Hiked Quartz Creek with my 9yo daughter as her first backpacking trip. I was blown away by the quality of this hike - amazing terrain, pristine old-growth, and some great late-summer dips under a waterfall.
We did 2 nights, camping the first night just past Snagtooth Creek just over 4 miles from the trailhead, then backtracking to the large site just after the ford at Straight Creek. The ancient doug firs at the 3 mile mark are absolutely wondrous. There is a very picturesque waterfall just beyond that campsite that you can get right up next to, and a (brief!) swim is a real treat after a day of hiking.
No large wildlife but we did see evidence of territorial scat in a pawed-out hole, middle of trail, about 3.5 miles in. Looked relatively recent.
Only saw one other party the entire weekend, which was astonishing given this was a pretty gorgeous Labor Day weekend. Some erosion on trails and minor challenges with the descent to creek crossings as noted by other reviewers. While some areas are badly eroded, the descents were still easily managed by my 9yo. Creek fords were trivial in late August, no wet socks here. Some black flies, minimal mosquitos, and we didn't need DEET. Huckleberries abound.
Permit for parking is needed in summer. We parked at Platinum Creek/Lewis River Horse Camp, $2/day. (Appreciate the prior info on this!) Instructions for overnight parking not clear on USFS website, I just bought and printed 3 consecutive days for our trip and we did not have any trouble.
Comments