Marmot Pass — Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

Wow!! Our adventure began w/ my friend and I showing up with two sets of driving instructions - and his GPS showing still different information. Two groups of hikers we encountered on the trail had run into the same problems. The roads are confusing and not all are marked. All I remember for sure is that we saw signs for 27 and for 2750. Give yourself extra time for the drive - it's not long, but has confused more than one intelligent person! The pit toilet at the trailhead is closed. We had a fantastic, sunny day. I'm not sure that this is a hike worthy of the status accorded it by WTA, but it was lovely with some nice views. My favorite part was the amazing array of fungi!! From Dr. Seuss-like to dainty to phallic - from purple to day-glo yellow to pure white - I've never seen such diversity and wished I had an I.D. guide on me. We had to turn back after about 5 hours and still ended up being the last folks off the trail and hiking in the dark. The highlight? We were definitely given notice by a bear!! A warning "woof" was followed by a series of spine-chilling growls and we could only see a few feet in front of us. I won't go in again without some bear spray! I feel respectfully grateful I am alive to write a trail report.