My wife and I hiked in 13 miles to Home Sweet Home on Sunday, 8/10, departing Staircase at 1:15pm. The first 6 miles are flat, easy hiking and the trail crew had been through already, so no issues. Over the next 4 miles, there were significant blow-downs and trail damage between Camp Pleasant and Nine Stream. We ran across the trail crew at Camp Pleasant and they had some serious work to do removing massive trees and rebuilding the trail in places. Above Nine Stream the trail is very overgrown with slide alder, devil's club, and much greenery that all but obscures the trail. Some nice wildflowers (columbine, delphinium), but lots of thorny growth as well. We made it over First Divide at about 7:30pm and saw Home Sweet Home on the other side- beautiful! We got there and managed to camp with a little daylight left at about 8pm.

The next morning (Day 2) we hiked 6 miles or so to Marmot Lake, a beautiful little tarn that melted out a few weeks back. To get there, you descend on the Home Sweet Home trail 2 miles (and lose 1800 feet) before merging with the Upper Duck and gaining it all back in 4 rough miles (blow-downs, bugs, some up and down loss of elevation). Arrival at Marmot Lake was sweet; while the tent sites can be a little hard to locate we ran into a helpful ranger who showed us a great one. You turn left at the trail fork near the lake and climb the short, steep rise toward the bear wire and turn right to a lovely little flat plateau. From here, you can see Marmot Lake below (north), the Duckabush Valley out to the Hood Canal (east), and Mount Duckabush to the south.

On Day 3 my hiking companion decided that the bugs were a bit much and was ready to go home. I joked that all we had to do was hike out 20 miles and we could be home- with a day off to boot! I thought this was somewhat impossible and was therefore a safe comment... We had planned on going out the way we came and spending the third night at Home Sweet Home. We arrived at Home Sweet Home at about 2pm and encountered a lot of bugs and skies that threatened rain. After a few hours of discussing restaurant food and hot showers, we didn't really fancy unpacking the tent again. We decided to bust out another 13 miles and get home to our pets, garden, etc. I wouldn't recommend the 19 miles day we had, but it always feels good to take the boots off when you get to car and get some food that wasn't cooked on a stove (in this case, McDonald's, which I NEVER eat). I should give great credit to the trail crew, who did amazing work since we had passed two days before. I think next time I will take the Quinault path to Marmot Lake, but the road washed out this year 4.5 miles from Graves Creek, so it's a bit of a slog to Enchanted Valley.

Day 1

I left the Staircase TH at 8:00 under sunny skies and rapidly made my way up the Skokomish Valley. The morning walk was pleasant, with the trail lending itself to fast and easy travel. I took my first break at a vacant Camp Pleasant (with the exception of the camp just past the Flapjack Lakes junction, all camps were vacant).

At 9 Mile Stream I stopped for another break, and found myself fair game for the converging fly squadron. These representatives of the local blood bank collections dept. would prove to be persistent throughout the duration of my trip.

Flowers started just above Two Bear Camp. Columbine dominated while the fleabane still offered strong support. These would be the only flowers worth noting for the remainder of the trip. It was in this area that I met a group of 6 descending from First Divide who offered caution of a large bear just above. We exchanged pleasantries and I proceeded on up. Shortly before the tarn below First Divide I came around the corner to find a young black bear cautiously leaning forward to sniff the air, obviously catching my scent well ahead of my arrival (ok, that reads bad). Upon introducing myself, the bear rapidly retreated uphill and into the trees. I immediately pondered the earlier warning about the “large” bear, and wondered if this lone bear constituted their lone bear viewing experience, or if another truly large bear indeed existed.

I spent some time atop First Divide enjoying the views up to Mount Hopper and Mount Steel, across the valley to Mount La Crosse and White Mountain, and down to the meadows of Home Sweet Home – my destination for the evening.

The descent down to Home Sweet Home was quick and I soon found myself scouting the area for a campsite. The old (and future?) shelter proved the site of choice. The time was 3:30 pm. Distance to camp was 13.3 miles, with 3,888’ elevation gain. Interestingly enough, many of the “designated” sites per the posted camp map are hard to locate due the grass meadows in which they reside. A couple had obvious sitting/cooking stumps, but most did not. Basically if you can find a flat spot in the meadow, it is likely a designated site.

