Eastside Loop — Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021

"The best laid schemes o' mice and men . . ." (Burns)

Our original plan was to hike the Eastside Loop--from the Owyhigh Lakes TH down through the Ohanapecosh area, up the Cowlitz Divide, and out through Summerland. It was our 30th anniversary and we wanted to do something spectacular. In April we snagged reservations at Deer Creek and Olallie camps, and hoped for a walk-up to Indian Bar or Summerland (about as likely as spotting a unicorn). What we were able to get was a third night back at Deer Creek, which was fine with us--especially after weather reports predicted 98 degrees in Ohanapecosh area for Thursday and Friday. Upshot: we hiked from Owyhigh Lakes TH to Olallie camp, then back down to the Stevens Canyon entrance, where we got a lift back to Owyhigh TH, thanks to the professional, excellent, people-friendly rangers at Rainier. Our RT hike was 22 miles, with two nights camping. Details on trail and camps follow.

Day 1: Trail from Owyhigh Lakes TH to Deer Creek: It had been a bit hard to get a sense of the specific elevation gains and terrain, but I cobbled together a pretty good idea between several WTA trip reports and our Green Trails map. A few more specifics for folks interested in this route: plenty of parking at Owyhigh Lakes on a mid-week morning at 7:45. The trail was cool and shady to just before Owyhigh lakes, elev. gain 1600 feet. The water near Tamanos camp (the stream we crossed on trail) was adequate for collecting water, but not a torrent. We decided to wait till further along, which I recommend unless needed. It was buggy up above the lakes, but not terrible. From there, the trail crosses several meadowlands, which I hadn't expected; I'd imagined the way to be all forest. The meadows were beautiful, with many lavender asters, bear grass, and a few paintbrush (magenta and harsh). The descent to Deer Creek camp is 2400 feet and was rougher terrain than the trail to Owyhigh--narrow for much of the way, steep, rocky, and brushy. Like hiking in general, it requires attention so as to avoid a stumble. En route to Owyhigh, we'd passed 5 hikers; here, we saw 4 people, all rangers clearing blowdowns and, they said, brush--though they hadn't started on that part yet. It took us three hours to go about 5.5 miles, but we also filtered water and ate snacks on the way. Water sources abounded! Plenty of excellent places to cool off and get water.

Deer Creek camp: a lovely camp! Two tidy spots and a good bear pole, toilet in reasonable proximity (not twenty miles from the sites; Olallie camp was crazy in this respect!). Signage approaching Deer Creek camp from the Owyhigh end needs to be added, IMHO. The only indication that the camp is ahead had been scratched on by hand, and looked, at first glance, to be either random scrapings or graffiti. So, continue following the trail towards Ohanapecosh, crossing a couple of bridges over big creeks, and a proper sign for Deer Creek camp will soon appear on your left. This camp is great for having ready access to water and places to submerge various appendages and articles of clothing in cool h2o. Pics attached.

