Got permits on Sunday at Hoodsport around noon. I hoped to get permits in the quota areas for 2 nights, but only got one for Elk Lake on Tuesday (campsite was actually empty) Many people successfully see the glacier as a day hike from Lewis Meadows, but ran into some who failed with that strategy. Respect the distance, elevation gain, and rope ladder, and leave enough time. (I had to wait 20 minutes for my turn on the ladder, and can imagine it being much longer with some bad luck and a big group) 

A ranger on the trail helpfully suggested I push past Lewis Meadows in favor of sites at miles 12 and 13 and that saved a few miles on the ascent day. Though they aren’t great sites, they are comparable to the ones at Elk Lake, which are crammed together and lack nearby water. I didn’t see a trail to the lake itself there and access to the outlet stream was also poor. Better to arrive in camp with enough water. The only real merit of the Elk Lake campground is location - it’s a good base to reach the glacier from.

I had enough time to go to both the lateral moraine and terminus trail. Both are incredibly beautiful and don’t regret going to both. If you have the time and energy and can only choose one, the lateral moraine gives you a truly world-class view (even with the smoke). But if you are short on time or energy, the terminus trail is still an impressive payoff for your hard work.

This was an excellent five-day trip, staying at Happy Four on the first and last nights and Elk Lake the middle two nights. We hiked up to Blue Glacier as a day hike from Elk Lake, which worked out great. Both of these campgrounds are now equipped with bear wires, so we were glad to bring a bear bag instead of a (heavier) canister. As with any long-distance hike following a glacial river, when possible, it’s better to get water from side streams than from the Hoh River itself, due to the river’s heavy sediment load – too much glacial flour can clog your water filter. Fortunately there are numerous side streams along the way, this being a rainforest after all.

We chose to camp at Happy Four for a quieter experience than the nearby, larger Five Mile Island campground would offer. Happy Four has 4 sites (plus limited space to camp on the gravel bar), a bear wire, and no privy. Note: A coyote has been frequenting this campground and stealing food, so be sure to keep your food and cooking utensils properly stowed. A fellow camper at Happy Four the first night told us he saw the coyote grab his entire stove kit in its mouth and run off, even while he and his family were fairly nearby. The stove kit came with a couple packets of olive oil and tabasco sauce, which the camper had forgotten about, and which the coyote must have smelled. On our last night we saw the coyote near another camper’s tent at dusk, and it ran away as we walked by.

Be aware that the trail signs and Green Trails maps give varying mileages, both of which are off by a few miles—which is significant when you’re planning how much ground to cover each day and where to camp each night. If I’d known the correct mileage in advance, I may have planned to stay at a different campground the first and last nights.

Here are the mileages we tracked with our GPS (Garmin Oregon 700):

Trailhead to Happy Four: 6.7 mi.

Happy Four to Elk Lake: 12.7 mi.

Day hike from Elk Lake to both glacier viewpoints: 9 mi.

Even if the GPS wandered somewhat, that’s still 3 miles longer than the map and signs say! We measured it going both directions and our numbers matched.

Although sites at Elk Lake are reservable, the park no longer assigns each party a specific campsite. The first time we stayed here (in 2011) we arrived to find a paper with our name on the post of our designated site, but this time there were no assignments. Just pick the site you want upon arrival. Even if you made an advance reservation, there really isn’t a site reserved for you, so try to arrive earlier rather than later in the day to grab a spot.

Using Elk Lake as a base camp for hiking to Blue Glacier makes for a great day hike (9 mi. total and 2500’ cumulative elevation gain if you visit both viewpoints of the glacier). It saves you from climbing down & up the avalanche chute ladder with a heavy pack. (Note: A couple rungs of the ladder are broken on one side, and one rung is missing entirely. We took our time, stepped carefully, and had no trouble.) The lupines are finished blooming, but paintbrush is still in full swing above Glacier Meadows. If you have time to visit both viewpoints of the glacier, go to the terminal viewpoint first (0.5 mi. one way) and save the lateral viewpoint for last (0.8 mi. one way). Both offer amazing views of the glacier, but the lateral view is the most spectacular. If you only have time to see one viewpoint, do the lateral viewpoint.

