sep 04, 2011
— kelleyjean
Day hike
Issues:
Mudholes | Bugs
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It was a beautiful day for this very pleasant hike. It was a last minute idea to go hiking, so...
It was a beautiful day for this very pleasant hike. It was a last minute idea to go hiking, so we didn't arrive at the trail head till nearly 4pm. That still left us plenty of time to get down to the camp and back with daylight to spare. The only downside to this hike was the bugs - flies and bees mostly. The trail itself was clear with only the occasional mud hole. At some parts the ground foliage was starting to creep onto the trail and would brush against your ankles. Nice hike!
Overnight
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes
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Overall a good trip. It's starting to warm up and the trails are a little drier than previous forays into...
Overall a good trip. It's starting to warm up and the trails are a little drier than previous forays into Buckhorn. Trail was fairly dry yesterday, but coming out this morning it was a little wet due to overnight showers.
Not too bad for a 4th of July weekend. We checked the trail register and saw 5 people headed to Slab Camp/Camp Tony so we (wife and two dogs) decided to extend our trip to Slide Camp for solitude. Enjoyed lots of Rhodies on the way down. Ran into a nice lady and older gentleman on the far side of the footbridge, who gave us some intel that a group of 8+ Boy Scouts had left about the time as they did, and were probably headed further up. We headed up the trail and headed east at the T-intersection, just to complete the far side of the trail to the landslide which blocks the Lower Gray Wolf trailhead (our previous trip). After we had seen enough, we doubled back west to head on to Slide Camp. At the first switchback during a map check, the six eastern european guys from the trailhead parking lot overtook us from the rear. At this point, we decided that 14+ people at Slide Camp might be a little less solitary than we had hoped, and returned to a warm, restful, and completely empty campsite at Camp Tony. Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail
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Although previous trip reports mentioned finding the trailhead difficult, we had no problem using my friend's Garmin. The last...
Although previous trip reports mentioned finding the trailhead difficult, we had no problem using my friend's Garmin. The last 500 yards of FR 2875 was partially snow covered, but there were no other obstacles on the way to the trailhead.
We began hiking at 12pm; the trail was in good shape except for water on the trail in several places, trees that we had to crawl under, and a 4-foot-wide tributary of Slab Camp Creek to ford. All of the trees we had to crawl under were located along the Gray Wolf River Trail. We saw only 1-other hiker--a backpacker who was planning to camp by the new bridge spanning the Gray Wolf River. My friend and I had hiked the lower Gray Wolf Trail back in November, and wanted to hike the section of trail that is no longer accessible from this trailhead. The canyon through which the Gray Wolf flows is spectacular. I very much want to return and explore the Upper Gray Wolf.
Slab Camp Creek and Gray Wolf River
— Mar 09, 2011
— Bill
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Water on trail | Snow on trail | Road to trailhead inaccessible
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Ten inches of wet, slushy snow stopped us a mile short of parking at the TH. The first half...
Ten inches of wet, slushy snow stopped us a mile short of parking at the TH. The first half mile of trail was covered with 5 to 8 inches snow with lots of running water in trail rut. Slight rain falling entire trip. After starting descent, snow was minimal but still lots of runoff in trail. Slab Creek was running full and murky, later volume of water increased and became muddy. There were 2 downed trees across trail but easily climbed over. Had lunch at Camp Tony. Gray Wolf was running murky but not full. Temp was perfect for a day hike. Hike out was easier than anticipated. Sighted no wild or domestic life at all.
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Slab Creek. Photo by Bob and Barb.
2010, 2011
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