Today I walked the Spruce Railroad Trail from the East Trailhead walking 4 miles west, then turning around and walking back for 8.15 miles total. I drove in from Joyce, and the roads were in great shape. I pulled into the parking lot at 7:45 a.m. Mine was the 10th car in the lot. There is one pit toilet at the trailhead, and it was just about out of TP, so be sure to pack your own. Unfortunately, someone has stolen or destroyed the trail sign where people typical pose for photos.
The weather was cool, 51 degrees, when the weatherman had predicted 58 degrees for nearby Joyce. There were low clouds over the mountains which were still hanging on at noon. When I pulled out of the lot just before noon the temperature had risen to 58 degrees, which was 14 degrees below the forecast. Perfect for walking!
This is a paved trail on what was a narrow gauge railroad line. There are many more bicyclists, including electric driven cycles, than there are pedestrians on the trail. On my outbound leg I saw 16 people; only 3 were fellow walkers. On the way back I saw over 100 people. About 75% were on 2 wheels.
This is a beautiful trail, with Lake Crescent on one side and a mountain on the other. The mountainside is steep, tree-covered, and close at hand. The lake is beautiful, surrounded by mountains on all sides. There were no bugs to speak of. I saw a few birds and chipmunks, along with one small snake. On the outbound leg I walked the path to the Devil’s Punchbowl, where a couple of kids were swimming in the cold water. On the way back, I walked through the train tunnel.
Unfortunately, the trail shows it is heavily used by people who are not “typical” hikers. I saw lots of little trash—wrappers, cans in the water, scraps of paper and plastic, bagged dog crap, stuff you won’t find on other Olympic Peninsula trails. Also, this trail is much weedier than most trails. It seems like some person or group has weeded the first mile or 1.5 miles, but beyond this, the trail is lined with Scotch broom and many other flowering weeds. If I win big in the lotto, I’m going to have it cleaned up. Until then, I did my part. I picked up a piece of sharp glass from the trail and disposed of it. It was big enough to take out a bike tire or send some kid in sandals home needing stitches. I couldn’t figure out where glass like that came from. I also stopped and uprooted 4 Scotch broom plants. I hate those things.
Overall, great day for a hike with lots of happy people enjoying the weather, except for the biking group from Purdue. Those people were sour.
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