TLDR: hiked down the Bogachiel River trail, up on the High Divide, down to Blue Glacier and back out on the Hoh. Hitched back to the car. Tons of rainforest walking, plenty of amphibians and slugs. Super crowded on the Hoh and Divide but quiet on the Bogachiel. High Divide and Hoh = super well maintained. Bogachiel and PNT = not well maintained, and not for the faint of heart. Be ready for a battle.
Overall stats
Days: 4
Nights: 3
Distance: 71.68 miles
Elevation up: 13,536 ft
Day 0
Extra time off for Labor Day, but where to go? I called the ONP ranger station at Port Angeles earlier in the week and created a fun itinerary on the Pacific Northwest Trail with ranger Ian wit hopes to get some solid mileage in and have fun in the park. If you plan ahead, have an idea of what you want to do, and are assured in your ability level, some rangers are very helpful and willing to work with you to design an itin! We had our permit printed a few days before setting-off on our Labor Day adventure.
Day 1
Distance: 18.76 miles
Elevation up: 2,398 ft
Moving time: 7:19
We arrived at the Bogachiel River TH (USFS) to an empty parking lot. Keep in mind that the road from 101 to the TH is washed-out, so you'll be taking a short bypass road instead. TH bathroom looked good and we began hiking around 11:30am.
The trail was relatively maintained through the USFS section and up to the Olympic park boundary. A few miles into Olympic on the Bogachiel and the trail gets very rough. There are several washed-out sections with ropes installed to help you safely navigate. There are also numerous blowdowns in this section, some being tricky to work around. The trail is also in need of new bridges and bog boards in many areas, brushwork throughout, etc. The average hiker will not have fun on this trail.
I was stung on the ankle by a hornet at Flapjack camp. Otherwise the only wildlife we got were slugs and frogs. TONS of chicken of the woods mushroom growing throughout. We had a snack at 15-mile emergency shelter, then pushed to Hyak shelter for the night. We didn't see anyone on trail this day and had camp to ourselves.
Day 2
Distance: 22.36 miles
Elevation up: 5,387 ft
Moving time: 9:31
We were hiking around 6:45 this morning. The Bogachiel was hot and stuff, a bit like Fanghorn Forest. 3 miles in the trail takes an incline up toward Deer Lake and the High Divide. The tread and maintenance of the trail got significantly better after the junction to Bogachiel River, on the junction to Mink Lake (nice berries here too). This was where we saw our first hikers in close to 24 hours.
The rest of the hike was crowded with other hikers. We had lunch at Deer Lake, hydrated, then pushed up the climb to Hoh Lake trail junction. This day was hot and dry and we could smell smoke in the air, likely from the Hurricane Ridge grass fire. It was nice to revisit the High Divide, but we were happy to turn off toward Hoh Lake and enjoy views of Mount Olympus the entire way.
Hoh Lake itself was teeming with tadpoles and baby frogs. So much so, you could barely walk without squishing numerous little amphibian friends. We had lunch near Hoh Lake, then slogged down the hot, exposed, eroded trail from Hoh Lake down to Olympus Guard station.
Olympus Guard station can accommodate dozens of tents. Its sprawling meadows, enormous and shady trees and water access make it a create place to spend the night.
Day 3
Distance: 18.67 miles
Elevation up: 5,082 ft
Moving time: 7:48
We were pretty whooped from day 2, so we slept-in to around 6:40 this morning. We finally got out of camp around 7:50 and began a day hike (slackpack since we left our sleep stuff at Olympus Guard Station) up to Blue Glacier. The trail was well trafficked and maintained. The first few miles east-bound, past Lewis Meadows, is flat and easy. After the Hoh River bridge you begin to get some incline.
Luckily for us, this day was overcast (and later, rainy). It kept the heat down and sun away as we managed the steep-ish climb up toward Glacier Meadows. Right before Glacier Meadows camp is the infamous ladder, which can seriously eat into your hiking cadence since it's appropriate to wait for other hikers to safely navigate the ladder. Going down felt much more dangerous than going up, and there's a large inherent risk if you fall, but everyone there navigated it safely. Some of the other eroded sections of trail saw a few hikers asking for assistance here or there.
The walk from Glacier Meadows to the lateral moraine of Blue Glacier was enshrouded in mist for us. The trail itself is primitive, following the moraine, but otherwise I felt impressed by some of the rock work. Views of the Blue Glacier itself were sparse because clouds were coming-in so quickly, but we got a few minutes of views with some Mount Olympus climbers before the white-out fully settled. We hiked down from the view around 2pm.
The walk back was quick and uneventful, save for the ladder (which saw an oblivious hiker barrel downhill without regard for anyone's safety re falling rocks, then try to cut everyone in line for the ladder. Situational awareness in the outdoors is a skill, folks*). Luckily, climbing the ladder felt much easier and safer than descending. We got back to camp around 7pm.
Day 4
Distance: 11.89 miles
Elevation up: 669 ft
Moving time: 3:56
We woke-up at 5:30 and were out of camp around 6ish. Most folks were still asleep, save for the rangers occupying the station, who had just completed a nice new hitching post for equestrians visiting the area. The trail was so smooth save for one exception: the two short river crossings right next to camp. I walked across in my shoes, but my partner opted to go bare-foot.
Our time on the Hoh ended around 10am when we arrived at the visitor center. We hung out for around 45 minutes, then began hitch-hiking around 10:45 with hopes to go get back to our car.
We needed to hitch Hoh visitor center -> highway 101 -> 7 miles north to Undi road (Bogachiel State Park) -> 5 mile road walk/hitch to our car.
Within 15 minutes we got picked-up by an awesome couple who drove us all the way to Undi Road. From there, we walked another two miles on the dirt road. On the way we ran into two Pacific Northwest Trail Hikers (about to finish their thrus — only 80 miles left! Congrats, Bop-it and Sheriff!). Eventually we got a hitch with some nice folks driving to the trailhead around 2pm. Only 3 hours from Hoh Visitor center to our car = a big win.
If you've read all of this trip report up until now, congrats. You're either passionate about arduous backpacking trips or you love rainforests. You deserve a king-sized Snickers.
Comments