[GranolaGirl]

PS I was too lazy to change the image names on my pics.

I started at Sol Duc trail head. It was nice out. I knew it wouldn’t last for long and I indulged while I could. The parking lot was crawling with people. I headed out towards Deer Lake and on the way I past more women than I can count, carrying expensive leather purses with their hair and make up done. I looked down. I was wearing mismatching huge hiking socks that went half way up my legs. My boots were worn and dirty. I was wearing shorts that I had been wearing all week and hadn’t washed (why should I am going to get them dirty again, I’m like a kid who doesn’t want to clean her room, It’s gonna get messy again!) I was in a sports bra and my hair was greasy. Overpowering me was my large dirty backpack with mesh pockets that looked more like swiss cheese because of all the holes I have given it. My gear on the sides of my pack was in trash bags so it would be safe from the rain. Yup I fit right in with these people. I passed these women with a smile and hello and received a half ass smile as they clutched there studded purses and proceeded back to the trailhead a safe .8 of a mile away. Sigh. I always look forward to talking to people on the trail, but it always takes a few miles of passing ungrateful Eddie Bauer hikers who have since turned around and are heading back your way because they don’t have the balls to go more than 1 mile or the energy to at least say hello through their heavy mouth breathing…and purse or small dog holding. The way up to Deer lake is pretty, but not much to talk about. I figure you guys have seen forest before. It looked kinda like that. Yeah with the branches and stuff. You gain elevation. Once I got to deer lake things started to get really pretty.

This was when I looked down and realized the map that I had brought was no longer tucked tightly underneath a strap on my waist strap. Damn it.

No map I was now in the woods with no map. I was definitely going to die. I was just walking cougar bait. Mine as well lay down and call it quits. I hiked up and around the lake to a group of dudes, one of which who was smoking a cigarette, and asked if I could take a picture of their map with my phone so that I could have a map without stealing theirs (although it may not have been very hard to run away from the guy smoking a cigarette).

After starting the process of taking photos of a printed out map he had, one of the guys gave me his, apparently they had a whole pile of them. Rookie mistake corrected. I walked away holding my head high…pretending not to be embarrassed. Heading up over Deer Lake is really beautiful country. If you’re a meadow slut like me you’ll love this area. The heather is blooming, and tons of flowers covered the hillsides. Small tarns littered the shallow grasses and the fading mountains loomed in the distance. I was in Bob Ross heaven.

Heading over to lunch lake past the junction, I hit a little bit of snow, but I am sure it’s melted out now as this trip was two weeks ago and I have been too busy to post about it. It was easily navigated over and all was well in the kingdom. No Broomer Watson, apparently he was too busy harassing Blow down to head up to Lunch Lake.

On the way down to Lunch Lake I met some friends on the trail.

But they wanted to be best friends and wouldn’t let me by unless I promised. I wanted to be best friends, they were cute and looked friendly…Mountain goats always look like really old men to me. It always looks like they are going to pull out a big tobacco pipe and start telling me about Nam. I waited. Nope they weren’t moving. Stubborn. As we know, I don’t do well with strange things trying to be friends on the trail, so I cut the switchback. As soon as I was in the middle of cutting the switch back they moved. Go figure.

Round Lake and Lunch Lake are really neat spots. There are so many lakes up in this area it’s cray. (Clear lake is right below them as well).

I walked around Lunch Lake and every campsite I came up to was taken. I was getting frustrated, I had a permit and everything and I couldn’t find a spot to camp. Spot after spot was taken. Finally I climbed a hill and a ranger was standing next to a small tarn talking to campers. He pointed out a spot for me and I happily trotted over to the site. It was then that I realized a really stupid mistake I had made. I remembered being at the WIC and them asking me if I had a bear canister, and I said yes, because I do indeed have a bear canister. I didn’t stop to think if it was with me at the time. Now I was having that stop and think moment. Crap.

The ranger started walking up to my site and I nervously thought of how I would greet him and the conversation we would have and how I would have to explain my dumb mistake and have to try to prove that I knew what I was doing out here because I would look like a first timer. The ranger got closer. Should I even bother asking if I can hang food? I looked around there were no branches. