Mount Rose — Wednesday, Jul. 2, 2008

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

FR 24 to Staircase opened Monday so a few of us went out Thursday to see how Staircase & the Mt. Rose trail survived the winter. FR 24 is in good shape with mild potholes in the gravel section. The road is open all the way to Staircase. The landslides were large and creek have carved fresh channels. The damage is worse as you get closer to the park. The park ranger said some Staircase trails are damaged including the north fork trail at the Beaver Burn. Wagonwheel Lake and Staircase rapids are ok. The lower Mount Rose trail is in great shape thanks to years of hard work by the Mount Rose Trail Crew. We started up in a gray morning. Thunder rumbled, getting louder and more frequent as we went. We did see one flash towards Hood Canal. At the spur to the falls we decided the lightning wasn't too close so we kept going. At Horse Camp we took the right fork. There were occasional downs to step over. At 3700ft we ran into a large blowdown area about 100 yards long. The orange blazes helped us pick our way through to the trail on the other side. We made our way along the dips on the ridge and popped out on top at the summit outcrop. It was a strange scene. We had come out of lush forest and flowers and north side of the summit was green. But below the outcrop and the south side side of the summit was heavily burned. By this time the thunder had stopped and the sun came out for lunch. We enjoyed views of Lake Cushman, Copper Mountain, Mount Eleanor and up the valley towards Home Sweet Home. On the way down we ran into large patches of downs and fire obscured trail. At the trailhead signs warn to stay off this leg in the rain. It's easy to see how the burn is prone to slides. Below the burn we ran into firm patchy snow all the way down to 3400 feet. Patience kept us on the trail through these obstacles. If you're not familiar with the trail take your time. The off trail terrain is steep and there are cliffs nearby. Once below the snow the trail was great back to Horse Camp. We enjoyed the forest flowers on the steep trail back to the car. Oh, the misquotes were snacking - bring your deet!