Hoh River Trail to Blue Glacier — Thursday, Jul. 2, 2015

Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast

Beautiful hike, but surprisingly hot. The bugs were also very intense. I made the mistake of wearing blue though, not realizing insects are drawn to that. I no longer wear blue clothing or gear on backcountry trails thanks to this hike. There is plenty of water along the way, at least until you get to timberline, so no need to carry too much as long as you have purification tabs, a filter, or a steripen. I also saw numerous bear tracks while on the hike, including some that appeared overnight around the riverbank where I camped. I also spoke with a group of hikers who came across a black bear on the trail. The bear fled as soon as it saw them. The bears shouldn't pose any problems if you wear a bell to alert them of your presence, you're careful about odors, and you make proper use of a bear vault (or can). Black bears tend to be pretty skittish. Exhausting but beautiful hike.