Approached from Olympus Guard Station from the Hoh River Trail. 

The Lake is still mostly frozen and there is knee deep snow around the lake. Snow began around CB Flats. 

What an incredible hike. Adventure and beauty all wrapped up in 40 miles or so. Started out on a showery Sunday (a rainforest it sure is) and we were thankful to get to our camp at Olympus Guard Station before the more steady rain found our recently pitched tent.

We left Lynnwood around 4:15 am, drove around through Olympia, and arrived at the backpacker parking lot around 8:45 am to snag a parking spot. We read that parking can be tricky, and based on observation I bet it can be. On our way out on Thursday afternoon around 3:30pm, there was a line at the entrance station holding cars.

On the permit email that went out a few days before our trip, the park mentioned that hikers have found the creek crossings just before the Olympus Guard Station to be tricky this time of year. On our way in, we encountered a few hikers that turned around rather than cross.

When we reached the first crossing, it looked like we had the choice to wade or walk a log. On the way in we only saw one other group at the crossing, and we both opted for a log. On our way out we saw hikers both wading and walking the logs. I can’t speak to how the wading went, but if opting to unclip that hip belt and cross on a log, there were a few choices. One closer in that someone built a rock island to reach, and one farther upstream.

It was at this point that I resolved I would not bring my son (now seven) here at this time of year for a few more years.

The next crossing had the option to wade or cross the log jam. We carefully walked the log jam but the wading didn’t look too bad.

Camping at the Olympus Guard Station was a party that included some deer that were not afraid of us at all. We found so much evidence of wildlife on this hike. This ancient forest truly supports all kinds. We saw a bear track in the mud along the trail, saw and heard a grouse, banana slugs, many deer, some elk tracks, several species of woodpeckers, heard owls from camp, a kingfisher, a salamander in the dark, and lots of frogs along the trail during the day. They'd hop out of the way as we approached.

On Monday we continued to Elk Lake where we spent three nights. We were there to climb, and on Wednesday starting at midnight we hiked up to Glacier Meadows (doing that ladder in the dark was fun!) and saw the sunrise on Mount Olympus as we crossed the glacier.

Some climbing notes. We were thankful there was one other two person team on the mountain. It settled my nerves a bit to have someone else around. They had climbed Olympus before and generously gave us some really useful route advice at the top of the moraine.

The descent of the moraine to the Blue Glacier was interesting. Perhaps a little like Olympus Mons on Mars would be? My husband loves the rock stuff. I'm more of a glacier lady.

From a hiker perspective, I think the better view is from the top of the moraine anyway. Even hiking there carries some exposure that looks like it can be partially mitigated by walking on the lower snow to the east of the knife edge trail. Just take care with protecting the subalpine plants as it melts out.

We descended the slope in the dark. There are some cairns marking the path in places. Take care with the loose rock. We knocked off several rocks and were glad to be the only people on the slope for that.

The lower Blue Glacier was in great condition Wednesday morning 6/19. We could see where some crevasses were but none were very open. We still roped up, of course. After crossing the glacier, there was a boot path we began to follow but then we saw evidence of a climber triggered avalanche on a slope above and decided to turn back and stay more to the right, as had the other team out that morning. It's more gentle that way as well.

As we ascended the east facing slope beneath Snow Dome, the snow got very soft and difficult (I was postholing to my thighs at times) and as we approached our turnaround time we decided to come back for it another time. We'll be going with an earlier start and higher camp now that we're more familiar with it. 10/10 would do this again. And intend to!

Muddy, but pretty much clear of snow and streams crossable with careful navigation! Poles really helped on the first large crossing before the ranger station.

Camped at Elk Lake with two other groups. No one was at Glacier Meadows when we hiked by.

We arrived around 11am on Thursday, with only a 5-10min wait at the park entrance. After putting the bustling visitor center a few miles behind us, we were immersed in the forest. The trail wound gently through foliage so lush it was almost decadent. 

Note: Between Happy 4 and Olympus Ranger Station Camp, at a spot marked by orange ribbons, the trail crisscrosses a newly carved channel of the river, which is yet to be added to the map. We spent a good half hour battling through an increasingly questionable path before realizing this. 

Apart from this, the going was very easy. We camped ~10 miles in at the lovely Lewis Meadows, a popular local salad bar for the deer. 

The next day, we did a ~15-mile out-and-back to Blue Glacier. It was a very long, challenging day and very well worth it. The trail completely made up for its lack of elevation gain the previous day, as the greenery gave way to stunning peaks. We went left to Lateral Moraine and did not regret it once we crested the ridge. The weather was ricocheting between sun and rain, even a little snow at the top, but with a break in the clouds, the mountain irrefutably awed us. If the gods were to dwell upon Mount Olympus, they might mistake our wondering stares as having anything to do them.

We made it back to Lewis Meadows in just under 12 hours. The next day was an exercise in mud navigation, as we got to experience the true nature of the rainforest via downpour. We arrived back to the car sore, soaked, and satisfied.

Had an amazing 3 day hike to Blue Glacier. (about 37 miles round trip). Camped at Lewis Meadows and left camp there on day 2 for the ~15 mile round trip up and back to blue glacier. Hiked back to Hoh visitor station on day 3. Here are  a few keys points to note (for the time we hiked): 

1) trail was in fine condition. Expect muddy sections and there are at least 2 river crossings that don't have dedicated logs. For one, there is a bunch of logs making navigating the river easy. The other section required going up/down the river a little to find a log. Both were fine and I knew about those from other trip reports. 

2) The hike up to blue glacier about a mile beyond Lewis meadows is a lot of elevation gain. It's no joke. Be prepared for a tiring hike up and a quad and knee endurance exercise on the way down, but amazing scenery, lots of interesting frogs right on the trail, and it's in the shade for the majority of the time (which was welcome given how much of an uphill slog it was). 

3) the Ladder section was a little scary on the way down, but I found it less scary (although a good work-out) on the way back up. It's about 50 rungs of the ladder at about 45 degrees on really loose gravel and rocks. Let's just say the glacier makes you work for it. 

4) the last .4 miles beyond Glacier meadows was on snow fields. It was easy to cross with normal trail runners (and poles) as there were other footprints to follow. It was melting quickly though.