I couldn’t find a name for this tributary of Graves Creek … which is itself a tributary of the East Fork Quinault River. I’m sure if I got a detail map it would show a name, but I don’t have anything with more detail than a typical hiking map. It’s a nice stream, though.
I was going through some past photos and came across this one that improved dramatically when I spent some time with it in Lightroom. It was from a backpack trip up the Elwha River valley in the Olympic National Park a few years ago. A nice hike … especially since it was before the road washed out and so was 10 miles shorter than it would be today. Just one of the many unnamed streams.
Madeline Creek is a tributary of the North Fork Skokomish river in the Olympic National Park. It’s pretty typical of small creeks in this area… clogged with logs and such. The shadows and hiding areas provided by the logs and such are great for providing hiding areas for small fish and other water critters.
Also notice the ferns growing on the face of the rock on the right stream bank. That’s also typical of the area.
I took this from a nice bridge only a couple years old … and only one tree had crashed into it, so far. (see below)
I have often posted images of the trail up the North Fork Skokomish … or showed images of the area. I was going through photos and found this nice pair of photos about 5 miles up the trail, where it crosses a small creek. A National Park crew was installing a new bridge. With hand rails on BOTH sides! Quite nice.
As much as I enjoy the high country, this time of year there just isn’t much access available in the Olympics. So it’s the lowlands. There are plenty of good hikes that are (mostly) snow-free all year, with pleasant views and interesting features. This trail runs out of Dosewallips State Park on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula. The Nurse Stump was amazing and the small creek provided a wonderful sound track.
