Tag: Trail

North Fork Skokomish Fire Before and After (4)


The Olympic National Park opened up the Staircase Rapids Loop Trail on July 8th for the first time since the fire in 2025 devastated the area. The valley of the North Fork Skokomish was one of my favorite locations and I went to take photos of the area on the 8th. Each set of photos shows the same location before and after. Some images aren’t exact matches … but I did as well as I could with the images I had. The Staircase Loop Trail leaves from the Staircase Ranger Station, runs 1 mile (1.6 KM), crosses the river (on a bridge that was protected from the fire) and returns back to the parking lot.

Big Boulder Before
Big Boulder After
Rock and Roots Before
Rocks and Roots After
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North Fork Skokomish Fire Before and After (2)

The Olympic National Park opened up the Staircase Rapids Loop Trail on July 8th for the first time since the fire in 2025 devastated the area. The valley of the North Fork Skokomish was one of my favorite locations and I went to take photos of the area on the 8th. Each set of photos shows the same location before and after. Some images aren’t exact matches … but I did as well as I could with the images I had. The Staircase Loop Trail leaves from the Staircase Ranger Station, runs 1 mile (1.6 KM), crosses the river (on a bridge that was protected from the fire) and returns back to the parking lot.

Today’s post shows a couple of the spots running up the trail to the bridge across the river. This side of the river was not as heavily devasted as the opposite side.

Slate Creek Before
Slate Creek After
Blowdowns from the Mid-’90’s
Blowdowns and Burn
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North Fork Skokomish Fire Before and After (1)

The Olympic National Park opened up the Staircase Rapids Loop Trail on July 8th for the first time since the fire in 2025 devastated the area. The valley of the North Fork Skokomish was one of my favorite locations and I went to take photos of the area on the 8th. Each set of photos shows the same location before and after. Some images aren’t exact matches … but I did as well as I could with the images I had. The Staircase Loop Trail leaves from the Staircase Ranger Station, runs 1 mile (1.6 KM), crosses the river (on a bridge that was protected from the fire) and returns back to the parking lot.

The first set is from an overlook close to the trailhead (but slightly off the trail).

Up River View Before
Up River View After

The second set is of the Slate Creek crossing. The wood single stringer bridge is completely gone.

Slate Creek with Bridge (before)
Slate Creek Crossing with No Bridge

(Note the woman on the left for scale)

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Views of the Slab Camp Trail

Slab Camp Trail (1)

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.

Slab Camp Trail (2)
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Summer Hike

The Climb Out of 7 Lakes Basin

This was taken a few years ago when I was more able to wander around the high country. We were on our way up to the High Divide and then down to Hoh Lake and back. (Note that the pack doesn’t have a sleeping bag or other items strapped to it … a sure give away that this is a day hike.) We were camped down in the basin (which requires a hard to secure reservation for camping) and were enjoying the scenic highcountry without having a heavy pack. The 7 Lakes Basin is a frequent camp location to those hiking the High Divide loop trail, which provides some of the most stunning views of Mt Olympus and the central Olympics.

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