Wapaloosie #15
May 27, 2005
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Hoh River-Five Mile Island
- Region: Olympics -- West
- Agency: Olympic National Park
- Trails: Hoh River (#15)
- Avg Rating: 3.31
- Be Aware Of
- Snow on trail
This 2.6-mile-long trail is in great condition, and provides great southerly views of the Sherman Pass area. It doesn’t reach all the way to the summit, but a quick off-trail hike through the open forest is easy to handle.
On a beautiful spring day with 70-degree summit temperatures, the hike along the Wapaloosie Trail #15 was most pleasant. It took me 2 hours to leisurely hike up out of the lodgepole pine forest, into Douglas Firs, and out into an open slope covered with sagebrush and grasses. One can easily see 60 miles to the southeast and northeast. Above the ridgeline, there were patches of rapidly-melting of snow from the mild winter, but bring your own water – there are no springs or other water sources.
If you start out early and want to make a loop hike, it’s possible to drop back down to the Kettle Crest Trail #13, head northwards to Scar Mountain (7,046 feet) and Copper Butte (7,140 feet), then descend back down to Albion Hill Road via the Old Stage Road Trail #75. If you want to just return back to the Wapaloosie Trailhead, allow 1-1/4 hours for your descent.
I could tell that I was the first one up there this season, since there were no footprints in the patches of snow on the summit. Although I only did this as a dayhike, I could tell that the campground at the Wapaloosie Trailhead, and the campsite at the summit, would make a great weekend destination to explore the Kettle Range.
Although I didn’t see any wildlife (except for birds and chipmunks), I found this hike to be more pleasant than the trail through the burned timber of nearby Copper Butte (7,140 feet). The views are better, and one doesn’t have to peer through the “comb” of dead trees to see distant vistas. The trail is easy enough for children and horses, and offers quiet solitude.
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