[Slugman]

Another great day in the Olympics. The weather was perfect for hiking, cool and a little breezy. This trail, #834, seems almost abandoned in places and needs huge maintainance. I started at the "false" trailhead just past the one-lane bridge over the river. Drive another 1/2 mile up the hill for the "true" trailhead. The first mile and a half serve just to get you to the edge of the Buckhorn Wilderness, where the huge trees, moss gardens, and campsites start. The next two miles or so are a continous display of riverside beauty and total isolation. It is a crying shame that the bridge over the river at 3+ miles has never been replaced after it crashed into the gorge. I am yearning for the cool-looking (on the map) high country of Gray Wolf Pass. Perhaps the river will be fordable in the low water of high summer. Until then, this is still a great winter hike of modest length and elevation gain. Coming from the Hood Canal Bridge, take Hwy 101 towards Sequim and turn on Louella Rd just in front of Sequim Bay State Park. Turn left on Palo Alto Rd and follow it through the two 90 degree turns. Keep right at the Y and then turn right towards Dungeness Forks Campground. Pass the camp and take the next right down to the river and the one-lane bridge. Come on a weekday for complete solitude.

[dean brittain]

I have yet to make it all the way to the pass, but I fell in love with this river a few years back. Made a very long day hike of it! I think I was pretty close to Cameron Creek before turning back. I cannot wait to return.

[MCaver]

Nice timing! I'm seriously considering heading to the Olympics for the weekend to hike the Sol Duc Trail on Saturday. This sounds like a good hike for Sunday. I haven't done any hikes on the east side there at all. Still lots of trails to hit.

[Larry]

Dean Brittain: Cameron Basin is one of the premier ski basins in the Olympics, as well as being just super for flowers later. A truly beautiful area. A nice cross country loop is to go to Cameron Pass, then drop on over to Lost Basin, and travel x/c over the crest of Cameron Peaks, dropping to the north side at the most easterly of the Cameron Glaciers, then cutting over to Cedar Lake and out the Graywolf. Nice, and usually no people.

[reststep]

I understand that the Gray Wolf trail is in good shape from Three Forks to the park boundary. It would be nice if they replaced that bridge so the entire trail could be hiked to the pass. Can you bypass the bridge if you go in by way of Slab Camp? I also would like to go back to Cameron Basin. I think there is a lot of exploring to do there. Larry, would you rate that traverse from Lost Basin to Cedar Lake as easy, moderate or difficult? How would you compare it to the Baldy to Royal Basin traverse along Gray Wolf Ridge?

[Larry]

[Larry]

Wooly: Compared to the Baldy/Walkinshaw/Royal Basin traverse....a little bit more "rocky" and "sharper" ridgeline, but the "strenuous factor" is about the same. Very do-able. That Baldy traverse is certainly a surprisingly up-and-down route, isn't it? It is surprising how much you gain and lose on those peaks. Did you notice that there is a nice rock glacier on the north side of the ridge near Walkinshaw? Quite a phenomenon. Very interesting. By the way...the Baldy area is GREAT skiing, and will be accessible soon.

[Slugman]

Wooly, You can bypass the "out" bridge by coming in Slab Camp Creek. The bad bridge is at 3 miles from the false trailhead, 2 1/2 from the true trailhead. Slab Camp Creek trail hits at 5 miles. This would leave you with a 1,000 + ft climb right at the end of the hike if you didn't do a loop or a one-way. I like the looks of coming in Slab Camp, up the Gray Wolf to Cameron Creek, on up to Cameron Pass and Lost Pass, down to Dose Meadows, up to Hayden Pass, and then down to the Elwha and out. It would be pretty easy to double-park the cars since the trailheads are not too far apart by road. Wow! I just traced out that route on my topo software, and it came to 44.62 miles! Also a gain of 14,350 ft and a loss of 15,735. Sounds like a week to me, but then I'm slow. The elevation gain is probably not that much, since I traced the route quickly and the wavering line makes the computer think the trail is going up and down on what are actually steady grades.

[reststep]

Thanks Larrry and Slugman for the info. Larry, I have done just part of the Graywolf Ridge Traverse from the Baldy end and there definitely was a lot of up and down. It makes old legs tired. I am always very glad to have hiking poles with me when heading down from Baldy. If I get up that way I will look for some figure 8's in the snow and if I see them I will know you have been there. That is really interesting about finding the Elk Bones. We were hiking between Lost Pass and Cameron Pass and these ravens were making a hell of a racket. We went around a corner in the trail and there was a dead bear on a rock slide. The ravens were feeding off of it. We didn't go over there. To tell you the truth it kind of spooked me. We were camping not far away. I have always been curious as to what caused its demise. Slugman, that sounds like a great route you have planned out. I have been on part of that but have not done the part from Hayden Pass to the Elwah.