Page 138        Cedar Lake        If you’re interested in another rest day, this is where I would take it. A side trip up Cedar Creek to Cedar Lake begins at the camp and climbs south up the creek about 2 miles to the lake, gaining about 1,200 feet. The lake sits in a stunning rock-walled bowl with headwalls between 1,000 and 2,000 feet on the west and south sides of the lake. It meets the definition of alpine in every respect.

Page 14        Pay Close Attention        In spite of the book’s narrative nature in which the static details of any of these hikes can be enumerated: distances, altitudes, compass directions etc.; dynamic elements: trail conditions, weather, re-routing of trails, Park restrictions and the behavior of any animal at any time cannot be guaranteed. You are headed into a wilderness where you are your first and best resource. You truly are on your own. If that reality concerns you then I suggest you reconsider. Even when your estimate of yourself is, in your mind, a match for a chosen quest, the unexpected, the unbelievable and the unplanned can fall upon you at any time. When it does, you are the only resource for a resolution of the event.

Page 126        Bull Elk Basin        If viewing Fisher’s Notch from above is of interest, follow the trail to Lake La Crosse and scramble up the 800 ft. rise north-northeast beyond the north end of the lake. The view of that 1,200 ft. plunge into Bull Elk Basin is breath-taking; I can’t imagine going down it. Use extreme caution, one slip and you could be severely injured.

Page 68        Trees        Subalpine conifers give way at about 2,500 ft. to the predominance of Western hemlocks and Douglas firs; misnamed since they really belong to the pine family. You can tell the difference in two obvious ways.  The bark on the Douglas firs is thick, rough and bares the deep growth scars of constant splitting and healing to accommodate the annual added girth of the trunk. The bark on Western hemlock has a scalier appearance, not so different from what a fish looks like. The scales provide the same girth expansion relief that the splitting does on firs. The second identifier is at the absolute top, called the “lead” of the tree. The lead on firs stand straight up where hemlock leads droop over in Dr. Seuss fashion.

Page 89        Thousand Acre Meadow        A short distance above Dose Meadows the trail crosses the Dose and climbs steeply, gaining about 500 feet, whereupon it veers decidedly right and the grade lessens. The trail continues to climb several hundred yards sweeping to the left around the nose of a small ridgeline. Look for a faint way-trail leading off-trail to your left. This is your entrance to Thousand Acre Meadow, one of the biggest alpine meadows in the Park. If you liked Cameron Basin, you’ll certainly enjoy the granddaddy meadow of them all.

Page 100        Kimta Peak        As you near Kimta Peak the trail becomes almost a way-trail. It’s easy to get confused by all the wandering animal trails. Old tree blazes and cairns now mark the way forward, past Kimta Peak toward Lake Beauty 5.6 miles ahead. Just below Kimta Peak the trail turns strongly to the east. The view, that I referred to, is your reward for the short scramble up the 150 foot difference between the trail and the peak. From the peak you have the south side of Mt. Olympus staring directly back at you. You’re looking into the upper Queets Basin, an area rarely visited and home to the Valhallas, a small group of peaks southwest of Mt. Olympus, named for the Norse gods. Turn east and look down the upper Elwha Valley and to the south the Quinault Valley. Somewhere down there on the Quinault, 4,800 feet below, is your trailhead.

Page 41        Whisky Bend        (A Special Note: the trailhead is at the end of the Whiskey Bend Road a spur off the Olympic Hot Springs Road. As of this writing, 2022, the Olympic Hot Springs Road remains washed out. The road is barricaded at Madison Falls just off of U.S. 101 up the Elwha River entrance to the Park. Hiking from Madison Falls is permitted; however, be advised that the Whiskey Bend trailhead described as the start/end point for this loop is 9 miles distant from Madison Falls. The description that follows for the Krause Bottom Loop assumes the road has been repaired and your start point will be at Whiskey Bend. Contact the Olympic National Park Wilderness Information Center at 1-360-565-3100 for current information.)

 Page 120        La Crosse Basin        La Crosse Basin is spectacular. With three named lakes and a number of alpine tarns scattered over an area a half mile wide and over a mile long. If you have a rest day built into your schedule, I suggest you spend it here. If you have to move on tomorrow then I suggest you spend part of tomorrow in the basin and start your hike down to Bull Elk Basin later in the day. You’ve reached nirvana; enjoy the experience.

