Eight days in 3 ecosystems on the Olympic Peninsula; This is the 1st leg of the trip, solo on the alpine High Divide.
The lowdown: Olympic NP is located west of Seattle, WA, on the Olympic Peninsula. Here, coastal subduction and volcanic activity have rasied glacier capped mountains that stop the moist pacific air in its tracks. This creates, at low elevation, a rare temperate rainforest. The result is a hiker's paradise; lush valleys, home to ancient, moss draped conifers that tower over a sea of green. Hike far enough up one of these valleys and you can follow the glacial rivers to their sources, high up in an alpine paradise. Treeline is about 6000,' and plenty of the peaks rise well above, over alpine lakes, nestled into glacial carved bowls and cirques.
dates: June 25-28
mileage, elevation
+/-, pinnacle: 25, +/-8,850', 5,580' Bogachiel Peak
Conditions: The Olympic peninsula experienced an incredibly snowy winter, with 220% of normal snowfall. Needless to say, there was plenty left when i got out of the valleys, up to 15' above 2,000', compacted well and easy to travel on; just soft enough to kick steps into, which turned out to be very good news...
Weather: The first 2 days were misty and cloudy, in the 50s, followed by 2 days of sunshine and 60's. Nights around 30.
Highlights: Incredible alpine scenery, having the place to myself (save 2 rangers i spent night 2 with,) and seeing glaciers for the first time. (above is Olympus Glacier, capping Mt Olympus)
Also, the beauty of contrast that exists as the forest transitions from a lush, temperate rainforest to the snow and glacier capped mountains.
Challenges: A secondary case of poison sumac, in addition to the what i got at the end of Oregon. It must have been oil on some of my gear, though i thought i had washed it all. So that was pretty itchy, on top of what i already had. And some sensitive areas that had been spared no longer were...
But a more serious challenge was posed by the exposed ridgelines. On account of the deep snow, ridgeline trails (the vast majority of my travel on day 3) were just exposed slopes, running out thousands of feet. Dangerous, but not insurmountable, provided one has an ice axe and the knowledge to use it well...
The Hike: This 4 day hike followed the Sol Duc river through a lush, old growth valley, for the 1st day and half, including a nice, snow-free campsite (Upper Sol Duc,) on the 1st night. On the 2nd day, I passed 2 rangers having lunch and saying farewells to their girlfriends before heading off on a 7 day backcountry skiing trip. Soon after passing them, the intermittent snow cover got heavy, obscuring the trail. Having had recent experience in conditions like this, I managed ok. But finding and blazing trail is exhausting physically and mentally, so i had a nice long lunch in
the late afternoon, at which point the rangers caught up with me (which i was kind of hoping for...)
They were a little surprised when i got into my itinerary in detail, as they didn't expect to find anyone else travelling the Divide on those days. They invited me to come with them at least as far as the Divide and spend the night. Of course, i was glad for the experienced company and to have somone else to break trail for a while. I spent the night with them at a site known as Bruce's Roost. The views over the Hoh valley across to Mt Olympus were incredible; to see the green lush forest give way to glacier capped mountains is really something else.
On the morning of the 3rd day we parted company and i set off west along the High Divide. My route for the day was a traverse along the Divide, overlooking the Seven Lakes Basin, to Bogachiel Peak, then continuing on the Divide before dropping down (north) into Deer Lake Valley, were i was to spend the night. And this is where things got a little interesting...
Due to the high snowfall (of course) what would have been a ridgeline trail was now an unstable
cornice that ran the length of the Divide. So rather than travel along the cornice, i choose to traverse along the length of the Divide. Of course, that meant that i'd be totally exposed on the slope, with nothing between me and the treeline about a thousand feet below. An ice axe would've been nice here but...
Mine had been stolen in NM, so when I called the Rangers at Olympic the day before i arrived for my pre-hike checklist i confirmed that there was a sports shop in town that carried them, so the next day I headed onto the peninsula. Upon getting into town i learned that said store, the only one for 3 hrs in any direction, had sold out--the extra snowy winter, i guess. So i decided to go it with my hiking poles to use to self arrest should i tumble down an exposed slope.
What this meant for the day's travel--rather than walk along the ridge, facing my direction of travel with the axe in the uphill hand, i was forced to take the more conservative approach of facing the slope and traversing crab-like. In this fashion, travelling from right to left, i would kick a step into the snow with my left foot, move the left hand pole over, kick in with the right foot, move the right pole and repeat. and repeat. and repeat. Although a much slower method of travel, this technique allowed me to keep 3 points in contact with the slope at all times and put me a good position to self arrest with my poles. Which is a good thing, as i did slip (more than once) but was able to dig in with poles and knees before gravity got a hold of me.
As you can see here, the snow clings to the toe. For some reason, these otherwise outstanding boots don't have a rubber toe guard. This is essential in the soft, wet snow of spring, as it clings to the toe from kicking steps and no
amount of water-proofing can prevent seepage.
So, I actually got a mild case of frostbite to go along with the poison sumac. Nothing serious at all, but though i beleived it was possible that i'd be afflicted by either or both of these, i never imagined that it would be at the same time!
But it was truly great to cross these incredibly steep, exposed slopes safely. I can't descirbe how it is at once exilirating, and yet intensely focusing, slowing everything down.
crossed the divide to the north where i was greeted with a beautiful, snow covered slope running out about 1000' to the valley where i was spending the night. Naturally, i took advantage of this gentle slope on a nice glissade down towards Deer Lake. As the incline lessened, i chose to follow a brook towards the lake rather than try to find the trail. I was rewarded with a gorgeous backcountry waterfall, off trail and therefore off most maps.
When i got to beautiful Deer Lake shortly thereafter, i found the platform used by the NPS to set up a seasonal Ranger Station unoccupied!!! So after a day of tough travel i had the luxury of a campsite on a raised platform, out of the snow!!
After a leisurely breakfast the next morning i hiked out to the car and set off for the beach to hop in the Pacific before meeting Rit for the 2nd leg of the hike in Olympic.
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