LoopHikes.com is your gateway to the first book that is dedicated exclusively to loop hiking in the Olympic Mountains. The book details 27 loops, 21 of which haven’t been published—including one that may never have been hiked.
“Loop Hikes in the Olympic Mountains” will be available to you in the fall of 2023. While we wait, LoopHikes.com will not only keep you informed regarding its publishing date, but it will also provide back-stories for numerous elements within the book.
The Book enhances your Loop Hike experience.
A list of loop hikes by itself might be interesting. But it would be deficient. A simple list won’t get you out of trouble, prepare you for the hike’s challenges and introduce you to the beautiful and amazing environment that you’re traversing. “Loop Hikes in the Olympic Mountains” avoids those deficiencies. I make it a point throughout the book to keep you informed. Each and every day, through my writing, I’m with you, ready and able, to transform your loop hike into your unforgettable wilderness experience.
Throughout the book I’ve scattered over 60 cautionary statements. Each one is purposely intended to warn you of what you’re facing. I’m not talking about blisters or sore backs. I am more interested in true threats like fording rivers, availability of water, way-trails, significant heat and climbing over mountain passes. Here are some examples:
Dodger Point-Elwha Loop (42 mi., level of difficulty 29.38, a hard climb, stellar views, a dry camp, a difficult way-trail, a ford, a lush river valley, best done late summer to early fall)
Wow! We’ve found an example that cries out for some advice. The cautionary advice I’ll give you reads like this, straight from the Book:
“Light dawns, today emerges and the trail awaits. You’re packed up and ready to move onward and upward. “…it’s time to face your first of several challenges on this loop. Your destination today is Dodger Point, 11 miles and 4,500 feet higher as you ascend Long Ridge. … If it makes you feel better, the steepest part is the first 3 miles, a gain of 2,500 feet, as the trail switchbacks, swinging east to west to east again, up and across the northern nose of Long Ridge several times. The last 8 miles follow the constant but lesser grade of the ridge. The trail, for the most part, sticks to the western slope of the ridge crest. You should be carrying enough water for your stay at Dodger Point, but you may be lucky enough to come across a few small tarns along the trail in its last 5 miles, if summer hasn’t consumed them. If you do replenish your water supply in the backcountry, regardless of where you are, you should treat, filter (at or below 0.5 microns) or boil the water. Giardia is prevalent; take the time to protect yourself.”
We’re just getting started. Let’s see. The climb to Dodger Point is long, difficult, primarily facing the western heat of the day. Water is not always available and if it is, you’ll have the need to treat, boil or filter the water to avoid Giardia. This is one of three cautionary statements just for this loop.
If you’re pressing onward, the next challenge you’ll face is wayfinding. You will descend from Dodger Point to the Elwha River just over 4,000 ft. below. This will be an exercise in wayfinding.
“If you are not comfortable with your ability to meet this challenge, you should not attempt this portion of the loop and retrace your steps back down the Long Ridge Trail. On the other hand, if you intend to move forward, you’ll need to: spend a good deal of time studying the detail of a quality topo map, know how to read a compass and set your altimeter at the Dodger Point Lookout at 5,753 ft. You’ll come to a point down-trail where being able to orient your physical position relative to compass bearings and altitude will mean the difference between success and failure.
Let me be, just in your face, blunt! If you’re good at reading maps, knowing how to use a compass, can track your elevation and have a keen eye for the surrounding topography, you’ll manage this route with some difficulty. Anything less in your skill set will result in you throwing in the towel, semi-lost somewhere southeast of and below Dodger Point. You’ll have only one remaining clue still working for you; Dodger Point is uphill to the northwest! Return there and hike out the way you came in.”
The Goldie River originates on the northern side of Mount Wilder and joins the Elwha about a mile up-stream from Remanns Cabin.
“The descent is steep. It swings first to the east, then back to the west and then drops straight down toward the Goldie River losing about 400 feet of elevation. At that point it abruptly turns east losing elevation more gradually and contours east around the nose of Long Ridge for the last time. The trail then begins to swing north as it crosses the Semple Plateau. It loses less than 500 feet in the last mile and delivers you at the west bank of the Elwha in the vicinity of Remann’s Cabin on the opposite bank at 1,451 feet of elevation.
You should consult with the Wilderness Information Desk in the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles. I suggest you do a web search for “Stream Crossing Techniques” and read the National Park Service’s web-available “Safe River Crossings” and “Swiftwater Rescue Manual” The Rangers in the Park’s Wilderness Information Center can advise you as to the advisability of your plans. In addition, you should consult the USGS website for current water conditions. Also, if you visit online the State of Washington Dept. of Ecology, River and Stream Flow Monitoring page, you can compare years of data and thereby compare it to the weather pattern in any year against the weather pattern in the current year. By doing so you’ll have a better sense of what the fording conditions may be. These searches will allow you to choose your hike based on the available data.
Looking up and down-stream, a short distance from Remann’s Cabin, you’ll find gravel bars and fordable places in the late summer and early fall when flow rates on the Elwha are at their lowest. Prior to undertaking this loop, you should review fording on the Resource Page, in the Appendix of this book. Fording is serious business. Hikers have lost their lives. Take your time and choose wisely.”
