Fun, sunny hike with some great views! Hiked about 3.6 miles in. Snow didn't get thick until the back side of Big Hump.
ROAD CONDITIONS: The drive to the trail head is mostly on paved roads, which were snow free. The last approximate 1.8 miles is gravel and full of potholes. A LOT of potholes There was snow on this gravel section, but only in the center and along the shoulders. Aside from dodging all the potholes, it was fine.
TRAIL HEAD: At the sign for the Duckabush Trail, you drive up a short switchback. The parking lot is large and easy to maneuver. There are also some picnic tables. I have heard some reports of cars getting burglarized. I didn't have issues, but would recommend (as always) to ensure nothing of value is left in plain sight in your car.
TRAIL CONDITIONS: The trail was in good shape considering the season. There was intermittent snow along the lower portion leading to and up the switchbacks to Big Hump. Those were shallow and mostly hard packed. Just needed to be mindful of my step because it was a little slippery in spots, but not a big deal. I had no spikes and didn't get my poles out until the trip back. The snow got deep on the back side of Big Hump, probably six to 12 inches before I turned around. There were several trees and limbs fallen on the trail. Nothing difficult. They were easy to go over, under or around.
SCENERY: There was only one spot where I could easily get onto the river bank. I got some great photos there. Other than that, the only water I could get close to were some small streams running across the trail. I did spot a waterfall as I was traversing the switchbacks to Big Hump. However, I couldn't get a good shot of it with my iPhone.
The trees and moss were wonderful, like much of the Olympics. There was one section of tall, moss covered trees with lanky arms standing tall like sentries over a blanket of snow between the trail and the river.
Along the switchbacks up to big Hump, there were mossy rock walls with small trickles of water crying down their face. At this point, I started to get some great views of the snow and tree covered peaks in the distance.
Up at Big Hump there are a couple of awesome vistas. Also, I could see where a fire had ripped through the area among the tall alpine trees as I continued through.
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