[Slugman]

Well, I had to drop Tanja off at Sea-Tac airport at 6:15 am Monday, and I always keep a fully loaded pack in the trunk , so me and the doozer pup decided, after conferring, to do an overnighter in the Olympics. By coincidence I had just uploaded a route to the gps and printed a map of the Duckabush, and Daisy suggested we go there. (She has very expressive eyes). We hit the trail at 10:30 from the empty parking lot.(Ain't weekdays great?). We cruised at warp speed, 1.5 mph, all the way to the top of Little Hump, and then de-humped down to the river. We detoured on a short side trail to the first camping spot at the river and took such a long break that two people arrived and passed us on the trail. We saw them sitting on a rock in the river near the ascent to Big Hump. They were the last humans we saw. We did see several large, grey "mule deer" (that's what I call them, anyway), resting in the woods. This is one advantage of stopping to rest frequently: it is at these times of sitting still that I see most wildlife. I ALWAYS bring my cheap, lightweight Coleman Camp Chair, now with new backrest! Only $11.99 at Fred Meyer. The ultra-cheapo alluminum construction for lightness, and the outstanding comfort of a chair with a backrest, make this item indispensable to me. It is well worth the 1.5 lbs to be able to relax in luxury in camp or anywhere on the trail. But I digress. Where was I? Oh, yes, the Duckabush. I stopped at the nice viewpoint halfway up Big Hump long enough to listen to The Six Wives of Henry the VIII by Rick Wakeman. "Jane Seymore" rocks! We hiked to the top and then it drops off after that down to the river again. We found a great camping spot among the many available, and set up the tent-equivalent. This consists of a blue tarp spread over a rope between trees, with a ground cloth for the floor, and a mosquito net bridging the space between. Lots of room, great views, and only 2 1/4 lbs complete! We day-hiked to the National Park Boundary on Tuesday morning (noon), and headed back at 2pm. The stretch of river from 4.5 to 6.5 miles in is fantastic. There are places of normal cacading river, wide riffles bordered by salmonberry and gravel bars, and deep gorges filled with clear, emerald water that is very deep. If the day had been 30 degrees warmer, and the water 20, I would have gone swimming. We got back to the car at 7pm, exhausted. The hike up the back of Big Hump did me in. I thought "out" meant "down"!! (Another report can be read at wta.org, not the same as this one)