Big Quilcene River #833.1,Constance Pass #99

The Upper Big Quilcene (#833.1) is at its festive best during the flower show of early summer, but when the crowds have thinned in the Fall, there’s no better place to put the mountains to bed for the season. Penny Creek Road, about a mile South of the Quilcene Ranger Station, leads in about 3 miles to the paved but one lane forest service road 27. After about 6-7 miles, a left on 2750 plus another 5 miles on unpaved, occasionally potholed, but generally well-graded road bring you to the trailhead.

Although the Upper Big Quilcene gains 3700 feet in the 5.3 miles to Marmot Pass, it’s not as brutal as all that. The climb is steady, the trail is good, and the scenery’s attractive. The first few miles feature the dance and churn of the stream through an emerald forest. About halfway up, the trail breaks out into open country, with views across and up the canyon to Boulder Ridge, the ridge of Gargoyles, and the pass. In place of the usual riot of flowers, I saw exactly one fading aster, and a thistle. Patches of ice and snow didn’t intrude on the trail till Camp Mystery, about 4 miles in. The uphill after Mystery, about a mile and 900 feet up to the pass had some snowy and icy sections, but nothing particularly difficult or problematic for route finding.

Even in the hush of Fall, the pass weaves dreams of wandering. Behind is the long slide to Hood Canal, and in the distance, Rainier. In front is the valley of the Dungeness, and across, Graywolf Ridge to the North, the Needles, Fricaba, Mystery, and South to Constance Pass. Buckhorn Peak beckons. The ridgeline stroll North to Buckhorn Pass is a must. When my knees give out, roll me up the knoll to the South of Marmot, and leave me there.

During a quick lunch at the pass, three day hikers arrived to admire the view, and we shot the breeze. After that, I said my good-byes and was on my own till my return the next day to the same spot. The subsequent 1.7 miles/1200 feet skirt below Boulder Ridge, with expansive views across the Dungeness valley, and then switchback down to Boulder Camp, which was barely spared by an avalanche in the late nineties. At Boulder camp, I picked up the Constance Pass trail (#893), a sweet path just below treeline, beneath the cliffs of Warrior, Desperation, and Inner Constance. The trail breaks out beneath the rocky slopes of Inner Constance, curves around the basin, and proceeds up about 900 feet to Home Lake, 3 miles past Boulder. Along the way, intermittent snow patches blanketed the path, but the route was clear until the lake basin, where the snow was more or less continuous.

My home at Home was the first camp on the right, with views up to Constance Pass and through the pines to the bulk of Inner Constance. The lake had about a 3 inch shell of ice, necessitating the application of a well-placed rock to get water. The full moon joined in for cocktail hour, dinner, and dessert, and lit up the hard snow like a carpet of gems. A great horned owl hooted among the scrawny pines across my lake.

In the morning, before reversing course, I skittered on a crust of snow along the South side of the lake, took the icy switchback East, and then curved back up into the mostly snow-covered basin beneath Constance Pass. At this point, the trail disappeared, so I headed up snow and heather to Del Monte Ridge just above the pass. From there, the views towards Mystery, Deception, Gunsight Pass, and across the Dosewallips Valley to the snow-covered ranges West were unlimited. While the ridge is more hospitable in the summer, it still is a hard place to leave in the Fall. I took my cue from a trio of ravens, skated down to my pack, and retraced my steps. Back at Marmot, I met a few folks enjoying the day, and then coasted down the Big Quilcene toward November.