Tag: Trail

East Fork Quinault Trailhead

East Fork Quinault Trailhead

I recently hiked the first mile or so of the East Fork Quinault Trail, which leaves from near the Graves Creek Campground in the Olympic National Park. I have hiked the trail a number of times, but not as many as the North Fork Quinault Trail. I have never hiked the Graves Creek Trail … for many years the section between Sundown Pass and Six Ridge was very brushy and seldom maintained. It’s a regret I have. It may be a little beyond my current strength level at this point. Oh well.

Even in the beginning of May, people were hiking into the Enchanted Valley, though. This time of year the snow melt turns mountains on the south side of the valley into an astounding collection of waterfalls. The 27 mile (round trip) hike wasn’t in the cards for this spring. But in our short time on the trail, we met a number of backpackers either hiking in or out … and lots of cars parked at the trailhead.

It’s a wonderful trail through a rainforest valley.

East Fork Quinault Trail 1
East Fork Quinault Trail 2
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A Refreshing Break

A Refreshing Break

Any time you have a small (in this case, unnamed) creek crossing the trail, you have an opportunity to enjoy some natural air conditioning. Nothing is finer on a hot summer hike than walking through a cool breeze coming down a stream channel. This was the North Fork Quinault trail at mile 10 or so, in the Olympic National Park.

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Trail View

Trail View

This is a section of the North Fork Skokomish trail about 5 miles from the trailhead at Staircase Ranger Station at the southeast corner of the Olympic National Park. I have hiked this trail dozens of times and it remains a favorite. This is a particularly nice section of trail … fairly level and dry. This was taken mid-summer … this time of year it’s likely to require snowshoes to get to this point … even though the elevation isn’t very high. The narrow mountain valleys get more snow than the lowlands, even at similar elevations.

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N Fork Skokomish Trail and River

N Fork Skokomish Trail

Regular readers will notice that I visit the same locations over and over. The North Fork Skokomish area is one of my favorites and I have gone back dozens of times over the years. It interests me to watch the changes to the valley over the years and during the year. Autumn is one of the times when things are changing rapidly.

N Fork Skokomish River
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Flapjack Lakes Trail Sign

Flapjack Lakes Trail Sign

This is one of my favorite trail signs. It is located at 3.7 miles along the North Fork Skokomish trail … and makes a nice turn around point for a day hike . (The “Tree Huggers” post from a couple days past was taken along this section of trail.) Several times I have been up to Flapjack Lakes (named for their shapes) and once or twice to Gladys Divide and once or twice to Black and White Lakes. Usually if I continue hiking past this point I stay on the North Fork Skokomish Trail. (this is all in the Olympic National Park … and camping at Flapjack Lakes is by reservation only due to the heavy use)

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