After a wet dog walk Saturday night and a poor forecast for Sunday, I resigned myself to skipping a Sunday hike and hitting the elliptical instead. Then I awoke to blue skies on the Peninsula, so I grabbed my backpack and headed for the Duckabush before the rain returned in the afternoon.
The road is pretty rough after the pavement ends at Interrorem Cabin. There are just loads of potholes, and even with my best Bode Miller slalom skills, I couldn't avoid all of them. I marked the box for "suitable for all vehicles," because you'll make it, but lower cars in particular might be slowed down considerably by the potholes.
The trail, by contrast, is in great shape, at least most of the way to Big Hump. There is a fair amount of timber down higher up on the trail, but most of the blowdowns are just annoying, not particularly hard to surmount.
The other issue with the trail is that it was pretty wet, so I was glad I opted for boots this day. Most of the water crossings were easy, though, with strategically placed rocks. One crossing was, however, on a log that is more than half rotted away, so eventually someone is going to have a rude surprise when it gives way.
So there was a fair amount of climbing over and ducking under blowdowns after maybe three or 3.5 miles of mostly clear trail. I made it up to Big Hump, then turned back and stopped on the overlook just below Big Hump for a quick lunch.
This trail is the proverbial uphill-both-ways, with a quick gain up the switchbacks below the high point, as well as a fair amount of uphill from the low point around the river back up to the trailhead.
I saw only three other parties the whole time, and my timing was perfect, as the rain began in earnest only after I was back on the road.
Thanks as always to WTA for keeping this trail so useable!
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