Duckabush River — Saturday, Mar. 21, 2009

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

The road to the trailhead is clear of snow. The Duckabush River Trail is clear of snow and major blowdowns to the Big Hump. Once the trail begins the decent to the Duckabush River after the Big Hump there is a thin layer of snow on the trail, which continues sporadically to 5-mile Camp. At the turn-off to the campsites at 5-mile camp, the trail is buried beneath a layer of snow which can pose a challenge of continuing if you are not familiar with the trail. If that’s the case, here’s a little tip…the camp sites can be seen below you and next to the river, but if you want to continue, stay along the rock face and the trail reappears about 40 feet ahead. Past 5-mile Camp the snow depth on the trail is intermittent and in some spots is more than a few inches deep, but the trail is still easy to follow. The National Park Boundary is about 6.5 miles from the Trailhead, and the tree which held the sign for the boundary was blown down and onto the trail. We did not proceed into the National Park because of time and we were able to find a flat spot for our tent near the Park Boundary. The Duckabush River is beautiful right now with the swirling colors of white, aquamarine, and forest green. We noticed a few spots past 5-mile Camp that looked like they would provide exquisite relief on a hot summer day. No wildflowers yet. Water on the trail is minor. Photos at www.larrymishkar.blogspot.com