Day 1 I left the Staircase TH at 8:00 under sunny skies and rapidly made my way up the Skokomish Valley. The morning walk was pleasant, with the trail lending itself to fast and easy travel. I took my first break at a vacant Camp Pleasant (with the exception of the camp just past the Flapjack Lakes junction, all camps were vacant). At 9 Mile Stream I stopped for another break, and found myself fair game for the converging fly squadron. These representatives of the local blood bank collections dept. would prove to be persistent throughout the duration of my trip. Flowers started just above Two Bear Camp. Columbine dominated while the fleabane still offered strong support. These would be the only flowers worth noting for the remainder of the trip. It was in this area that I met a group of 6 descending from First Divide who offered caution of a large bear just above. We exchanged pleasantries and I proceeded on up. Shortly before the tarn below First Divide I came around the corner to find a young black bear cautiously leaning forward to sniff the air, obviously catching my scent well ahead of my arrival (ok, that reads bad). Upon introducing myself, the bear rapidly retreated uphill and into the trees. I immediately pondered the earlier warning about the “large” bear, and wondered if this lone bear constituted their lone bear viewing experience, or if another truly large bear indeed existed. I spent some time atop First Divide enjoying the views up to Mount Hopper and Mount Steel, across the valley to Mount La Crosse and White Mountain, and down to the meadows of Home Sweet Home – my destination for the evening. The descent down to Home Sweet Home was quick and I soon found myself scouting the area for a campsite. The old (and future?) shelter proved the site of choice. The time was 3:30 pm. Distance to camp was 13.3 miles, with 3,888’ elevation gain. Interestingly enough, many of the “designated” sites per the posted camp map are hard to locate due the grass meadows in which they reside. A couple had obvious sitting/cooking stumps, but most did not. Basically if you can find a flat spot in the meadow, it is likely a designated site. At about 4:00 movement across the creek caught my eye as I prepared dinner; a large black bear. Ahah! Credit must be given after all. I watched the progress of the grazing bear as it wandered closer and closer to me, with only a creek separating us. Dinner went down quickly. Shortly after dinner the bear made its way across the creek further down the meadow and enjoyed the fine offerings near the trail to the privy. It wandered the meadows for the remainder of the evening. I was awakened around 11:00 pm to twigs snapping only a short distance behind my bivy sack. I declared my presence, but did not hear a retreat of any kind. I randomly began hearing snorts and sighs through the night and realized the bear had nestled down for the evening directly behind mind me, separated only by some trees and shrubs. I awoke the next morning to find the bear again grazing the meadows, and a flat spot in tall grass only 35-40’ from my campsite where the bear had spent its evening! Day 2 I broke camp at 8:00, bidding the resident bear goodbye, and headed down the North Fork of the Duckabush. The trail was excellent all the way down to Upper Duckabush Camp. The berries were Yogi-licious. The stream crossing after the Duckabush trail junction was easy, with multiple options available. Beyond the crossing the trail began to climb and grew much more ragged. Lots of up and downs, especially while crossing several streams located in deep gullies. The second stream ford was also easily avoided, courtesy of some well-placed logs. The trail soon became quite brushy as I began the switchbacks up to Marmot Lake, but was short lived. I arrived at Marmot Lake at 11:30 and immediately began the ascent to Lake La Crosse, my camp of choice for the next two nights. I arrived at camp at 12:15 – 6.6 miles and 1,655’ elevation gain. I immediately set up camp, hung my food, and relaxed on a rock with my feet in the lake. Ahh! I returned to camp to add my “day food” to my hung stash, only to watch my food line sag to about 8 feet above the ground. Dang! Oh well, no sign of bear in the area any way. That evening after dinner I ventured down to Hart Lake. I came around a corner to see a large bear grazing in the berries below me! Hmmm. I watched it for a while before continuing on to the lake and quickly explored its shores. Returning back to the trail junction I again watched the bear below, only it appeared much smaller than I remembered it. Could it be hallucinogenic vapors in the lake’s waters above? I again watched the bear for a short bit before moving on – and finding a large bear above the trail around the corner! Ahah! Walking back to camp I thought about the possibility of these bears making their way up towards my camp and deemed it unlikely due to distance and lack of berries near Lake La Crosse (berries were in abundance near Hart Lake). I felt pretty confident in my summation. It was about an hour later that I watched a bear high on the distant slopes, still far away from Lake La Crosse. As I ventured over to the far side of the lake to catch the evening reflection of Mount Steel in the lake, I watched a second large bear traverse the slopes near my campsite along the lake and climb up into the upper basin. Safely above my camp and well in sight, I continued photographing. Soon I heard a loud snort above me and looked up to see the young bear only 25’ above me! I announced myself to get the bear’s attention, and received a quizzical look from it before it continued in its traverse shortly above me and then down slope to the marsh meadows at the head of the lake – between my camp and me. The bear continued to meander across the meadow in the direction of my camp. Light was now near its climax for the evening and I found myself snapping a picture, looking at the bear, snapping a picture, looking at the bear… Soon I was running back to camp in a race to beat the bear (now out of sight and in close vicinity to my camp) to camp, only to find it was climbing the streambed up to the upper basin. I found a proper way to hang my food bag. The bears remained in the vicinity the duration of my visit. This is important to note. Day 3 I ventured back to Hart Lake and found (easily) the Hart Lake Way trail directly beyond the lake. I climbed to the pass above and enjoyed views down to the Enchanted Valley, the (missing) waterfalls across the valley, and the barren rock of Mount Anderson’s West Peak. I explored a bit along the ridge before heading down to Hart Lake for some lunch. I found a nice campsite at the lake’s west end looking out to Mount Duckabush to sit down and enjoy my lunch, only to find my lunch and other trail food were missing from my pack. I distinctly remembered pulling it out of my food bag back at camp… The race back to camp was quick, to find my food items lying on the ground exactly where I had left them. When the Darwin Awards make their way into you e-mail box this year, look for my name. Upon finishing lunch I ventured down to Marmot Lake and took the trail up to O’Neil Pass. The views were magnificent looking back to Mount Anderson standing proudly over the lush green meadows of La Crosse Basin. I admired this view for over an hour before retreating back to camp for the day. Day 4 I awoke and immediately packed up camp and headed down to Marmot Lake. Before beginning my long trek out, I elected to spend some time photographing around Marmot Lake, as well as venturing back up to O’Neil Pass. I stashed my pack near a bear wire (and hung my food) and walked over to a prominent point on the lake to photograph. It was there that I met a couple of guys who were deliberating their agenda for the day. We shared our trail adventures with one another and I learned that they had not witnessed a single bear during their travels. I didn’t understand how this was possible. I then headed back up to O’Neil Pass to once again be awe-stricken with the morning views. I returned to Marmot Lake in time to be able to call the two guy’s attention to a bear across the lake in the meadows. We proceeded to watch the bear walk swiftly down to the lake and go for a swim around and around. What a treat. It then stepped out of the water and shook itself off before grazing on the slopes above. I departed the lake with full pack and retreated down the trail toward 10 Mile Camp. At Duckabush Camp I stopped to grab a bite to eat and met a man who looked distinctly familiar. He was from “north of Seattle”. It was only after leaving the camp and fording the Duckabush (a foot deep in its deepest spot) that I placed him. About 5 years ago while coming off the Bailey Traverse and descending the Sol Duc trail, I met a man who was completing the Seven Lakes Basin loop. He had planned to hike over Appleton Pass to the Elwha, but doubted that he still had the energy to do so. I offered and he accepted a ride to his car. I’m certain he is reading. The remainder of the Duckabush trail was clearly designed by the same engineering consulting firm that brought us the Dosewallips trail; up and down for no apparent reason. I often looked for obstacles the trail was attempting to avoid during its ascents, only to come up empty. I soon came to the conclusion that the trail clearers were likely stationed up there on Fri and Sat nights, being deprived of female companionship, and decided that someone was going to pay dearly for it. All other possible reasons escape me. I arrived at 10 Mile Camp shortly after 4:00. Distance: 11.9 miles, not counting the trip back up to O’Neil Pass. Day 5 Did I mention how much the Duckabush reminded me of the Dosewallips? I broke camp at 7:30 for an uneventful trek out. Uneventful that is except for the many trees down along the trail. Most are not bad, but a couple of them do offer challenges to get around. It is worth noting that all downed trees are within Olympic National Park, not in the adjoining wilderness. I reached the TH at 11:00. Total stats for the trip were ~53 miles with wanderings, ~7,143’ gain.

