The Slab Camp Trail runs from the subalpine meadows near Deer Park in the Olympic National Park down to Slab Camp on the Graywolf River in the Olympic National Forest. We just hiked the mile and a half from Deer Park to the park boundary, only dropping 600 feet of elevation. Once in a while we had some clearing and views, but most of the afternoon we were hiking with clouds blowing over the ridge, cutting our view down to the local environs. Just happy that it never rained.
On a recent hike along the Slab Camp Trail out of Deer Park in the Olympic National Forest, we found that there was a lot of Olympic Onion in bloom. I had hiked this trail a number of times, but not usually this early in the season. I was delighted to see that the Olympic Onion was quite widespread in places. (see hillside below) I was pleased especially since these are not far from a very popular car campground and I was afraid that campers may have harvested many of them.
This photo was taken from the Slab Camp trail out of Deer Park. The trail is one of my favorites, since the trailhead starts up in the subalpine area … one of two locations where you can access the high country in the Olympic National Park by road. The other road goes to Hurricane Ridge and is paved … and has many more visitors. I prefer Deer Park due to the fewer visitors … a result of the 8 miles of narrow, winding, steep dusty/muddy road.
The valley below is the middle section of the Gray Wolf River.