GORGEOUS time on the trail.  Perfect conditions.  It was long, but oh boy was it worth it!

You have to ford water in 2 spots getting to the Olympus Guard Station.  They're not that deep but do require a bit of balance.  I wished I brought my Chacos that I left in the car.  My polyurethane Birkenstocks were better than nothing.

We camped at Olympus Guard Station the first night.  We got in late due to a late start from the 3 hours wait to get into the park past the guard station.  It was hard to find a spot for a tent and we ended up setting up on a sandbar in the river which ended up being awesome!

The second day, we moved camp to Lewis Meadow in the morning and got an dreamy spot on the river. We did make it to the incredible Blue Glacier and back well before dark despite starting the hike around 1pm.  You've probably read about the ladder.  It's a safe ladder, but it does require some strength and time to climb up/down.  I'm a 29 yr-old in great shape who goes to the gym all the time and I thought it was pretty difficult!  I'm not a climber though.  You will make it, it's just hard.

The third day we packed up and went home.  Loooong walk through the Hoh.

We did this as a multi night trip with two nights at Lewis Meadow and a day trip to the Lateral Moraine to get a good look at the glacier.

We arrived at the park at 11am on Saturday and had to wait 90 minutes to get in as parking was already full and they were metering the cars going into the park. Once we were let in were lucky to find a parking spot in the main lot.

The trail is in good shape, especially for this time of year.

As others have reported, there are two washouts between the TH and Lewis Meadows. The first is around 8 miles in and there is a log crossing if you do not want to get your feet wet. I figured that my feet would get wet anyway at the second crossing and waded across; it was knee deep for me (I’m 6ft for reference)

The second is shortly after the first and your feet will get wet. It’s a straight forward ford, just following the flagging that’s been setup.

The ladders just before Glacier Meadows is in good shape. The bear carcass is still there and did not smell as bad as we thought it would.

There were a couple of short snow patches just before the lateral moraine, we had micro spikes with us and used them others did not and were fine.

It started snowing sideways shortly after reaching the lateral moraine so we had a quick snack, and abandoned our plan of actually going out on the glacier, though it looks like the path down to the glacier

Just got back from a trip to Blue Glacier via 2 nights at Lewis Meadow. We had a great time but the trail has some new hazards, especially this time of year.

Around mile 8, the Hoh has rerouted and there are two new crossings, at least until the flow subsides. The first has a log bridge about 100 yards upstream, with a clear boot trail on both sides to rejoin the main trail. The second crossing is about 50 feet across and only knee deep. From there, nothing to report until after Lewis.

Lewis Meadow itself is in great shape, all the spots along the bluff past the group site are currently right along a branch of the Hoh, it will be a few weeks at least until you can camp on the sand bars.

Just after Elk Lake, there is a new washout with a small creek running through it. Follow the cairns or just pick the safest spot to drop in and hike back out, it’s not particularly difficult.

SCARY SPOT about a mile before the ladder, there is a small rockslide that has filled in a steep ravine over a very exposed cliff section. It only covers about ten feet of the trail, but the scree pile wanted to slide with each step we took. I personally would not have continued beyond this if I was alone, but with a small group and a SatCom device we decided it was within our risk margin. Not a difficult crossing at all, but extremely exposed.

The ladder and rope are in good shape, although there is a rapidly melting snowfield at the bottom, and a bear carcass as well. We spiked up at the top, which helped on the ladder and to get across the snowfield at the bottom.

No hazards to report after that, the uninterrupted snow line starts about a half mile past Glacier Meadow and continues to both the lateral and terminal moraine overlook. We followed a boot pack up to the ridge in between the two, and turned around there.

Left Lewis at 7:45, got to overlook at 1:30, stayed for 15 minutes, back to Lewis by 5:45. Raining the entire time but we got a nice view of the glacier, there was a layer of high clouds obscuring Mount Olympus and an inverted layer of lower clouds filling in the river valleys. Classic Olympics view!