At about 4:00 movement across the creek caught my eye as I prepared dinner; a large black bear. Ahah! Credit must be given after all. I watched the progress of the grazing bear as it wandered closer and closer to me, with only a creek separating us. Dinner went down quickly. Shortly after dinner the bear made its way across the creek further down the meadow and enjoyed the fine offerings near the trail to the privy. It wandered the meadows for the remainder of the evening.

I was awakened around 11:00 pm to twigs snapping only a short distance behind my bivy sack. I declared my presence, but did not hear a retreat of any kind. I randomly began hearing snorts and sighs through the night and realized the bear had nestled down for the evening directly behind mind me, separated only by some trees and shrubs. I awoke the next morning to find the bear again grazing the meadows, and a flat spot in tall grass only 35-40’ from my campsite where the bear had spent its evening!

Day 2

I broke camp at 8:00, bidding the resident bear goodbye, and headed down the North Fork of the Duckabush. The trail was excellent all the way down to Upper Duckabush Camp. The berries were Yogi-licious.

The stream crossing after the Duckabush trail junction was easy, with multiple options available. Beyond the crossing the trail began to climb and grew much more ragged. Lots of up and downs, especially while crossing several streams located in deep gullies. The second stream ford was also easily avoided, courtesy of some well-placed logs. The trail soon became quite brushy as I began the switchbacks up to Marmot Lake, but was short lived. I arrived at Marmot Lake at 11:30 and immediately began the ascent to Lake La Crosse, my camp of choice for the next two nights. I arrived at camp at 12:15 – 6.6 miles and 1,655’ elevation gain.

I immediately set up camp, hung my food, and relaxed on a rock with my feet in the lake. Ahh! I returned to camp to add my “day food” to my hung stash, only to watch my food line sag to about 8 feet above the ground. Dang! Oh well, no sign of bear in the area any way.

That evening after dinner I ventured down to Hart Lake. I came around a corner to see a large bear grazing in the berries below me! Hmmm. I watched it for a while before continuing on to the lake and quickly explored its shores. Returning back to the trail junction I again watched the bear below, only it appeared much smaller than I remembered it. Could it be hallucinogenic vapors in the lake’s waters above? I again watched the bear for a short bit before moving on – and finding a large bear above the trail around the corner! Ahah!

Walking back to camp I thought about the possibility of these bears making their way up towards my camp and deemed it unlikely due to distance and lack of berries near Lake La Crosse (berries were in abundance near Hart Lake). I felt pretty confident in my summation.

It was about an hour later that I watched a bear high on the distant slopes, still far away from Lake La Crosse. As I ventured over to the far side of the lake to catch the evening reflection of Mount Steel in the lake, I watched a second large bear traverse the slopes near my campsite along the lake and climb up into the upper basin. Safely above my camp and well in sight, I continued photographing. Soon I heard a loud snort above me and looked up to see the young bear only 25’ above me! I announced myself to get the bear’s attention, and received a quizzical look from it before it continued in its traverse shortly above me and then down slope to the marsh meadows at the head of the lake – between my camp and me. The bear continued to meander across the meadow in the direction of my camp. Light was now near its climax for the evening and I found myself snapping a picture, looking at the bear, snapping a picture, looking at the bear…

Soon I was running back to camp in a race to beat the bear (now out of sight and in close vicinity to my camp) to camp, only to find it was climbing the streambed up to the upper basin. I found a proper way to hang my food bag.

The bears remained in the vicinity the duration of my visit. This is important to note.

Day 3

I ventured back to Hart Lake and found (easily) the Hart Lake Way trail directly beyond the lake. I climbed to the pass above and enjoyed views down to the Enchanted Valley, the (missing) waterfalls across the valley, and the barren rock of Mount Anderson’s West Peak. I explored a bit along the ridge before heading down to Hart Lake for some lunch. I found a nice campsite at the lake’s west end looking out to Mount Duckabush to sit down and enjoy my lunch, only to find my lunch and other trail food were missing from my pack. I distinctly remembered pulling it out of my food bag back at camp…

The race back to camp was quick, to find my food items lying on the ground exactly where I had left them. When the Darwin Awards make their way into you e-mail box this year, look for my name.

