WILD IDEAS BACKPACK TRIP AUGUST 6-13, 2004


922,000 acres, 600 miles of trail, at 1 million pounds per acre, the highest biomass density on the planet. Olympic National Park is the jewel of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. We planned for rain during our six day, 50 mile walk in this temperate rain forest. That meant lots of 2 gallon Ziploc bags, a tarp and no reliance on “rainproof” or “water resistant” clothing. We were rewarded with 5 days of glorious sunshine and only one challenging day of rain. The first day. 9.5 miles during the second half of a 4” downpour. The Press Expedition Trail transects the Park from North to South. We chose to walk from Whiskey Bend to the North Fork at the Quinault Ranger Station. A two day reward/recovery at the Lake Quinault Lodge serves as a magnet for those of us who have enjoyed its pleasures on other trips. We used Custom Correct Topos covering Elwha Valley and Quinault/Colonel Bob Wilderness. Our route followed the Elwha River upstream and then the Quinault River downstream. Camps along the way included Mary Falls, a camp near Wilder, Low Divide and Ellipse (not on maps). Our pick up was provided by Maria (call me Crazy) from the Quinault Lodge.

The Alaska/Horizon non-stop flight from our home base in Santa Barbara to Seattle was smooth and pleasantly short at 2 hours 15 minutes. Aside from the confiscation of our camp stove equipment, security was pretty logical and efficient. Still trying to find logic in disallowing empty stove parts from travel. I imagine that thousands of stoves are flying right now.


Arrangements with Olympic Bus Lines to transport 3 hikers and gear from Seattle-Tacoma Airport to Port Angeles worked without a hitch. $129 covered snacks, ferry crossing and discussions with some very interesting people. Titanium man was happy to be alive after a 3 story fall from a luxury home under construction. Head first into the ground and a broken neck. No paralysis and only 3 more months trapped inside the frame meant to keep his neck from moving. Very cheerful young man. We are reminded that we do not have any problems. I “interview” my seatmate Josh to find that he is completing his PhD program in Hominid Evolution. Life altering work in Africa traveling with a nomadic tribe for 2 months. His study of deer migration change over the past 1,000 years seems to be another piece in the climate change puzzle. With young folks like these coming of age, our future looks bright.

First order of business in Port Angeles is to replace stove gear at Olympic Mountaineering. Great store by the waterfront. Everything we need under one roof. Friendly owner talks about eco-tourism and how it might actually catch on in Port Angeles. That is a truly renewable resource. My hiking partners are disturbed when they hear Acme Cab say, “there never was an Eileen working here”. Carefully laid plans for a trip to the trailhead with Eileen of Acme Cab were dashed by what amounted to a taxi war in town. We get the story from Blue Top Cab driver Carl on the way to the Olympic Lodge where final preparations include sorting through the foodstuff to winnow down to the bare minimum required for the 6 day walk. Bearikade food canisters hold all the food, stove, toiletries and pans.


A good night’s sleep and free breakfast gets us in the mood for hiking. But first we must UPS our buffalo bags from Port Angeles to the Lake Quinault Lodge. $19 per bag later we are free of extra baggage and ready for Carl to haul us into the forest. Cabbie holds court with many chapters of his life story. Peaks our interest. I secretly suspect many of the episodes have been shown on the TV show Cops. After 38 years of edgy, fingernails on chalkboard mayhem, our cabbie walks the straight and narrow and we ride comfortably to the Ranger Station near Whiskey Bend. Another $20 car/passenger entry fee and $35 trail fee on top of the $60 cab tab and we are down to fighting weight.

Our group picture at the trailhead is too fuzzy for a memorable print. Two disgruntled fishermen accepted the task of documenting the start of our trip. Must have been shivering from the rain. Pretty hard to fuzz up a digital shot.



Evolution of trail names: Stacey is smooth as silk, strong, clean and fresh. Sleeps in full silk every night. Craig, while sitting in our dinner circle says, “Ever notice how you cannot see any part of your head?” We examine our own heads and can see portions. We conclude that Craig must have Horse Eyes. Al’s Walloon surname DeForrest (of the forest) points the way to his nickname.