Page 51        Deer Lake        About a mile before arriving at the lake you’ll rise up and over the lip of the bowl that holds Deer Lake to the east. You’ll then start a 500 ft. descent first heading southeast, then switching to the north and intersecting the High Divide trail—a short distance south and up-slope from the lake. At the junction, turn left to the north through meadow land; you’ll find the lake nearby. Deer Lake at 3,520 ft. is nestled in the uppermost range of the contiguous forest, just at treeline, and as such provides both wind-shelter and shade for your stay. Don’t plan to gather around a campfire. You may have seen the sign at 3,500 ft. just above Mink Lake on your climb that warned, “No Fires above this point, Camp Stoves Only.” This is an environmental protection provision and is fiercely enforced by the Park’s backcountry rangers and local hikers as well. I suppose as a substitute, you could sit around a roaring camp stove and tell outrageously exaggerated stories of past events. On second thought, retire to the tent and get some well-deserved rest.

Page 178        Gray Wolf Pass        Rising early this morning will allow you to climb part of the Pass in the shadow of Mt. Deception. You’ll find the Gray Wolf Pass Trail just over a mile up-trail from Deception Creek. Turning east at the trail junction, you’re facing a 3,000 ft. climb to the Pass, 3.5 miles from the junction. There is no easy part of this climb and it gets harder and hotter once you’ve lost the early morning shadow of Mt. Deception.

Reaching the Gray Wolf Pass you deserve a break. Put down your burden and enjoy the view. To the west is Mt. Cameron at 7,190 ft., you’ll cross Cameron Pass on the opposite side of the mountain a few days from now. To the south is Wellesley Peak at 6,758 ft.—and at a greater distance Diamond Mountain at 6,822 ft. Due east however, is the most spectacular sight. Less than two miles distant are The Needles, a significantly unique formation within the Olympic Mountains. Anchored by Mt. Walkinshaw on the north and Mt. Deception on the south, The Needles formation contains eleven peaks and spires all at or in excess of 7,000 ft.; an aggregation found nowhere else in the Olympic Mountains. 

Page 92        Grand Canyon of the Elwha        Rica Canyon, beginning at Goblin Gates, is the last mile and a half of the 11 mile Grand Canyon of the Elwha, a Class IV and V run that begins at Canyon Camp farther up the Elwha Trail. Called by some the “run of no return”: extremely narrow, strewn with boulders, drops, holes, steep rock walls and severely restricted scouting and portaging; this is one dangerous run. Once you put in, there are few places where you can get out. The Grand Canyon of the Elwha is no place for less than expert kayakers. It’s the toughest 11 miles of kayaking in the area; a true breathtaking experience.

Page 189        Remann’s Cabin        The next mile drops at about the same rate. At the end of about two miles, you’ll find yourself starting to steeply descend the south-facing nose of Long Ridge. Stop! Before you descend you need to read the lay of the land before you. Facing you across the valley is the north-facing nose of a buttress on Mt. Dana to your south. On either side of the buttress there is a valley. The correct start point for the descent is when the Elwha River, which is to your left in the direction of south-southeast, and the river to your right, the Goldie River, is aligned in the direction of south-southwest; a spread of 50 degrees. Move right or left until these two rivers appear in the orientation described.

The descent is steep. It swings first to the east, then back to the west and then it drops straight down toward the Goldie, losing about 400 feet of elevation. At that point it abruptly turns east losing elevation more gradually and contours around the nose of Long Ridge for the last time. The trail then begins to swing north as it crosses the Semple Plateau, loses less than 500 feet in the last mile and delivers you to the west bank of the Elwha, in the vicinity of Remann’s Cabin on the opposite bank.

Up and down stream a short distance from Remann’s Cabin you’ll find gravel bars and hopefully fordable places in the late summer and early fall when flow rates on the Elwha are at their lowest.  Fording is serious business. Refer to the Resource Page in the Appendix for fording.  Hikers have lost their lives attempting fords. Choose wisely; your well-being depends on your choices. Good news, you’re across the Elwha and Remann’s Cabin is your destination today.

Page 162        Martin’s Park        You’re over half-way to today’s destination; so, relax and take in the beauty of Low Divide. For the eager beavers there is the opportunity to take a five mile roundtrip day hike to Martin’s Lakes. The Martin’s Park Primitive Trail starts at the southern end of Lake Margaret and initially heads due south. You’ll gain about 1,000 feet of elevation on a trail that doesn’t get all the use that the North Fork Trail does; it can suffer from a lack of maintenance.