Hey Huckster- There were 71 trees....but who's counting? We had a great time and only one gave us any serious trouble.

This hike was only to the Five Mile Camp, but from the trailhead, there must have been twenty blown down trees. Of course, nobody brought a saw with them! Also, one creek crossing (name unknown) prior to Big Hump was a little tricky. It didn't look like there was ever a bridge, but a hug tree is laying diagonally across it and way to slippery to walk on. The rocks where just as slippery! There wasn't enough snow to be of concern, but eating lunch on the river made the whole hike worth it! Hope you find it as enjoyable as I did.

Great day, the trail was almost muggy. Trail is in very nice shape. There were 3 to 4 small blowdowns that are hardly worth mentioning before Big Hump. The trail is mostly through the trees and the river is usually out of view, but there are several clearings where you can get an eyefull of the several of the larger Olympic peaks. Snow seems to have start around 6500 feet on those mountains. We encountered no snow at all. Most of the trail is flat with one really good grind starting around 2.5 miles. There were at least 20 switchbacks there. Once on top, views improve and the trail is flat again. We turned around at 4 miles. The trail does seem to be pretty busy. We saw azaleas (sp) several trilium and avalanch lilies in bloom.

Just the thing to shake off the grog of hibernation, two nights out in mountain air, all the pure water one can drink, eternal quiet, ancient halls of wooden giants, and the lullaby of the mighty Duckabush defanged by vertical space. This trail has always been a charmed season opener with its mossy green margins and hushed tread. It was too early in the season for the usual boisterous bird life, and trail crews apparently. A few blow downs hamper only horsy folks. The upper bridge still has not been replaced, but again poses no challenge for those using their own feet for transport. I stayed off-trail on Big Hump, but saw very few visitors during my wanderings on the tread. This trailhead has suffered from regular car break-ins in the past, myself included about 4 years ago. Not too much evidence of fresh glass so things must be getting better. Fat Smitty’s was closed on the way out, bummer. As usual I was bumped one ferry on my way back to Bellingham. Arise trail rats! Arise! Happy Trails.