Hiked from Hurricane Ridge down Wolf Creek Trail to the Whiskey Bend TH and then along the Pacific Northwest Trail along the Elwha River, over Hayden Pass, and along the Dosewallips River to the Dosewallips road TH. ~57miles over ~3 days.
Elwha River and Dosewallip River trails are lovely river walks in great trail condition. Saw a black bear feasting on all the salmonberries at Hayes River Camp. I've never seen so many ripe salmonberries in my life!
Trail from Hayes River Camp up to Hayden Pass gets increasingly bushwacky and muddy as you enter the previous burn. I counted 135+ downed trees across the trail between Hayes River and Hayden Pass. One dirt slide shortly before the pass is very narrow and could have a high consequence slip down the dirt/scree to the rocks below.
Snow is rapidly melting in the Olypmics. We had one teeny patch of snow near the pass and ~3 patches on the north side of Hayden Pass descending into Dose. We brought an ice axe and microspikes but never used them. Had to carefully kick some steps across the patches but expect them to be melted out after another hot week.
Comments
mseawise on Wolf Creek, Elwha River and Lillian River, Elwha To Hurricane Hill, Hayden Pass, Main Fork Dosewallips River
Great report and photos. Curious about the slide before Hayden Pass. I have a 7 day thru hike planned starting on the Elwha up and over Hayden Pass and hit some other passes (Gray Wolf, Lost and Cameron). However, that slide is looking sketch. How difficult was it? Was there an option to circumvent it? I'm a fairly seasoned backpacker, but will be solo. Thanks!
Posted by:
mseawise on Jul 10, 2025 03:01 PM
Aeastie on Wolf Creek, Elwha River and Lillian River, Elwha To Hurricane Hill, Hayden Pass, Main Fork Dosewallips River
Sorry I missed your comment! The dirt slide was sketch (dirt is very loose and 50m below were rocks) but is manageable as long as it hasn't rained. I would recommend stepping slowly to let the loose scree dirt settle. It looks worse then it actually is and if you really want to avoid it you could climb down into the drainage and back up.
Of the four passes you are planning, I would be most concerned about Cameron Pass. That one melts out the slowest and when I did it last year the snow patches with scree required the most caution. Still totally doable though!
Posted by:
Aeastie on Jul 17, 2025 08:11 AM