[jupsal]

I am considering doing the Bailey Range solo next week. Because I am solo, I was thinking about doing an out and back from Sol Duc, turning around at the upper Queets basin. This has the added advantage of not needing to worry about the snowfinger (or lack thereof?). I generally don't mind doing out and backs as long as the views are good, and something tells me they will be on this trip I have two questions I hope the more experienced folks here could help me with. 1) Will I still have fun? I think I will, but am I missing anything big? 2) Is there anything else extremely dangerous/scary I should be worried about? I have always heard about the big bad Bailey Range traverse, but then when I read stuff it seems like the snowfinger is the bad part. I have a ton of experience scrambling, sidehilling on steep stuff, booting up snow, etc. I will only be bringing an ice axe and microspikes (no crampons). From recent sat imagery and other TRs it looks like I shouldn't have a hard time avoiding glaciers. Thanks for the help!

[JonnyQuest]

You should have no problems negotiating the "glaciers" with an axe and micro-spikes. They might actually come in more handy in the gullies traversing Mt. Carrie It's a wonderful trip - have fun and make sure to leave enough time to explore upper Queets Basin and even Ferry Basin. Both are worthy of exploration and down-time.

[meck]

Lots of others will have input, here is my 2$. I did it solo back in 2014 (was dropped off at Solduc, exited via the Snow Finger, and tramped out via the Elwha River Trail to Whiskey Bend TH when it was still accessible by automobile). 1. Allow plenty of time. The section you want to hike is beautiful, you're going to want to savor it. Also, its nice to have time to figure out the navigation and route finding. Although you *might* be able to make it from the Catwalk over Bear Pass to the upper basin in a long day (traveling fast from an early start), I'd allow at least two days (each way, after you have crossed the catwalk) + a day to linger in at least one location. 2. Bring plenty of water, or at least have the capability of carrying say 4-5 liters. I ran through all 4.5 liters I had going from 11-bull basin (where I'd filled up) to Cream Lake on a super hot afternoon. 3. Beware the Cream Lake vortex (I went to high and had to perform some interesting "committing" moves to get down to that stupid lake). If you have GPS tracks for this area, bring them. 4. The chutes on the side of Carrie can vary. When I went through them there were some pretty good steps kicked in, but I still had to psych myself up to cross the first couple. 5. Bring a GPS unit, compass, altimeter etc. and know how to use them. I got rained on midway through and had to hike one of my days in the clouds only being able to see maybe 200' max all day.

[jupsal]

[jupsal]

[jupsal]

[coldrain108]

[Tomlike]

In my opinion, the snow finger is not bad (the majority of the snow is gone, which has made it easier over the years). You say you have lots of scrambling experience, so you will feel right at home in the Bailey range. Personally I would leave the ice axe; likely the only place you will need it is the Childs glacier. Last year on our Bailey traverse we simply dropped down below and around the glacier, as it was pretty slick and we didn't have axes either. An out and back sounds very tedious. I will be the lone vote here saying it's nice to finish hiking out the NF Quinault on an easy trail.

[mountainflamingo]

I did the traverse last year and we camped at Lake 4998 west of Stephen Peak and then traversed around the north side of Stephen Peak (and scrambled up it) and then traversed the east ridge toward the Ferry Basin. I quite liked this route and the camp at the lake was really nice. If I was doing an out and back I would do this one direction and the south side (Cream Lake) the other direction just to keep it fresh. You can see my trip report on here from last year if that is helpful.

[jupsal]

Happy to report I did exactly this and that your TR was what lead me to the Stephen basin. Happy I did it!