Mosquitoes weren’t a problem until after it rained – then they started coming out. Repellant did the trick. The air quality was great for the first half of the trip, but that changed halfway through. When we arrived at the glacier viewpoints on Aug. 12 we smelled faint smoke blowing over the glacier from the east side of Mt Olympus, and the summit peaks were obscured by haze. On the 13^th & 14^th the smoky smell grew stronger and we were glad to be headed downhill by then, instead of huffing and puffing our way up, breathing the smoky air. The air quality is likely worse by now, so I’d recommend postponing a trip here until the sea breeze starts pushing more strongly inland. Stay safe!

This trail is a terrific sample of what Olympic National Park has to offer - including rain forests, massive trees, wild rivers, alpine meadows, and glacier views. A bonus is that big portions of it are very lightly traveled.

We did this as a 3-day backpack, inspired by an article in 1999 Backpacker magazine which labeled the route as the Hoh-High Divide Traverse. The three days were 9.1, 15.4, and 19.5 miles respectively. For trailhead logistics, we parked a car at Storm King Ranger Station and used https://www.hikeolympic.com/ to shuttle us to the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center. The first night, we camped at the Olympus Ranger Station (also known as Olympus Guard Station); the second night was at Appleton Pass. Two attractive features of these sites are that (a) they have bear wires, so no need to carry a bear canister and (b) they are outside of the Seven Lakes Basin quota area, so no reservations needed. You still do need a wilderness permit, but these can be obtained by self-registration at the trailhead or from the ranger at the Hoh Visitor Center. This means no need to stop by the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles. A handy map describing wilderness campsites is available on the Olympic National Park site.

The first day was an easy 9.1-mile hike along the Hoh River Trail from the Hoh Visitor Center to Olympus Ranger Station. Here we set up at a beautiful and non-buggy campsite on the bank of the Hoh River. One tip we got from the ranger was to fill up water from the clear little stream right behind the ranger house instead of the very silty Hoh River.

The second day was a tough one in terms of climbing. The Hoh Lake Trail from Olympus Ranger Station up to the High Divide starts climbing right away - you'll climb 4400 feet over the 6.5 miles. There were a few downed trees across this trail, but all very manageable. Make sure to get water at the bottom, as there isn't much before the C.B. Flats group campsite. Hoh Lake is a great spot to stop along the way, and the views of the lake are terrific as you circle and climb around it. The 2 miles after the climb are probably the best alpine views of the itinerary. This is the High Divide Trail, with the whole of the Hoh River valley and Mt. Olympus opening up in front of you. We stopped at Heart Lake for a swim and lunch. From Heart Lake, you'll descend 2000 ft down the Sol Duc River Trail to that river. Shortly after crossing the river, make a turn onto the Appleton Pass trail and promptly gain the 2000 feet back to the pass. From the time that we made the turn onto Appleton Pass trail to about 1/2 mile from Lake Crescent (late the next day), we didn't see another person.

We camped at Appleton Pass, which has the small but handy Oyster Lake for water. The bugs at this campsite were brutal; we pretty much retreated to the tent to avoid them. The views of Mt. Appleton and the Elwha River drainage are terrific from here.

Along the High Divide, we spoke with a ranger who was surprised at our final day trail plans, asking us, "Are you doing this by choice?" - the point being that the route-finding along Aurora Ridge is difficult and that there is very little water - so I was a bit apprehensive going into the day. Turns out neither was an issue. All of the trails we traversed were in great shape and had all recently been cleared. Water should work out fine as well, as long as you fill up when available. 

