[blendergasket]

I spent last weekend on the Queets trail. I'm nursing an unhappy knee so I didn't get too far, but I made it a bit past the ford for Tsheltshy creek trail before I turned around. I forded the Queets a little way above the convergence of Sam's, at the end of the rock beach on the south side of the river. This proved a good place to ford. The trailhead on the other side is directly across from the convergence with Sam Creek so I had to back track. It is flagged and there are some cairns. To find it be sure that you are directly across from the line of rocks deposited by the outflowing Sam. On my return I crossed the Queets right directly above the convergence through the rapids. The first place I crossed, a little ways up the river was easier. The trail is in great shape with the exception of a few muddy sections. The trail is absolutely beautiful. It gets more lush as it continues. I made it past an incredible grove of moss draped maples before I turned around. There were many fascinating fungi! I knew many of them, but a few I did not. I stayed at the Cougar camp, roughly 4 miles in. On the spur trail to Cougar camp I spooked a bear that ran about 3 feet up a tree, turned around and looked at me, and then ran off. I saw a cub across the river from Cougar camp as well. Spruce Bottom camp is ringed by some incredible Spruce trees and is very beautiful. I tried to find the biggest Douglas Fir in the world but could not. The Kloochman rock trail was a couple hundred feet away from where my GPS showed, and I did not see a spur trail to the tree. I tried a couple spur trails, but they all petered out into dense thickets of thorny underbrush. Any advise on finding the Champion Doug Fir would be much appreciated as I think I'm gonna head back out to the Queets again this summer. The Queets truly feels like God's country. It is a beautiful and wild place; the kind of place my soul craves. Below are some photos of fungus I was unable to ID. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Ski]

Nice photos. I cannot help you with the identification of the fungi. Hopefully another member here will chime in on those. The ford at the bottom end moves up and down every year as the streambed changes. As well, the location of the mouth of the Sams River changes from year to year. Some years the easiest ford might be below the mouth of the Sams, some years the easiest ford might be upstream at the bottom end of the big pool just above the mouth of the Sams. You can gain the trail at any point by fording, following the dry wash on the other side about a hundred yards, and then cutting over to the left and crashing through the sword fern. The "Big Fir" trail has been pretty much obliterated at its bottom end by a huge spruce that fell down a few years ago. You'll find a photo of it in one of my previous trip reports. Best directions I can give you currently: Walk to Coal Creek (at 2.5 miles from trailhead.) You'll know it's Coal Creek by the huge log that spans the creek and is used as a footbridge. Turn around and go back down the trail about 200 feet. you'll find a huge spruce that's been blown over. Climb up on top of the spruce, follow it to its end. When you get to the end and spot some cut logs, take a sharp left and find the trail to the big tree. That said, I just spoke with Sam a few days ago, and he's telling me that's no longer a viable route and you have to just follow along the edge of the bank when you get to Coal Creek about 100 feet or so until you can find the cut logs and then find the trail. I kind of wonder about that, because the banks along Coal Creek are all covered with Salmonberry, so you'd probably be wading through stickerbushes the whole way. Sam insisted that's how he found the trail the last time he was up there, though. Go figure. Curious as to where you got the name "Cougar Camp" from. Are you referring to the little campsite on the bench at 4.2 miles? Accessed from a short little spur trail that branches off the main trail to the right? (I believe there may still be a couple large cut rounds there that are being used for seating, unless they've been burned or rolled down the bank.)

[kitya]

Your fungus is called Hydnellum aurantiacum. They are pretty.

[blendergasket]

Ski: A buddy let me know about a camp closer than Spruce Bottom and called it "Cougar Camp". About 4 miles in there is a trail that lets off towards the water. It went a ways before it got there, and passed a camp right before turning through a narrow band of alder to a long, wide beach. I got onto the huge Spruce and walked along it to the end, where I continued down a barely there trail that went a while and then continued across a smaller downed tree. It split and headed up, I assumed towards Kloochman rock. Another trail branched off, went under a blowdown, and then petered out. Both of them were slightly North of where my GPS said the big tree trail was. I walked back down and found another trail that appeared to go towards the tree but it disappeared into the jungle as well. My knee was already telling me I'd done a stupid thing by attempting to find this tree, so I didn't attempt the bushwhack. It sounds like my problem was following the trail that continued back down towards the stream and then cut left instead of cutting a hard left right after the huge tree. Thanks a bunch for the info! Kitya, Thank you for the ID! Any idea on the fuzzy one growing out of the log?

[Ski]

GAH! This has been a problem for years. The "Big Fir" trail is only 0.2 miles (two-tenths of a mile) in length. The upper end of that huge downed spruce should take you to a point where there are some enormous cut logs that Mike Larsen cut about 25 years ago. From there the trail heads in a northerly direction for only about 200 feet, then takes a turn to the LEFT (west) and continues on to the big tree. The old Kloochman Rock Trail branched off of the "Big Fir" trail and immediately crossed Coal Creek, requiring a ford of the creek. Sam just tried to find the (Kloochman Rock) trail a few weeks ago but was unable to follow it once he got high up on the ridge spur. Sorry, but I haven't been up there yet this season, so I don't know what sort of shape that "Big Fir" trail is in currently. If you are referring to a campsite that is well-established - hard packed ground, fire ring, and a few cut logs - that is the "Lower Crossing" site at 4.2 miles.

[kitya]

[Double_E]

Thanks for the report! (And thanks to Ski for the multiple great Queets reports over the last few years.) We're heading up there soon. I hiked about 5 miles up the Queets once back in the 90s... time to go back and go further up it! Wondering if anyone remembers if there are any decent campsites at roughly the 7 or 8 mile mark?? (Feeling like doing more than 5, but maybe not quite 10, that first day.) Thanks in advance.