Hoh River Trail to Blue Glacier — Tuesday, Sep. 20, 2022

Did this as a short day hike just short of the Mt Tom Creek campsite. A mostly quiet hike despite the large number of folks trying the trail from the Hoh Visitor Center. A popular stopping/turn around place seemed to be the footbridge and waterfall. Unfortunately, there is a HUGE tree across the trail that forces hikers to clamber over it in whatever way you can. See pic included. That tree is almost 5 feet high over the trail and perhaps 3 feet thick. I watched (and offered assistance) as several older folks tried and succeeded in surmounting this obstacle, but there was major concern on their part about falling. Other folks simply turned around at this point. Once you get past this tree, the trail climbs upwards with the help of rocky steps and then begins a more undulating path toward and away from the river. I lollygag when I hike because I am in no hurry, so I can't tell you how far in the footbridge over the rushing stream is, but when you hit this point, look up to your left once on the other side and you will see a pretty waterfall high up. See pic. I heard from 2 hikers that there is an unmaintained trail on the right side that takes you up the waterfall but they only went as far as the second cascade. Lots of folks spread out and have lunch here as it is a very pretty spot. The views up and down the valley when the trail approaches the river are beautiful and I found a few places where evidence of the coming fall was visible. Even with the crowds, the eventual spacing of hikers as everyone finds their own rhythm meant that this was still a very enjoyable hike. The tread is full of rocks and roots, so you need to look down occasionally to ensure you don't trip as I frequently do. But the beauty of the area definitely warrants a sojurn along this trail even if only for a short time.