Upon finishing lunch I ventured down to Marmot Lake and took the trail up to O’Neil Pass. The views were magnificent looking back to Mount Anderson standing proudly over the lush green meadows of La Crosse Basin. I admired this view for over an hour before retreating back to camp for the day.

Day 4

I awoke and immediately packed up camp and headed down to Marmot Lake. Before beginning my long trek out, I elected to spend some time photographing around Marmot Lake, as well as venturing back up to O’Neil Pass. I stashed my pack near a bear wire (and hung my food) and walked over to a prominent point on the lake to photograph. It was there that I met a couple of guys who were deliberating their agenda for the day. We shared our trail adventures with one another and I learned that they had not witnessed a single bear during their travels. I didn’t understand how this was possible. I then headed back up to O’Neil Pass to once again be awe-stricken with the morning views. I returned to Marmot Lake in time to be able to call the two guy’s attention to a bear across the lake in the meadows. We proceeded to watch the bear walk swiftly down to the lake and go for a swim around and around. What a treat. It then stepped out of the water and shook itself off before grazing on the slopes above.

I departed the lake with full pack and retreated down the trail toward 10 Mile Camp.

At Duckabush Camp I stopped to grab a bite to eat and met a man who looked distinctly familiar. He was from “north of Seattle”. It was only after leaving the camp and fording the Duckabush (a foot deep in its deepest spot) that I placed him. About 5 years ago while coming off the Bailey Traverse and descending the Sol Duc trail, I met a man who was completing the Seven Lakes Basin loop. He had planned to hike over Appleton Pass to the Elwha, but doubted that he still had the energy to do so. I offered and he accepted a ride to his car. I’m certain he is reading.

The remainder of the Duckabush trail was clearly designed by the same engineering consulting firm that brought us the Dosewallips trail; up and down for no apparent reason. I often looked for obstacles the trail was attempting to avoid during its ascents, only to come up empty. I soon came to the conclusion that the trail clearers were likely stationed up there on Fri and Sat nights, being deprived of female companionship, and decided that someone was going to pay dearly for it. All other possible reasons escape me.

I arrived at 10 Mile Camp shortly after 4:00. Distance: 11.9 miles, not counting the trip back up to O’Neil Pass.

Day 5

Did I mention how much the Duckabush reminded me of the Dosewallips? I broke camp at 7:30 for an uneventful trek out. Uneventful that is except for the many trees down along the trail. Most are not bad, but a couple of them do offer challenges to get around. It is worth noting that all downed trees are within Olympic National Park, not in the adjoining wilderness. I reached the TH at 11:00.

Total stats for the trip were ~53 miles with wanderings, ~7,143’ gain.

A very pleasant 4 days up to and over First Divide to Home-Sweet-Home and back on excellent trail. The crossing at Nine Stream is out--some of my party used a large log, I forded in sandals with no dificulty. A pack string was bringing up tools for a volunteer crew as we were leaving, so this problem may be fixed fairly soon. Lots of avalanche lilies at First Divide, and a 5-6"" bear track in the mud near the little pond just below the Mt. Hopper Way trail. Our weather was unsettled--lots of marine fog at Home Sweet Home at dusk, but clear views of Mt. Steel the next morning. I hadn't hiked this trail in nearly 25 years, but was pleased to see the meadows in good shape, not too much evidence of over-use. A sign at Home Sweet Home stated that the shelter was going to be ""historically reconstructed"". We set our camp up adjacent to several sling-loads of boulders, lumber, and a large tool chest. All established campsite bear wires and privvies were in good shape. We stayed at Nine Stream, Home Sweet Home and Big Log this time.