Our spirits soared with every glimpse of the Elwha River running north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. (It’s a Meet the Parents type name…pronounced fuke-ah). 9.5 miles of rain didn’t seem to damage us and we set up camp at Mary Falls. Installation of the tarp gave cover for the erection of tents. We had not bothered to set up our new Marmot Hypno tent back home and to our pleasant surprise it was designed for quick erection with only three poles (two identical diagonal poles and one cross pole). Bearikades provided dry seating and the first dinner was very tasty. Backpacker’s Pantry food is a good choice and the Lemon Pudding Cake from Natural High topped off the meal. Dry beds and a good night’s sleep. My 2” thick, 3/4 length Therm-A-Rest has been great for many trips.


Next day was the start of nonstop sunshine. Five days of beautiful blue sky and forest filtered sunbeams. A brief rest at Michael’s Cabin allowed time to read about some of the characters that homesteaded in the Olympics during the 20s and 30s. It is pretty remote today and so it is impressive to think about how self-sufficient those folks had to be in order to survive all seasons.

We met Ranger Vicki at the Elkhorn Station. Nice lunch setting in front of her cabin. Talked about the rainstorm and her aid to those caught in between the night before. We learn that she is truly a Boy Scout Guardian Angel. Vicki advises us to alter our itinerary to move our rest day into Low Divide to take advantage of day hiking in Martins Park. This is about the third time we’ve heard this advice and replanning commenced. We would have to log some extra miles in order to get the Low Divide reward. We were told to watch for the Wilder Gate and then turn right for reasonable camping. Several gates along the trail are used by pack trains to manage horses and mules.


There were 3 stream/river crossings that were ankle deep and not a threat, but it was evident when snow melt is heavy earlier in the season, these crossings are likely dangerous. Bone aching cold. Packs undone to react to a fall. Leki Super Makalu poles handy.


A moderate climb of 1200-1500 feet into Low Divide reveals a dramatic change of scenery. We are now finding open areas reminiscent of Sierra trips. Two lakes at the Divide are beautiful, but only Lake Margaret (closest to the Ranger Station) is warm enough to enjoy a prolonged swim. Lake Mary is much colder and is to be flirted with from the shoreline. Many of my hiking partners are not deterred by cold water temperature and I endure this treatment in order to get clean, but the two lakes are close together and one can be choosy.


We meet Ranger Julie who has just hiked 16 miles to her cabin from the North Fork Ranger Station along the Quinault. We heard hammering sounds just before her visit to our camp. She had been anxious to install her homemade curtains. Turns out Julie is not only handy with needle and thread, she is also The Law inside ONP. She invites us to her cabin and we are impressed with rustic yet comfortable and efficient quarters. Julie gives us tips for day hikes and we invite her to our after dinner dice game (Mississippi Marbles or 10,000). Another good Backpacker’s Pantry dinner followed by an inedible MSR Blueberry dessert and J-Law shows up with an assortment of teas and a candle. Silk rats on her male companions and tells about our feet and the need for more duct tape. J-Law says Horse-Eye can win some duct tape in the dice game. She learns the game rapidly and the battle lasts for an hour. Fortunately Horse-Eye prevails and we get re-supplied. We two old guys talk about our past aerospace careers (the two young gals are no doubt nodding off but it is dark and we persist). Horse-Eye is proud to have his name on the Mars Rovers. J-Law says, “That’s good, but you still had to win duct tape in a dice game.”


Our day off was like a busman’s holiday. Daypacks and a walk up to Martins Park and Martins Lakes. The trail was non-existent in places, but passable. A steep climb to the Park was worth the effort as we enjoyed panoramic views in all directions. Glaciers. Streams everywhere. Two pristine lakes. Lunch in the shady grass. Abundant flowers of all colors and tiny life forms all around. Many varieties of frogs living at 4,000 to 5,000 feet. Horse-Eye decides to explore a ridge near Mt. Christie with views to the East and South. Silk had swimmin’ hole on her mind and we headed down the rocky path 2.4 miles to Lake Margaret.


Two full hours of swimming and sunbathing were the best we had ever experienced. We had combined the food and garbage into two Bearikades to free up one for use as a solar heater along with two solar showers. These really worked well for a hair washing/shower after swimming.

Back in camp and a slow pace the evening before the restart of our walk. Water filtering from the simplest piece of gear we have—Horse-Eye’s water bag. Such a pleasure to grab a couple of gallons from the stream and then sit on a Bearikade in camp while pumping with either the MSR or PUR water filters.


