It was a clear, frosty day on the West Elwha Trail today, with silky blooms of hair ice everywhere. It was perfect day for the Gray Wolf Trail Crew to pick up where we left off three weeks ago. We completed brushing the trail to its end at Altair Picnic Area, and we rebenched tread, improved drainage, and trimmed low-hanging limbs with a pole saw.
The crew has had 3 large crews and 4 days of 2-person crews over December and January to get this trail into beautiful hiking condition again.
From the Herrick Rd trailhead to Altaire, the trail is now ...
>brushed on both sides
>brush cleaned up and tossed
>thick layer of deciduous leaves raked up and tossed (this lets the trail dry out and prevents breakdown from being wet and mushy)
>overhanging branches trimmed back
>encroaching vine maples trimmed back
>tread repaired and widened or pushed back up as necessary
>drainage addressed
>all logs cleared
More work is upcoming but this general maintenance gave it a thorough deep cleaning!
Comments
I’m sad I couldn’t make it today, but glad you all got dry weather this time around! - Nisha
Posted by:
GoMegaMo on Jan 24, 2026 09:07 PM
Thank you so much for all the work you put into this trail! It benefits so many people!!!!!!
Posted by:
JackieJ on Jan 25, 2026 12:39 AM