Sol Duc River, Sol Duc Falls — Friday, Mar. 28, 2003

Olympic Peninsula > Northern Coast

My goal was to finally hike up the Sol Duc River beyond the falls and photograph the river, and the weather was finally going to cooperate (or so it was predicted). I stayed in Port Angeles the night before so I wouldn't burn half my daylight getting there. I arrived at the trailhead around 8:30am and was the 3rd vehicle there. The first 0.8 miles is the hike out to Sol Duc Falls that I've done several times before, and it alone is worth the drive. It's a flat hike through old growth firs, cedars and hemlock with a carpet of moss on every surface. About half way to the falls, there's an unnamed tributary that is great for photos. I've shot this creek at least 4-5 times so far, and every time I find new photos there. It's a small creek, larger this time of year, stair-stepping down moss-covered rocks with a backdrop of trees. A downed tree was blocking the lower part of the creek this time, so I had to be creative and shoot more upstream. This was the recurring theme of the day. Just before the falls there is a cabin of some sort. It doesn't look old, so it could just be a snow shelter, although the elevation isn't much for this trail. Whatever its purpose, it now has a skylight thanks to a tree with good aim. Sol Duc Falls are at the intersection of several different trails and were a little bit off the trail I planned to take, but there was no way I wasn't stopping by. Sol Duc is a triple fall that makes a right angle just before plummeting 50 feet into the channel below. The trail crosses on a bridge above the top of the falls, so you get not only a good view of the falls themselves, but of the canyon and cliffs downstream as well. After taking photos there and grabbing breakfast, I headed up the Sol Duc Trail, which is called the Seven Lakes Basin Loop on the nearby signs. I'd intended to hike the 4 miles until it started climbing into the mountains, but I encountered snow much earlier than I expected. After climbing 3 major blowdowns in the first half mile, snow started appearing in patches here and there off the trail. After another mile and more blowdowns, the snow became intermittent, then continuous. Not being prepared for snow travel, I decided to turn back. It wasn't too much of a loss. Although the forest was nice -- a continuation of the old growth trees and moss carpet -- I wanted to photograph the river and the trail never seemed to get near it, although you could always hear it. At one point I tried reaching it off trail, but that resulted in a spill from misplaced footing crossing old blowdowns, resulting in a throbbing wrist and a bleeding finger. So I moped back to the trail and, once my finger was bandaged, back to the falls. Back at the falls much earlier than I expected, I decided to take the Lovers Lane Trail from there to the Hot Springs, then cross over and take the Loop B trail through the campground and back to the trailhead where I'd parked. It turned out to be a good choice. It follows close to the Sol Duc River downstream with some very nice views of the canyon formed by the falls. After about a half mile it crosses Canyon Creek, which is another good source of photos. There is a very photogenic footbridge across the wide creek, and upstream is a rushing 20 foot waterfall that not listed on the map. I spent entirely too much time photographing this area, but I enjoyed every second. The second creek crossing another half mile down didn't have a bridge and was nothing but slippery wet rocks. It took me several minutes to find a way across, and I'm still amazed I didn't end up floating down the Sol Duc. Beyond this, the trail got very sweet. For the next half mine I swore I was in the Hoh area. Every tree is drooping with moss, every surface covered in a thick carpet. The land was flat and had little underbrush, and was wide from river to slope. It was almost like nature was showing off. Unfortunately, the sun had decided to break through the clouds by this point, so photos were virtually impossible. I will absolutely be coming back to this place! After another mile and several more blowdowns later, I started to hear kids screaming and playing and knew I was at the hot springs. I'd never been there before, so I didn't really know what to expect, but it was basically just a cement swimming pool. I stopped for lunch at a picnic table and checked my map, then started upstream on the other side of the river. The Loop B Trail connects the hot springs with the Sol Duc Campground and continues on to the Sol Duc Falls trailhead where I'd parked. It was wide and flat at first, but quickly became an actual river in itself. I sloshed through for 100 yards before crossing the overrun creek drainage and into the campground. People sure give you strange looks when you hike through a campground with a big pack. The rest of the way to the trailhead was pretty uneventful, except that I was tired and there were a lot more blowdowns, including one that completely obliterated the trail. It took me several minutes to crawl under and over it and find the trail again. All in all, an excellent day. I could have used less sun and fewer blowdowns, but c'est la vie. I had an excellent time. It was very nice to get away from the world for a while.