Upper South Fork Skokomish River, Sundown Lake Way Trail, Six Ridge & North Fork Skokomish River — Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016

Olympic Peninsula > Olympia

A 2 day trip to scout Six Ridge for an upcoming WTA back country. There are 70- 80 logs or punky messes along the entire route. None rise to the level of hassle or detour a hiker enough to present route finding problems. Hikers should expect only the usual cross meadow route seeking puzzles The biggest problem is usable water. There is no water from Startup Creek to the tarns on the south side of Sundown Pass. Reilly Camp is dry. Many of the usual water sources along the ridge as far east as Belview Camp are dry or quite diminished. Sundown Lakes and McGravey lakes have enough water to support low outflows. Many of the small ponds at or near McGravey Lakes are dry. The flow at Belview Camp is small but usable. East of Belview Camp is the usual 7 miles of no water until arriving at the North Fork of the Skokomish. This was my 8th trip on the ridge. I have never seen the ridge this dry. I have also never seen more huckleberries. We encountered a just few thimble berries and salmon berries.