Hoh River Trail to Five Mile Island — Saturday, Apr. 10, 2021

there is nothing like driving eight hours roundtrip for a nine-mile hike! my only hope for the day was to spend time alone in nature + possibly see an elk and this hike delivered on both counts.

i left seattle with a friend at 7:30 a.m. and arrived at the trailhead just before noon. the portion of the trail that we hiked was incredibly flat, and we made quick progress. we ate lunch on a gravel bar near the tom creek campground, then continued to the cougar creek cedar grove before turning around. the trail was waterlogged and muddy, and we were caked in mud (and a little soggy from the rain) by the time we returned to the car.

we drove past three roosevelt elk on our way out of the park: a perfect, magical end to the day. (these quiet, simple moments in nature fill me with a kind of joy that i don't think i will ever be able to replicate in other ways.)

a few lingering thoughts:

• we saw a weird mix of rain/sleet/snow/sun on the trail...i was grateful to have layers (and lightweight gloves) that i could switch out every few miles
• after the first mile, we largely had the trail to ourselves! a rare + welcome joy
• not my all-time favorite hike, but i think this stretch of trail would be a good place for a first-time backpacking trip and will stay on my list of low-elevation hikes to revisit each winter