Ordering your copy of “Loop Hikes in the Olympic Mountains”
If you haven’t ordered your copy of the Book yet,
I recommend:
- Port Book and News, Port Angeles, WA
- Pacific Mist, Sequim, WA
- Dungeness River Nature Center, Sequim, WA
- VillageBooks.com, Bellingham, WA
Or online
“Loop Hikes in the Olympic Mountains”
OR, buy your book at the events below.
Book Signing and Sales Events:
As it stands right now, book signing and book sales will start again in late February or early March 2024. Most, if not all, events will take place in Kitsap County.
My Response to the Reader:
Readers have been consistently positive about the book. I haven’t received a negative comment, as of this writing.
S. “I really appreciate the “level of difficulty” listed for each loop. It made more sense to me after I examined all the elements that are located in the Appendix.”
The information regarding difficulty allows the hiker to have some level of expectation of how tough a given loop could be. As hikers hike the loops, their experience will allow them to compare the difference between the levels of difficulty. Is a level of 18 twice what the level was for an earlier hike that was rated at 9? Hikers may alter the levels of difficulty after having compared a good number of the loops. The elements were aggregated to estimate a level of difficulty; however, the ability of a hiker can easily manage some of the elements at a higher or lower level. Ultimately a hiker will inevitably adjust the level of difficulty for loop hikes she/he has hiked. The fact that I put the level of difficulty in the book does not make the levels absolute; they will change with you and become part of you.
R. “I really enjoyed the book because it is so full of helpful and interesting information.”
Thank you. Backpacking is a unique experience, be it a new trail or a return trip to a favored place. Any given place changes upon your return and there is so much to take in that some things get overlooked. Yes, the trail itself requires your attention but it is not the end all of what’s to be seen and experienced. I’ve provided some interesting information on each loop knowing that you will experience a never ending environment that has never been completely catalogued in any book, including mine.
Recent Questions and Answers:
Q: Will you write a book with easier loop hikes in it?
A: Currently I don’t believe I will write another book. If you are looking for easy loop hikes, go online and search. I did so and came up with 6 or 7 that were relatively flat, short mileage and in the lowlands that surround the Olympic Park and Forest.
Q: Are the loop hikes in your book mainly backpacking hikes?
A: Yes. The first 5 hikes are day hikes. The following 22 hikes in “Loop Hikes in the Olympic Mountains” are certainly backpacking and include longer and challenging itineraries.
Previous Q & A
Q: How many Life Straws would I need for two people for a week?
A: Take one Life Straw for each person. Don’t use the Life Straws if it can be avoided. Rather than depending on Life Straws, boil water for cooking, drinking or spit baths. Boiling will never let you down.
Q: What are the best stoves and fuel to carry?
A: The stove you are using is the one stove you understand from previous hikes. If you need a new stove, I would consider MSR, Jetboil or Primus. Check them out at https://www.outdoorgearlab.com
Q: Should I carry/use walking sticks?
A: There are a lot of differing answers. Personally, I use a stick or a branch at stream crossings only. I don’t carry them. I usually find a stick nearby and sometimes at the crossing. Planting the point of a walking stick every time you move your feet is unnecessary and the over-use of the walking stick degrades the trail. The more you use walking sticks the more you rob your body of balance. If you don’t use walking sticks your body will strengthen your muscles, improve the limits of your natural balance and maintains core alignment.
Building Stamina for Spring Hiking
Like engaging in any endeavor to strengthen yourself, your goal and ability will quickly collapse, if you don’t exercise. It only takes half the time it took you to meet your goal for it to disappear. Nasty weather, holidays, sprinkled throughout the fall and winter, and traveling can break your exercise routine and makes it difficult to sustain your condition.
If you are in shape and you rigorously stick to your exercise regime, I congratulate you. Don’t forget however, that hiking includes uneven footing on trails, commonly includes long elevation gains and descending from higher elevations.
Stamina is only one element of readiness on the trails. Stamina and the other elements also are sustainable through the winter months. Trails go up, up and up; they can be rocky filled with small crushed rocks, larger rounded rocks and solid rocks. Hiking down through those rocks can be more difficult.
Load up your pack to the same weight that you might have on a hike. Spend a couple of hours walking up and down steep streets. Or better yet, if a high school stadium is available, climb and descend the stairs often and use the track walk the track as well. If you have a park nearby, use those trails or any dirt roads that are at lower elevations. The more you engage these activities the better prepared you’ll be for the approaching spring.
Back Country Reservations
If you’ve used the Wilderness/Backcountry permits you may know all that you need, for all the others the following explanation will help you understand permits: time of year, quota are or not and most of all Wilderness permits are required the year round. Here are some dates you might need:
- September 15th is when Permits become available for advance reservation for the winter season
- April 15th is when Permits become available for advance reservation for the summer season, May 15th through October 15th, at 7 a.m. PST
- July 15, 2024 – October 15, 2024 are the Reservation season dates for Seven Lakes Basin/High Divide.
- June 15, 2024 – October 15, 2024 Reservation season dates for Glacier Meadows/Elk Lake, Grand Valley, Royal Basin, Lake Constance, Upper Lena Lake, and Flapjack Lakes.
Item 2 above exists to allow hikers to secure reservations in Quota Areas. If you get out the Olympic National Park Wilderness Trip Planner you can identify quota areas printed in red on the map. Quota areas were created to regulate the number of hikers in these most desired areas.
On the other hand, that portion of ONP that is printed in black is not a quota area and permits for non-Quota areas are reasonably easy to secure.
Regardless of where you plan to camp in the backcountry, failing to have secured a Wilderness Permit could cause you a good deal of trouble if you run into a Park Ranger. The fee will be required and a penalty could also be administered. It’s just a lot easier to get your Permit before you hit the trails. Finaly, if you need help in obtaining a Wilderness Permit, contact the Wilderness Information Center at (360) 565-3100 and thoroughly review the Olympic National Park Wilderness/Backcountry requirements.
Where to buy "Loop Hikes in the Olympic Mountains"?
Sequim and Port Angeles:
Pacific Mist
Dungeness River Nature Center
Port Book and News
The Internet:
VillageBooks.com
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
I’ve been writing about some of the elements of the book since March and I will continue to do so. If you or your friends haven’t checked Loophikes.com lately, finally the book has been published and is on the shelves. It’s what we’ve all been waiting for. There is no better time to order your book. I’m certain that you’ll be pleased. The book is one-of-a-kind, informative and explores loop hikes that haven’t been published as a book. The “Grand Loop of the Olympic Mountains” is a loop that may not ever have been hiked. Whether you’re new at hiking or you’re an expert hiker, the book will be useful and helpful—and it will expand your collective experience.
Loophikes.com provides you with information about the book and information that is not in the book but is relevant to your understanding.
Loophikes@olympus.net provides you the ability to ask me questions and get answers to the best of my ability. All the answers will be available at loophikes.com without identifying the person who submitted the question.
All of the past articles beginning with March are accessible. Click here to visit the Archive page. Additionally, if you’re interested in what’s coming next, here they are:
February 1: Gated Roads, restricted Trails, and seasonal book Sales
February 15: Is winter when animals hibernate in the Olympic Mountains
Visit LoopHikes.com frequently. Photos, information and stories change periodically, but sharing information with you comes first. Questions? Contact me at LoopHikes@olympus.net. Your curiosity is the foundation of building a better understanding. Tell your friends.