We did a four day hike in the Hoh Rainforest, with the following itinerary:
Day 1: trailhead (Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center) to Mt. Tom Creek (3 miles)
Day 2: Mt. Tom Creek to Lewis Meadow (7 miles)
Day 3: Lewis Meadow to Mt. Tom Creek (7 miles)
Day 4: Mt. Tom Creek to trailhead.
We last visited this part of Olympic NP in 2013 on a trip to Heart Lake via Hoh Lake, and were excited to be able to apply for and print our permit online to bypass the ranger station lines in Port Angeles. Turns out we might have been better off stopping there to get some trail beta, oops.
Trail is in generally good condition up to Five Mile Camp. Between Five Mile and Olympus Ranger Station be aware that there are now two river branch crossings (see photo for the western one) to perform due to probable trail washout - we do not recall these from 2013 and they are not mentioned in trip reports I read from 2022 so I suspect they are new. Watch out for orange flagging tape on trees showing where to ford the Hoh. You have two choices here: ford the Hoh twice (2/3 up my calves, fast flow, difficult to see the bottom due to glacial flour, quite cold, but okay with sandals and trekking poles) OR take a social/bushwhack trail to the left of the first crossing, for which you will need to be able to follow boot prints, take off the pack repeatedly to get under low downed trees, etc. We did this not knowing that the fords were the correct choice on Day 2; on Day 3 it had rained and we were worried about safety on the bushwhack with wet ground, so did the fords.
Mt. Tom Creek is nice, no privy but good campsites both in the forest and along the river bank. As we hauled bear canisters we did not use the bear wires on this trip. Lewis Meadow is also nice - go through the group campsite to the river bank again. It also has a privy, as does Five Mile and Olympus Ranger Station camp. Wasps apparently were bad at Olympus but we didn't encounter any more than elsewhere along the trail.
Rain on Day 3 turned some of the trail into a bit of a mud hazard but honestly not bad in 95% of the distance, and there are plenty of drier spots under conifers to take a lunch break without getting wet at all. Berries (red currant, blueberries, ?Cascade? blackberries) were tasty treats, and we also saw deer (including fawns), large toads, and large frogs, as well as dippers, Douglas squirrels, banana slugs, chickadees, nuthatches, crows, Steller's Jays, but surprisingly no ravens. Flowers were limited in the rainforest, not surprising, but we spotted a very low elevation Lewis' Monkeyflower among others.
Be aware that getting to the Hoh right now is VERY hard by car in terms of timing. We arrived at 6:30pm on Day 1 which had no wait time, but when we left at 10:45am on Day 4 (a Thursday!) the queue of cars to get in was already past the "2 hours waiting time" signboard the NPS had put up. Obviously there is also no cell signal after Forks, so if you need assistance be prepared to send someone to ask for help.
All in all a lovely hike but it would have been helpful to have read trip reports this time in advance or to have been warned by rangers (or other backpackers we talked to!) about the river fords. We did check with everyone we saw on Days 3 and 4 to make sure they were aware as not all were.
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