North Fork Quinault River and Halfway House, Whiskey Bend to Low Divide — Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018

Two friends of mine and myself decided to run this route and attempt the unsupported mixed gender Press Traverse FKT. I had hiked/ran it with three other friends in July where we attempted the all female unsupported FKT, so thought it would be fun to go back and try again during a different season.

Because this is a point to point, two of us drove to the finish and dropped one car then took the other vehicle to the start. The three of us car camped that evening. We were the only ones there. We never saw any other hikers or trail runners throughout our entire trek of 52'sh miles. It's also worth noting that the vaulted toilet at the trailhead was in excellent, clean condition. We left the trailhead at 0707. Being autumn, it was still dark so we used headlamps for the first 45 minutes approximately.

The trail was similar in many ways yet different. Overall, I feel that some substantial trail maintenance had been done. There were definitely fewer fallen trees and a major landslide area that was there previously had now been cleared out. I was very much appreciative of this! Another good change about hitting this trail in the fall was that there wasn't the same amount of overgrowth; I would call it minor. The Elwa river crossing wasn't too bad at all; it hit us about mid calf level.

Where the trail starts to climb away from the river, we came upon a herd of elk. At this time, it was still early and the fog covered the valley. This was quite a captivating experience as there was at least one calf in the herd. A bull ran swiftly across the trail in front of us. We preceded with caution but were able to pass safely. For several miles after, we could hear the sounds of calf mewing and the bull bugling. Between that experience and the neverending mushrooms, it really felt as though we were in a magical place. 

Being a different season, however, presented new obstacles. There was a leaf-covering on several sections of the trail which caused us to move at a slower pace and use more caution. The trails were also quite muddy and wet. In fact, it became an ongoing joke...just as soon as our shoes and socks started to feel as though they were getting dried out, they would be saturated by water and mud again. On the bright side, there were plenty of opportunities to fill up on water. Many of the rocks had a slick black covering on them so we used extra caution on those as well. 

Other extreme differences were, of course, the fall colors everywhere and the weather...it sprinkled lightly on and off throughout the day. It was cool but not too bad; light jackets and thin gloves seemed to be plenty for most of the day. There was a low fog at times and limited visibility. Also...those mushrooms! They were everywhere and in every size, shape, shade you could imagine. Just breathtaking! Between the mushrooms/fungi and the lavish green moss covered forests, your eyes never wore tired of it's surroundings.

One other item worth noting; somewhere not too far after passing the valley, there is a tree branch/stub that protrudes into the trail by several inches. It was enough to gouge myself as well as one of the other runners severely enough to make us stop for a minute and recompose. We tried to remove it but feel it needed to be sawed out.

Around mile 23, we lost our way briefly and looked for pink ribbons to find our way (My group in the summer got mixed up here as well). For the most part, the rest of the trail is easy to follow. Towards the end, you come to a "Y" in the trail. Someone had laid logs across it to block off the trail to the left. We went to the right and this was in fact the correct way to go.

We had to pull out our headlamps around 1830 as there is less daylight this time of year. It started to cool off at this time and warmer layers were needed. As we approached the end, there are some signs that give you mileage to the Whiskey Bend trailhead. Pay no attention to these. They are not accurate by any means and will only frustrate a tired mind and body. 

We reached the Whiskey Bend Trailhead 14 hours and 15 minutes later at approximately 2122. We refueled then headed down the 7 mile road back to Madison Falls parking lot. The bridge that had been on the road this summer had now been removed so we had to use a detour trail through the woods. It was a bit confusing but we basically took the first left then went right, and followed the river up until we came to a bridge. After that, at the "T" in road, we turned right and were back to our car within a couple miles. Again, the vaulted toilet was recently maintained and very clean. 

The drive back to the start was approximately 129 miles long (3 hours). This was the final push in our adventure. I am thankful I was not the one driving as I could barely keep my eyes open. In hindsight, car camping at Madison Falls parking area seems like the safer choice. However, when we returned to the mountain road leading back to the North Fork TH, we came upon (perhaps the same) herd of elk surrounding both sides of the road just a few miles in. Again, there was a low fog. It felt as though the elk had both started and finished the journey with us and emmited within me a sense of peace.

Below is the link to the same route taken in mid July.

https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2018-07-22.5718775999