Anderson Pass #101,Enchanted Valley,O'Neil Pass
Aug 27, 2004
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Anderson Pass
- Region: Olympics -- East
- Trails: Anderson Pass (#101)
- Avg Rating: 4.00
The trip up Enchanted Valley to explore trails to O'Neil Pass and Anderson Glacier started on a Friday morning at the Graves Creek trailhead. The thirteen miles in to the camp area at Enchanted Valley are relatively easy and took under eight hours, with lots of water and comfortable rest stops every three or four miles. Rangers' predictions of difficult water crossings due to recent rains were grossly exaggerated. Bridges were out, but crossings were readily manageable. The trail was in excellent shape and we eyed several attractive camps along the Quinault River as we strolled along. We counted at least 25 elk in a single herd along the trail on the way in.
After a wet night camping in Enchanted Valley, we made our way about four miles further to White Creek Meadow where we camped two more nights below beautiful White Mountain. Even though the meadow is expansive, there were only a few small, level campsites here, and no bear wires. As the weather finally cleared, we hiked one day along the seven-mile trail to O'Neil Pass and lunched overlooking the Duckabush Valley and nearby (receding?) glaciers of Mt. Steel. The two bears we saw on the trail were minding their own business, eating, as we were, hundreds of ripe huckleberries. Another hiker reported seeing another elk herd down in LaCrosse basin, but we did not have the chance to visit down there. Next time?
We spent another day hiking up to the Anderson Glacier overlook on a short, steep, and very well-maintained trail, along which we visited with several deer. From the trail-end, the view across the lake to Anderson Glacier is a classic dramatic and vast moonscape. It looks to me like Anderson Glacier has receded considerably and likely will disappear in a few years. What happens to the Quinault River then?
We spent the last night camping along the river at Pyrites Creek at a comfortable, dry campsite, one of four or five available there. Bugs had not been a problem on this end-of-season trip, but at this campsite, the repellent kept us comfortable before cool nightfall arrived. On the last day, we passed again the large elk herd on the trail, and spent a while standing quietly among them, including a five-point buck. We reached the trailhead about noon after the last unexpected uphill couple of miles, hiking the last seven or eight miles in four hours. On our way out, we were stopped for some road construction and chatted with a Park Service employee who tossed his cigarette butts in the river.
Bear precautions were mandatory, though we had no visits from bears at any of our campsites. We borrowed two bear-proof plastic food containers from the Park Service (modest user fee), but these were too small to hold all of our food as well as garbage, and storing the garbage bags in the same container as the food made for bad smells. Bear wires, where available, were a lighter weight and more convenient choice.
This is a long route: we covered more than fifty miles and were five days on the trail. But the wildlife viewing is excellent and the two destinations -- LaCrosse Basin and Anderson Glacier -- offer great opportunities for extended explorations, which we will follow up with on our next trip!
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