What an amazing day for a hike! I took nearly 300 photos on this little jaunt and loved every minute of being on the trail today. The water was so blue and the river was totally gorgeous! I'd like to come back and take the North Fork Skokomish Trail further up into the park. 

Weather: The drive up Hood Canal was very foggy this morning, so I assumed I was in for a moody day. Instead the fog lifted as I drove up to Lake Cushman from Hoodsport. My car said it was 49 when I rolled into the lot at 9:00am and 58 when I left at 10:30 or so. 

Road: The paved portion up until FR 24 is totally fine. The first couple miles of the unpaved forest road lulled me into thinking the road would be smooth the entire way into the National Park entrance, but after that the road gets sections that are very potholed. Luckily there's an obvious path cars are taking to avoid the worst, but it gets VERY bumpy the closer you get to Staircase. I think any car could make it unless they were super low to the ground.   

Trail: The trail is in good condition! It was wet in places, mainly where water was draining on the western side of the river. There's one area with an old blow down about a quarter mile up the Skokomish River Trail, but there's been a path made to help get around it.  

Fall Colors: Lots of yellow along the trail! It seemed like the larger big leaf maples have already lost most of their leaves, but there's still plenty around. There were also quite a few mushrooms! Some of the logs even looked like people had scraped some off.

The forest service road in from Hoodsport was bumpy, but not the worst I've seen it.  There were some funny homemade signs demanding people drive 5 MPH posted; those were ignored.  I arrived at the trailhead at 8:30 a.m.  There were only 10 cars in the parking lot.  The temperature was slightly warmer than in Hoodsport; that was a first for me.  The pit toilets at the trailhead were open.

The trail was in GREAT condition.  Thank you to the volunteers who have worked on it.  I only went about 2 or 2.5 miles, because I'm recovering from a foot injury.  On the outward bound hike I saw zero other hikers.  That as a first for me.  On the return leg I passed 16 hikers.  Everyone was friendly.  The trail was free of litter.  After a week of rain, the river was running higher than during the summer, but nothing approaching spring depths.

Upon my return to the parking lot it was nearly full.  While a short hike, it was great to get out.

First and only car in the lot around 8AM on a rainy Wednesday September 27th. As it was raining, I had the whole trail all to myself 🥰 I hiked Staircase rapids to the bridge then took the North Fork Skokomish River trail back to the trailhead. Saw some orange jelly spot fungus and puffball mushrooms. Had a private escort by two dark-eyed juncos for nearly the whole trail, and  ended up hiking in both sun and simultaneous rain for the majority of the hike. Parts of the Staircase Rapids trail were extremely waterlogged but I reckon that will improve with the upcoming rain-free days predicted for Thurs & Fri. Fun little jaunt!

This was a 2 night/3 day ~36 mile trip starting at Staircase. We stayed at Home Sweet Home for both nights. SO many berries!!

Day 1: Staircase -> Home Sweet Home

13.1 miles +4900 ft 

We arrived at Staircase on Friday at 10AM and the lot for hikers was half full. The main trail follows the Skokomish River and is flat-ish until Ninestream. Make sure to make a quick detour off the main trail to see Staircase Rapids and the suspension bridge!

The climbing starts after Ninestream. The switchbacks are steady and there is plenty of flowing water. Two Bear is a great spot to take a break before climbing over First Divide. 

Home Sweet Home is on the other side of First Divide and is a lovely spot. It is in a meadow and has beautiful views of Mt Steel. Note the bear wire is down here, so bring a bear can or cordage. 

Day 2: Home Sweet Home -> Marmot Lake 10 miles +3500 ft

The Duckabush River and Marmot Lake are EXCELLENT swimming holes. My partner (who isn’t a swimmer) even joined me in Marmot Lake!

We heard great things from other hikers about Hart and Lacrosse Lake but did not have time to venture to them. We also heard hikers saw lots of the bears in that area. The bears were happily eating huckleberries and minding to themselves. 

Day 3: Home Sweet Home -> Staircase

Basically the same as day 1, but in reverse. By the time we got to the car lots of wildfire smoke had rolled in and we were happy to be out of it.