The walk down from Low Divide to Ellipse offered plenty of huckleberries and our progress slowed to 1.5 miles/hour due to frequent feeding. Julie’s advice about Ellipse Camp was excellent. Right next to a stream with both shade and sun exposure. More hair washing and showering put everyone in a good mood. We had worked out our food to the razor’s edge and for once did not have extras. The final cooking on the MSR WhisperLite consumed the last of the fuel while scrambling Mexican Omelets. Good taste and we were confident that our trail mix and assorted snacks would suffice to the Quinault Lodge where real cuisine beckoned.

Final 6.5 mile walk along the Quinault River passed Sixteen Mile, Twelve Mile, Trapper, Francis Creek, Halfway House before stopping at Wolf Bar for lunch. Our plan was to reach the North Fork Ranger Station by 2:30 in order to beat Maria. A steady pace with a few rest stops put us right on time and we were happy to see Maria waiting with her red Blazer. We ogle the Colonel Bob Wilderness steep and rounded peaks as we follow the Quinault River to the Lodge. Contour map shows some serious work for anyone getting into Col. Bob from the North. Maria tells about the local flood problems over the past few years. Sometimes Lodge workers have to use two vehicles to reach the Lodge. Road damage forced them to park on one side and continue with a separate vehicle on the other side. We digest the fact that a very dry year means only about 7 feet of rain instead of 15 feet. Santa Barbarians have trouble getting the feel of 15 feet because that is how many inches of rain Santa Barbara expects.

Lake Quinault Lodge is a welcome sight and we settled into our room on the third floor. A good choice because we have been at forest floor level for 6 days. It feels good to be high up with a view across the Lake. When you visit this Lodge, choose the Salmon on a Plank dinner. Cooked on a cedar plank, the salmon is nestled in roasted potatoes with assorted vegetables and just the right spices. I know that the first meal after backpacking for 6 days is going to taste great, but I’ve felt the same way at this restaurant called “The Roosevelt Room” on weekend trips from Seattle in the past. Named in honor of FDR who created Olympic National Park in 1938.



Horse-Eye had counted tree rings in many locations along the trail to find that a big tree’s normal age is around 200 to 300 years. Shallow roots, lots of rain, high winds and erosion combine to limit the life of these big trees. Downed trees provide the basis of life to all sorts of other flora and fauna. We are reminded that the forestry folks are correct in calling their raw materials renewable. There is a problem with their logic though. The time period is 15 generations of humans that will not see replacement trees as big as the ones sacrificed.


Time to get back home. Grays Harbor Bus runs a clean and efficient line from the Quinault Mercantile to Aberdeen and then on to Olympia. Grand total of $2 per person. Unbelievable. Capitol Aeroporter from Olympia: driver can’t get any sleep working two jobs. Has had only 5 hours in 3 days. After hearing this information we are wide eyed on the trip to Sea-Tac. He wanders off to Yelm and skirts by J.Z. Knight’s pad where she is visited regularly by a 35,000-year-old warrior named Ramtha. Okay. We stop and pick up Keanu Reeves (not really, he just looks a little like him and is willing to play the celebrity look alike game). I say, “What are you doing since Matrix?” He catches on immediately and says, “I’m going to Korea”. Good choice. Some commercials? Yeah. My name is Keith. That’s good thinking. Travel under an assumed name for less trouble. Right. So it’s a long ride to the airport and I decide not to push this game too far. Keith is a computer science guy working on battlefield simulations and planning. His work demands some travel to Japan and Korea. He is an expert bow hunter and we learned much about the techniques for this food gathering activity. I imagine that he puts some very tasty meals on the table from deer and elk taken by bow. They have an earlier season than gun hunters. No overlapping. Good news for the fully camouflaged bow hunter. One must choose a weapon and then buy the permits for that weapon.


Horse-Eye and Alpine Al spent over 10 years working on the MODIS instrument that orbits the Earth to map it entirely each day. The image noted below was captured July 29, 2004 a few days before we entered the Park.



Americans own this Park and should view this image and use it to get the sawdust out of our eyes. Clear cutting all around Olympic National Park reminds us all that trees are a renewable resource, but on a timescale much longer than is acceptable. 20-40 year growth around the borders of ONP is not impressive, but it’s a start and left alone will once again put meaning into Washington’s nickname “The Evergreen State”. Tourists from around the world will continue to come to the Great Northwest to have their senses flooded with the grandeur of vast forests. Eco-tourism is profitable, clean and renewable. Constantly. It offers a long term source of income to the region. On the other hand, expansion of roads within National Forests and Parks will accelerate the loss of these natural wonders and erase an important reason for tourists to visit.