Poles and spikes were absolutely essential at this time of year, I think it will be another month before I’d attempt the fords and snowfields without them. Lots of folks day hiking from the Hoh VC but we were all alone past Lewis. Saw two mountaineering groups coming up later in the day, and the weekend backpacking crowd was headed in as we were leaving this morning.

There are three obstacles between Elk Lake and Glacier Meadows

1) First is a washout with small but steep embankments. Descending the Elk Lake side is not bad, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get up with my pack on the way back. If you go upstream a hundred feet or so and then traverse back, it's very easy. The route is more obvious from the Glacier Meadows side, so you can switch your route on the way back if you want.

2) Scree chute. A little scary but narrow.

3) The ladder section. While the ladder itself is fine, the core of the rope next to it is exposed for several feet in the middle: seems like it should be replaced. Once at the bottom of the ladder, the obvious way to get to the trail is to cross a snow bridge. I got over it once, but I do not recommend. It has holes in it, and will probably not hold for long. What you actually want to do is head up and right (facing the bottom of the ladder) towards the fallen tree- that gives you a much better crossing.

For the snow fields at the top, I'd say you want poles or spikes. They're really not that bad though.

Finally, be prepared for weather. Despite forecasts of beautiful weather all week, Friday was still cool and rainy

Fantastic trail! 50 shades of green out there!

Did a four day backpacking trip.
TH > Olympus Guard Station > Elk Lake > Lewis Meadow > TH

The biggest thing to note is the river crossing a mile before OGS and a mile after OGS. Other than that the trail is standard and snow free, with wildlife active and spring blossoms. 

The first river crossing is about a mile before OGS heading from the TH. Later in the season you can just rock hop it. But currently the water level is too high and swift for my group. It should be noted that this is the normal part of the trail. Typically you cross a side section of the braided hoh river and onto an island for .75 of a mile, and then cross back (so technically two river crossings but I'm just lumping this all into one section). But due to the water level we opted for the new boot path created by others on the left. It is bushwaking but fairly easy to follow, people have also started to create cairns. The boot path is slow going since you have to obstacle course maneuver through brush and crawl under and over logs. It took us about 45 minutes, which we estimate would have been the same about of time with the river crossing.

The second river crossing is about a mile after OGS heading from the TH but before Lewis Meadow. I estimate that in a couple of weeks the flow will be low enough that most can rock hop it. I'm 6'3 and comfortable enough that I rock hopped it, but other folks in our group choose to kick their boots off and wade through (shin deep), or cross over on a log about 25 yards south (towards the Hoh).

Olympus Guard Station: Wonderful camp with bear wires, two privies, lots of sites, hoh river access, and a clean stream for water filtration on the west end of the camp. Campfires allowed since there is no burn ban.

Elk Lake: Not to be that guy but slightly disappointing. Due to elevation no campfires allowed. Bear wires and one privy provided. Very subpar lake access due to the marshy wetland around the perimeter. Water filtration access is a ways away from camp heading towards the TH off of the main trail you access the outflow of the lake. Not very busy though.

Lewis Meadow: A wonderful camp. Bear wire and one privy provided. Campfires were allowed since there was no burn ban. The sites are less obvious but you can go past the beautiful meadow and camp along the hoh river. The one down side is that there is no fresh streams for water filtration nearby, you can only use the Hoh river which is a glacier fed river and should be noted that due to the glacial till/flour (sediment) puts extra strain on your filter and over time can clog it up. So, not the end of the world but something to consider. 

Snow notes: We didn't make it to Hoh Lake or Blue Glacier but heard from other hikers that both had minimal amount of snow still. Hoh Lake sounded like gaiters would be beneficial and the snow didn't start until right after CB Flats. Folks stated that the rope latter was secure and that snow started after glacier meadows but was dwindling fast. 

Overall, we had a wonderful time in a majestic rainforest.