Hoh River Trail to Blue Glacier — Monday, Jul. 8, 2019

I backpacked this trail starting Monday afternoon, July 8th, with the following campsite stops: Happy Four, Olympus Guard Station camp, Elk Lake, camp 13.3 on the way back Thursday night. I was able to get up to the Blue Glacier Moraine viewpoint on Thursday. Finally, got the pictures to attach!

Per the Quillayute weather reports (I looked at afterward), it rained 1.5 inches Tuesday evening through Wednesday, and a little on Thursday. But I was rained or drizzled on every day (heavy at times) much of the trip from Tuesday to Friday. I think I had more frequent rain than the Quillayute totals because I was closer to Mt. Olympus (which gets over 200" average/year) than Quillayute (98"/year). I read lots of ebooks on my phone Tuesday evening thru Thursday waiting for the rain to slacken, which it did off and on.

I found the origin of the "Happy Four" shelter name on a plaque (see picture) inside the shelter, which read in part:

"In the mid-1930's, four U.S. Forest Service employees built this shelter. As the story goes, they became disenchanted with each other's company, to the point where "They did not even speak." To commemorate this partnership, District Ranger Sandy Floe dubbed this site "Happy Four Camp", a name that has stuck with this shelter to this day." (The plaque has a NPS emblem, etc.)

The difficult trail areas were partly washed out side stream crossings and their approaches (including the famous "steel ropes and wood ladder" before the Martin Creek camp.) One climber coming down Tuesday said that one crossing (not the ladder; some? side stream above the Hoh River bridge at 13.1+ miles?) was very difficult due to high water. However, I did not encounter any that high. Most heavy rain seemed to be Tuesday night, and I noticed the Hoh River itself dropped at least 18" at one point I observed, from Wednesday until Friday. Another side stream approach (above the Hoh River bridge?) required one to go down a very steep muddy bank; choose your route carefully! Several tree trunks to cross but none too difficult.

Even with the weather, the view at the top was fantastic, with all but the last 500' or so of Mt. Olympus visible at times Thursday. The flowers are out above Glacier Meadows. I hiked the 13+ miles out in one day - did not want to unpack and pack wet gear again. In these weather conditions, a fire would be useful. Unless you find an open sunny spot (during the brief sunny periods) to spread things out, what is wet stays wet, the whole trip. For example, I hung my (just-washed and wrung-out) polyester socks on the outside of my pack on Friday morning (Remember, "No rain" on Friday, per Quillayute!) yet they actually turned even wetter and moldy smelling again before I got to the car! Most climbers appeared to be successful despite the weather. One climber hiking out related to a campsite (Glacier Meadows?) where his tent site turned into a mini-lake early Wednesday morning! Overall, a beautiful hike through giant trees, flowered meadows, and great views, despite the rain and moderate bugs!

NorWester