Our group of brave souls completed a tour of the Hamma Hamma, Skokomish, and Duckabush drainages from August 16 thru 19. The Lama, Wild Bill, and the author started off in the company of my dad for the first leg of our adventure, leaving the Lower Lena Lake lot at 8:30 AM. The student was so wary of this hike that he went and got himself a job in Amsterdam to avoid any possibility of joining us. The first 4 miles of the morning went by smoothly on the well-traveled trail up to Lower Lena Lake. No wildlife to speak of, and the forest canopy limits the light so very few plants out, except the usual bunchberry, Indian pipe, and red huckleberry. A quick snack at that point, and Dad headed back down to enjoy his lunch at Lower Lena. We headed up, up, and up to Upper Lena. Lunch was in one of the many openings in the trees, and Mount Rainier was visible floating above Puget Sound and the Canal. The trail descriptions of the rough going on this section of trail are very accurate - it is steep and quite relentless, a great warm-up for the remainder of our 4 days in the Olympics. We were most thankful for the awesome maintenance work recently completed on the Upper Lena trail. Downed trees were cleared, puncheon placed, and brush clearance done. I would not have wanted to work any harder than I did in the 3900 + feet of elevation gain to the upper lake. Good work folks! The flowers were in full bloom. You name it, we saw it. I won't go into details except to say a plethora of beautiful flowers gladly accepted our sweat as we trudged upward. Our pace was consistent, as it was hazardous to stop. Hordes of flies, black and horse, were constant companions. They seemed to love the various bug sprays and repellants we brought. The Lama's soy-based product worked as well as my jungle juice. Wildman's DEET worked the best of them all (maybe 45 minutes as opposed to the 30 minutes I was getting!). Anyhow, we made it to Upper Lena (with only minor cramping from the Wildman) by 2:30 PM - not bad for a bunch of old guys. The back-country ranger was swimming in the lake - Ranger Tom is a brave guy. There were 2 other groups at the lake that evening, and the fly-fishing was not so great. But there was a whole lotta biting going on, as the mosquitoes were stealthy, ever-present, and numerous. They affected every meal we ate for the next 3 days! We retired to the tents to get some relief.

The next day dawned sunny and warm. The skeeters hastened us out of the site. We originally planned to head into Hagen Lakes Basin via the north shoulder of Mount Stone, but after talking with Ranger Tom we decided that a saner plan would be to ascend to St Peter's Gate, go past Lake of the Angels, and around the west side of Mt. Stone to Great Stone Arrow Pass. This utilizes a series of way trails that were alternatingly difficult to find at times and easy to follow once you found them. The trail between Upper Lena and Scout Lake is well described in Wood's bible on hiking the Olympics- beautiful meadows and stands of sub-alpine trees. The trails would be relatively visible thru the meadows, and easily identifiable entering and exiting. That is, until we reached the bypass to Stone's Ponds and St Peter's Gate. We missed the left branch (more appropriately, it disappeared after 5 steps into a meadow / rocky area). We headed another .3 miles toward Scout Lake until the trail got ugly and the area of hanging onto roots with 40 feet of exposure down the cliff came into view. We punted and headed back up to the left branch and found some small cairns and eventually the trail heading up the second small shoulder on the right. This trail was a good tread, only disappearing for 15 feet at a time, and led us all the way to the approach to Stone's Ponds. We side-hilled to maintain elevation and headed up towards St Peter's Gate over scree, boulders, rock, and snow. I actually got buzzed by a hummingbird about halfway up. The snow was good for kicking steps, and the exposure was minimal until we were within 50 feet of the top. Wildman took over with the ice ax and led us over the final section. Lunch was eaten at 2 PM with beautiful views out to Scout Lake and beyond. We relaxed and enjoyed the breeze (it kept the bugs at bay) and recharged. It had taken 5 hours to go that far (about 5 miles), and we had about that much more to go before we rested. The way down towards Lake of the Angels was very steep! The climbers' trail was difficult to follow, and we ended up side-hilling over towards the pass above LOA to save time. The Lama punched thru on a snow field and left some red snow behind. We rallied for the steep descent to the Skokomish drainage and worked our way on up to Great Stone Arrow Pass (west of Mt Stone, the entry to Hagen Lakes). We decided to camp at the pass for the night, hoping for some wind to keep the bugs away. A beautiful sunset colored Mt Stone a memorable shade of red, and the moon rose over the south shoulder of same. Water was available from snowmelt below the field at the pass. We rested well.