Okay, maybe I’ve worn you out about hazards. So, let’s do some hiking through the grandeur of the Olympic Mountains, that some books have skipped. When you get a copy of “Loop Hikes in the Olympic Mountains” you’ll not only come across the snippets I’ll touch on here, you’ll get to hug and hold the wilderness in your hands.
North Fork Quinault River – Three Lakes Loop (21 mi., level of difficulty 10.13, the river, the lakes and elevations from Rain Forest to Subalpine and back)
“About a mile down-trail from Three Lakes the trail begins to round two buttresses running to the northeast. About the middle of this loop, the trail amends from the river to the beauty of the sub-alpine. As it passes through a stand of Alaska cedar, (Callitropsis nootkatensis db.2010), take a careful look for the granddaddy of Alaska cedars in the Park. It has stood in this grove amongst its brethren for 2,000 years and at 37.6 feet in circumference and with a 27 ft. spread, it is larger than any other of its kind in the U.S.”
“I was 14 and on an outing with the Olympic College Mountaineering Class, the oldest and most enduring college mountaineering program in the country. Too young to be officially part of the class, my friends and I took the class several years in a row by contributing to the equipment fund and keeping the arrangement below the radar; the college version of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” It was 1961 and we were off to climb The Brothers, led by George Martin, Glenn Kelsey and Chuck Maiden. After establishing base camp at trails end in The Valley of Silent Men, a few of my friends and I accompanied Gene Kelsey and Chuck Maiden up the lower part of The Brothers southeast buttress in search of a big Alaska cedar that Chuck had seen on a previous climb. We found it after an hour of climbing through thick brush. Chuck took numerous measurements and fixed the tree’s location with compass and map; old-school location finding was all there was in the early 1960s. Chuck submitted his find to the government for possible inclusion as a record specimen of (Cupressus nootkatensis db.1864), Alaska yellow cedar. As it turned out, the tree near Three Lakes won that honor and holds it to this day, as it should.”
Cameron Creek – Gray Wolf River (45mi., level of difficulty 26.81, 3 passes, alpine glory, mountain views and 2 side trips)
You’re on Cameron Pass. “The trail breaks southeast and traverses through a series of meadows and copse of slope sheltered alpine conifers. In the alpine summer between mid-July and early August these meadows are raging with wildflower colors. You are in the inner sanctum of the Park. Few hikers are willing to expend either the time or energy required to stand where you stand on this day. The deeper into the Park you travel, the land is less disturbed by mankind. As such, you are experiencing a view of the land altered only by time. If you encounter wildlife, absent mice, you may notice that they are less tense about you being in their space. Barbara and I encountered a huge bull Roosevelt Elk the last time we ventured up here and in one of the meadows a bit farther on a boar Black Bear. Their reaction to us was very similar. They didn’t move away, they just raised their heads from grazing and looked at us with an expression of, ‘who are you and why are you up here?’ We moved on and they went back to grazing. The wildlife carries on unbothered by the very few hikers they encounter.
From Cameron Pass to Lost Pass is about 2 miles. Take a break and get off your feet for a bit, you’ve got a challenge just ahead. From Lost Pass at 6,515 ft., you have a wonderful view of Mt. Cameron behind you to the north and the 7,000 footers, Mts. Mystery, Deception, Clark and Walkinshaw, south to north, in the distance to the east.”
Hoh – Bogachiel Loop (53 mi., level of difficulty 43.1, Reservations, one brutal day, a ford, the Rain Forest, alpine camps, lakes, views and one primitive-trail camp)
“Even though your first day is long, 9.1 miles to Olympus Ranger Station, it’s relatively easy; the total elevation gain is about 300 feet. Flat trails are an anomaly in this Park and the beginning of the Hoh is the leader in that genre. Day-one is a real treat. The solitude of the Hoh Valley is hard to match. The trail parallels the river offering unlimited opportunities to shed your pack and relax on a riverside log in the shade, or shed the boots and cool your toes in this mostly glacier-fed wonder. If you’re looking for advice on a rest area, I suggest Five Mile Island. It comes to mind since it’s half-way to the Olympus Ranger Station, your destination for today.
In 2005 Gordon Hempton, after traveling the world, found the “One Square Inch of Silence.” Can you guess where? He found it off-trail, several miles from the Hoh Trailhead. The Rain Forest is so dense and full of vegetation that it absorbs sound like a sponge. Evidently, Hempton wasn’t measuring sound in the fall, when the abundant bull Elk are advertising their availability and willingness to join the effort to increase the size of the herd. Nor was he measuring sound in the dead of night, when any number of various species of owl figuratively light up the night sky with their varied “hoots.” Regardless, amongst all the grandeur of the Hoh Valley, sublime quiet, soothing and solitude, can be added to the long list.”
My purpose here is to demonstrate that “Loop Hikes in the Olympic Mountains” is a great deal more than a book about trails. As you hike these loop trails, you’ll find a connection with this pristine and wonderful opportunity. It’s reaching out to you. Immerse yourself in all that the Olympic Wilderness offers.
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:
June 15: “Rejoice in the Meadows”
July 1: “The Book is static, but the Wilderness is forever dynamic”
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.
The book is coming in August 2023