There aren’t a lot of days when it is bright and sunny in the Olympic National Park … often the clouds are low and drip on a regular basis. This is true even in mid-summer when the lowlands are hot and dry. It is therefore always a pleasure to chance upon clear sunny weather and be hiking into sunlit openings.
I backpacked into Camp Pleasant for a night around the campfire. I love hiking by myself … but when I do, I tend to keep to trails I know well and don’t wander around off my designated route. The equipment you see is what I carried: about 23 lbs (including water … not including the Nikon D-850 around my neck). As I age (now at 72), the weight of the pack has become more important to my being able to continue to enjoy backpacking. Thankfully, technology has substantially reduced equipment weights.
I frequently hike the North Fork Skokomish trail in Olympic National Park. My first hikes there were in the ’60’s … and I hiked there often while I lived in Olympia (where it was the closest corner of the park from home). The photo above shows the trail along the first section which used to be roadway. It frequently washed out, so the trailhead was pulled back. Over the years it has been interesting to see the roadbed slowly change into what seems to be a trail. I say ‘seems to be a trail’ intentionally … compare it to the image below of a section of the same trail that was originally created in the 1890’s. This section is 6 miles from the trailhead… and never was roadway.
This is a typical Western Washington lowland forest of second growth Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock (with a Madrone thrown in for variety).
Royal Creek drains Royal Basin … one of the more popular backpacking destinations in the Olympic National Park (reservations required). I was on the bridge over the creek just where the Royal Basin trail starts … about 1 mile up the Upper Dungeness trail. See below for a photo of the bridge. I was bracing the camera on the bridge rail … and shooting various long exposures to get some blur in the water. The problem was the bridge wasn’t nearly as stable as my tripod. Good thing I wasn’t shooting film!