Day 3 dawned sunny and warm. We packed up and headed for the Elk Basin. We found the entry to the elk trails on the Skokomish side of the drainage that had eluded us 4 years ago in the fog. Smooth sailing was the order of the day as we hiked thru scree and meadows bursting with flowers. Elk droppings were everywhere, and we could even smell the elk, they had been there so recently! The Lama claims to have seen the herd, including maybe 6 with antlers. All the Wildman and I heard was a rumbling as a large group of mammals thundered away from us, and the queen momma stared at us before catching up with the crowd. We quietly made our way to Fisher's Pass for a rest, enjoying the view up to Mt Hopper. Next up was the HORRIBLE section of non-maintained trail known as the Mt Hopper Way Trail. We did this section in about an hour 4 years ago, but it was much deteriorated from that vintage. In general, the blowdowns were too numerous to count, and the trail completely disappears in 2 areas. Heading down the trail, the first time the trail disappears is in an area of major blowdown. Just below the blowdown, a seeming ""switchback"" turns and goes the other way. Do not follow this, as it dies at a stream crossing in a couple hundred feet. Continue beyond the blowdown, and one will find a big cairn reclaiming the trail. The second loss of trail (on the way down) is in a meadow that is gradually being reclaimed by trees and mountain azalea. After crossing a seep, a pile of blowdowns completely obfuscated the trail. A cairn marks that one must continue across the hillside, but from that point things were not clear at all. Finally, the Wildman headed down the hillside and in about 40 yards found the trail. It was near the bottom of the meadow and to the right (NW) side of the clearing. If headed in to this section, the easiest way of finding the trail would be to continue along the contour to the seep/ creek and head vertically up until encountering the rock cairn. From this point, we had only to put up with the endless blowdowns to clamber over. There were many ripe blueberries to eat in this area. Elk Basin is such a nice area to access that it is a shame the trail has deteriorated so much. Flagging would help in the lost areas. It was too bad that we did not bring any tape with us. We eventually connected with the North Fork Skokomish Trail just below First Divide. It was so nice to be on a maintained trail again! We were woefully behind schedule, having spent the better part of 2 hours going 2 miles! Lunch was at 2 PM (I sensed a trend here) besides Home-Sweet-Home creek. We were enamored of the lack of flies and mosquitoes. Only the slow ones were with us (piles of dead flies). Bill wondered where our next planned campsite was, and I did not have the heart or feet or legs left to tell him it was supposed to be at 10-mile camp on the Duckabush, 9 miles distant! We rallied the horses and enjoyed the plunge into the deep forest of the Duckabush above Camp Duck. We saw our first people in a day (frightening). The majesty of the huge Doug firs, Hemlock, and Cedar were inspiring, as were the forest carpet and padding they provided for our feet as we wended our way 1500 feet down to the Duck. A quick stop at Camp Duck and we were back on the trail (too many bugs there!). We did notice a palatial mansion of a tent set up, as some entomologists were busy along the trail (they claimed to not have any beer or wine, but I did not believe them) and river studying (I kid you not) the Olympic jumping mouse (?). I did not know such a beast existed, but oh well. We agreed to hike until 6 PM and take the first campsite we saw after that. At about 13 mile, our rest spot came into view, a lovely spot under the trees next to the river. Dinner (less soup spilled) and a really cold bath did wonders for the group's disposition and aroma. The best part of the camp was that there were no bugs! Dinner was enjoyable, and we collapsed as darkness arrived. 12 miles (5 with no trail) had done its damage on our bodies but not our spirits.

Day 4 found us thinking about getting a move on, but we did not get up until 7:30 and on the trail until 9 (par for the course). We had 13 miles to cover by 4 PM. Hiking in old growth is such a cool and somewhat humbling experience. I have heard it called ""gloomy"", but it is not gloomy at all to me. Passing by 6 foot diameter Doug firs that have survived major burns and are still alive and growing, or seeing a hugely buttressed cedar with the center burned out but still living are things to ponder. So is climbing up Big Hump after going 8 miles. That was a major workout. The 33 switchbacks on the way back down were painful on knees and feet. But in the end, it was all worth it as Dad and Mom were waiting for us on the trail, with Moose Drools for the participants, and comfortable shoes and clothes that did not stink.

39 miles, lots of vertical (up and down), great trails and maintenance, difficult trails and no maintenance, lofty peaks and deep valleys, this hike had them all. 4 days doesn't seem like enough time.