From Appleton Pass, we descended 2800 feet along a steep trail. The trail here, along the very pretty South Fork of Boulder Creek, was at times overgrown but not difficult to follow. Take the Boulder Lake Trail when you come to it at the bottom of the descent. This trail promptly regains 2800 feet as you climb through a nice forest. When you get to Boulder Lake, make sure to fill up with water, as this is indeed the last water for a while. But the trails from here on are easier. Next, make turns onto Happy Lake Ridge, followed by Aurora Ridge. These are very pleasant ridge trails with minimal up-and-down, so the miles go by fast. They are also well shaded, so were comfortable even on a hot, sunny day. Due to these two factors, water wasn't an issue, even with about 10 miles of no source. The trails also have continual great views into the surrounding valleys. The final set of trails - Aurora Divide, followed by Barnes Creek - were a very steep downhill of 4500 feet. Both are in great shape, having evidence of very recent trail work. The final 1/2 mile of the Barnes Creek Trail (the portion to Marymere Falls) was our first encounter with people in over 24 hours. It's amazing the solitude that one can find on a busy summer weekend in a national park.

I left Edmonds after work on Friday night. I had to go through Port Angeles to pick up permit, which I thought I would regret due to 3 hour ferry wait warning; however, thankfully I had to wait less than 90 minutes. I slept in my car in a pull out off Hoh River Road before entering the park. Got to trailhead and started hiking ~8 am Saturday morning. There weren't many cars in parking lot. A sign at trailhead warned of bear and coyote sightings. A group of two started about the same time as me, so I stopped and let them go ahead so we wouldn't be by each other on the trail.  Past Happy Creek camp, I passed 2 rangers who were marking off a beehive, which they think a bear disturbed. They also had a paintball gun they were going to use in attempt to scare off coyote(s) that have been spotted in camps. Shortly after continuing my hike, I saw a coyote walk across the trail. I passed a handful of groups hiking out. I arrived at Elk Lake camp to find a loud talking group and another group. Elk Lake had lots of lily pads and other stuff growing on the water. I elected to not drink out of it and go back down trail to Martin Creek to get water. I setup camp at Martin Creek camp. Saturday night I was only one there and Sunday there was one other group camped there. There is a bear wire, but not a toilet, so there were a couple spots right by camps people went to bathroom and left their disgusting toilet paper. Pack it out or bury it!!! Sunday I day hiked up to Blue Glacier, both the lateral and terminal moraine. I spent a couple hours enjoying the view from the lateral moraine. Amazing! Overall trail is in good shape, except there are spots between Elk Lake and Glacier Meadows camp where over grown. It rained Saturday evening for ~30 minutes, so the bushes were all wet, as were my clothes from walking though those sections of trail. Shortly before Glacier Meadows camp you need to go down a steep hillside/washout where a wire ladder with wood rungs. 3 of the rungs were out or broken. I do NOT like heights and after I climbed down a few rungs, I considered turning around since the thought of having to climb to bottom and back up it worried me. Thankfully, I didn't puss out and kept going. A majority of the trail parallels the river/creek; however, there is not constant access to water unless you want to bush whack. A prior trip report mentioned setting up base camp at Lewis Meadows and day hiking to Glacier. This would be do-able, but a long day. Overall, bugs were not that bad. Flies were the most annoying and I saw some mosquitoes but didn't come home with dozens of bites like I did from my two prior trips to different locations.

Left Seattle at 7am on Tuesday, went on the ferry to Kingston and stopped at Port Angeles to register with the ranger station, finally got on the trail at around 2:30pm. Traffic was backed up for almost an hour at the entrance to the park. 

Lots of day hikers in the first few miles, but a lot fewer people after the waterfall. We camped at Lewis Meadows, left our tent up the next day while we hiked to the blue glacier and back. It was a long day, but doable with light packs. We spent Wednesday night at the same place in Lewis Meadows, and then hiked out on Thursday.

Trail conditions were overall very good. Lots of salmonberries on the trail past elk lake, as well as a few huckleberry bushes. We went up to the lateral moraine, which had some spectacular views of Mt. Olympus and the blue glacier. Had an encounter with a curious mountain goat and its kid. Overall awesome hiking and great conditions!