Hoh River Trail to Five Mile Island — Friday, Jan. 16, 2026

It has been six years since I have hiked up the Hoh River so I took advantage of a few sunny days to hike that way again. This winter has done major damage to the trail. There is a large blowdown just past the trail mileage sign. Another large blowdown at the 2 mile point (distances are from the visitor center). There are two washouts with downed trees just before Mineral Creek. The first one isn't too bad but the second is a steep climb down and back up with lots of loose rock. Another large blowdown about 0.25 miles past Mt Tom Creek campsite. Still another large blowdown about 1 mile before five mile island. Just past the blowdown a 50 foot section of trail is flooded with water ranging in depth from ankle to mid calf deep. I didn't see a way around it. The water would have felt good on a summer day but it was ice cold on Friday. I had hoped to go to Olympus Guard Station but ended up staying a 5 mile island and day hiking as far as I could. Just past 5 mile, the creeks and river have overflowed their banks this winter wiping out sections of trail. It is still easy to get by. Happy Four camp is much different this trip. There are a large number of branches and small trees down and it looks like it may have flooded sometime in the past. Definitely not the beautiful place I stopped for lunch six years ago. Approximately one mile past the Happy Four shelter a creek has washed out the embankment where the trail crossed. There is now a 15-20 foot vertical bank with loose rock. While I bushwhacked a little while, I was not able to find a way to cross the creek and regain the trail. There is a large high log that could be used to cross in dry weather but it was coated in ice and I chose to return to Five Mile. All in all a wonderful trip. I saw several groups of elk, an eagle flying upriver, bear tracks, and remnants of a salmon the bear had eaten. Does anyone know if bears occasionally come out of hibernation or has it been so mild that they have not hibernated? Days were gorgeous but nights got below freezing. Glad I took my warmest sleeping bag, my white gas stove, and slept with my water filter. The bear wires at Five Mile and Happy Four were both in good condition. I found several pieces of expensive equipment at Five Mile camp that looked like they had been left sometime in the fall. Message me to identify and claim.