Day 2: Trail from Deer Creek to Olallie camp: from Deer Creek down to the Ohanapecosh area is nearly 7 miles of pleasant, gorgeous hiking. The way trundles mostly down, on a smooth trail. There were a few minor blowdowns. Again, several places to get water. About a half  mile from the Grove of Patriarchs trail, we started seeing people. Probably about 30 folks. We forged ahead (hiking faster with full packs than the other folks, likely chilling on their first vacay in 1.5 years!), keeping an eye out for the cutoff to the Cowlitz Divide. Meanwhile, the wide, placid, pale aqua Ohanapecosh River flowed to our left. You cross Hwy. 123 twice, both easy, well-signed crossings. The first one brings you near the Stevens Canyon entrance to the park, which came in very handy (a godsend, actually) on our return. Anyway, arriving at the junction for the Cowlitz Divide, we cut off to start our ascent up to Ollalie  camp. By now, the temperature was jacking up. We'd hit the trail at 7 a.m. to get ahead of the heat, but it started catching up. It's about 1600 or 1700 feet up to the camp, steep in places. And buggy!!! We were both in long pants, Edelman in a long-sleeved shirt, but we were hatless (doing everything we could to stay cool). The trail is in the woods, though not deep woods (i.e., cooler). We did the 3-mile ascent (from the bottom) in about 1.5 hours, arriving in camp at 12:20. Olallie camp is rougher than Deer Creek. We took one of two single-occupancy sites (there's also a group site) along the creek. The site was rather uneven, but we found a place that was flat enough to set our tent. It was nice in that it was right by the creek, so there was easy access to water and a cooling area. However, sun blazed into our campsite for three hours before it grew shady enough to set up our tent, and the bear pole area was likewise bathed in direct beams. We alternated between lying prone or sitting in whatever patches of shade were near, food sacks by our side, till it "cooled down" enough to kick into gear. I don't know how hot it was either day, but it had to be in the mid-80's, at least--even at 4000 feet at Olallie. Lots of black flies at Olallie in the afternoon, though they didn't bite. Still, we both remained covered up and wearing bug nets over our heads to avoid going insane. As I lay idly, I pondered such things as they possibility of designing an ultra light weight, practically sheer shirt that also repelled bugs. After setting up our tent, we waited till about 7 pm to hang our food bags. The camp was full by this time. A group of 5 lay as we had, prone atop their pads at their site. Likely Wonderland people who'd had to improvise with this site.

Day 3: Leaving Olallie camp: Not to enter TMI territory, but I have a suite of conditions that converge literally every time we do a multi-night backpack. And, of course, do what I might to try and eradicate this doggone frustrating reality, it rears its head every time. I'd warded it off till about the evening before, when the first symptoms appeared: dry mouth, headache, loss of appetite, mild nausea. These are the symptoms of heat stroke, too, but it's also what always emerges. By the a.m., I had to choke down my muesli, forcing myself to eat. Any type of food feels like eating paper when I reach that point. After deconstructing our camp, we headed back down, on our way to night #3 at Deer Creek again, then back out to Owyhigh the next day. About 1/2 a mile short of the Stevens Canyon entrance, we stopped to filter more water (we'd been drinking plenty, btw; I wasn't dehydrated), and my husband of 30 years took my entire food bag (2 or 3 lbs.) and offered to take all my clothes out of my pack. We soaked our shirts in the cold stream and put them on, too, to cool down. I was feeling increasingly unwell by this time. And by now it was clear that forest fire smoke was descending heavily on the area. After about 15 minutes more of hiking, we reached the Stevens Canyon entrance, where I could use the bathroom and weigh how I felt. We both concluded that we should not continue on to Deer Creek (another 7 miles, then to set up camp and spend the day in the heat and smoke, hiking out the next day for 8.3 miles, including up 2400 feet to Tamanos). We decided to hitch-hike to the White River entrance and walk to Owyhigh TH from there (about 2 miles). Edelman spotted the entrance booth down the road, which we hadn't noticed on the way in, and suggested we at least ask if there were any rangers heading that way today; maybe we could cop a ride. This was providential. The ranger we talked to asked me a series of questions about our hike and the circumstances, and called dispatch to see if any rangers would be in the area and heading that direction. And there was. About an hour later, a law enforcement ranger gave us a list all the way back to our car.

I have nothing but gratitude and respect for the MRNP rangers. The woman at the Stevens entrance and the young male ranger who drove us back to White River were consummate professionals (and very friendly in the process), observant, and detail-oriented. On our ride, we had quite the conversation--about the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in the state and about how many people they rescue and help on a daily basis. He said that we'd been right to stop when we had, that too often people push themselves and rangers end up having to go on a search and rescue mission.

Although our trip was cut a bit short, it was a good one for several reasons. First, we enjoyed the first couple of days--as always, the park is stunning in every aspect (well, except when smoke threatens the plant and animal life that lives there). But more importantly, I finally understand that I am not constitutionally able to do multi-day backpacks. My system can't handle it; it is unsafe and unfair to others (my husband and the rangers). On a day hike, I'm a regular (old) mountain goat, and I can hike in to one place and do day hikes form there. But my fantasies of doing the Wonderland someday, I must put to rest. Be safe out there, and happy hiking!