DAY ONE - Hoh River Trailhead to Lewis Meadows, 10.4 miles
Husband and I left Seattle at 5:30AM and arrived at the trailhead by 10:30AM. We were on the trail by 11:00AM and were graced with beautiful sunny weather the entire day (albeit quite humid - it is a rain forest after all!) LOTS of hikers for the first 5 miles and then it cleared out after 5 Mile Island. Mostly flat and easy river access along the way EXCEPT for the 4ish miles between 5 Mile Island and Olympus Guard Station. Definitely fill up at 5 Mile if you are running low, especially if it is hot and you are sweating a lot like us! Also, the river water in the Hoh is pretty silty so make sure you have a filter that can catch sediment (I brought an OG steripen which does NOT filter out detritus and did not particularly enjoy drinking sandy water for the first day and a half!) We also found the water at the lower elevations had a bit of a funky aftertaste so some flavored drink mixes (lemonade powder, electrolyte powder) really came in handy. Water access from Lewis Meadows campground is not immediately visible but rest assured that if you walk across the gravel bar you will reach the water easily :)
DAY TWO: Lewis Meadows to Elk Lake Campground (4.5 miles), Elk Lake to Blue Glacier and back (6 miles)
Sunny again this day! We woke up at 6:00AM, ate, packed up camp, and were on the trail by 8:30AM headed to Elk Lake Campground, 4.5 miles away. We knew that there was about 1600 feet of elevation gain between Lewis Meadows and Elk Lake but did NOT realize that all of that 1600 would be crammed into 2 miles. It's definitely a steep climb with lots of switchbacks! Once we reached Elk Lake we set down our stuff, set up our tent, stored our food, and then headed up toward Blue Glacier with day packs. We left Elk Lake at 12:30, climbed another 2,000 feet or so to Glacier Meadows by 2:45, and then climbed ANOTHER 1,000 feet in about a mile to follow the Lateral Moraine trail and reach the glacier (about 0.3 miles from Glacier Meadows camp you have to choose if you will take the Lateral Moraine or the Terminal Moraine trail - I didn't realize this and thought that both the Lateral Moraine and Terminal Moraine were on the same trail. They are not! Glacier newbie here!) Would ABSOLUTELY recommend the Lateral Moraine - it took our breath away and brought us both to tears. There is a large boulder field near the top with no discernible footpath; look for the cairns to find your way through. We reached the top of the Lateral Moraine trail around 3:30 and hung out until about 4:00 before starting our descent back to Elk Lake. Mosquitoes were definitely an annoyance at Elk Lake. Also, you can't refill water from the lake itself - too swampy. There are a couple of murky looking streams near the campsite but we found that the best water was 0.3 miles back down the trail, where there's a large waterfall just beside the Martin Creek campground. Again, be prepared that this means each trip for water is a little over half a mile from your campsite!
So, what about the washout? To be honest, I thought the washout would be exciting and fun because I really enjoy rock climbing but found it pretty scary. On your way in to the glacier you will go DOWN the ladder, and on the way back from the glacier you will go UP the ladder. The way down is definitely harder. It is super exposed so you never forget just how high up you are or how big of a fall there is beneath you! That being said, my husband and I had no trouble navigating it (and my husband has a weird center of balance from a spinal fusion a few years back). Be prepared to hold on to the rope tightly and know that some rungs on the ladder are missing. You don't HAVE to use the rungs on the ladder on the way down but they are helpful for bracing your feet against. On the way up, my husband used a combination of the rope and the ladder while I just used the ladder. When you are coming down (heading into the glacier) the trail is a little tricky to spot from the bottom of the ladder. Look for the cairns.
DAY THREE: Elk Lake to Hoh River Trailhead, 15.1 miles
We were supposed to split up the mileage on this day and stay one extra night at 5 Mile Island but it was raining and my husband was ready for our bed so we pushed all the way through to the car. We are both relatively new to backpacking so 15 miles in a day was definitely at our upper limit of ability. Reached the car by 6:00PM and were home in Seattle by 11:00PM! One of the most amazing things I've ever done or seen. This trail has been on my bucket list for 14 years and I'm SO proud to have finally done it!
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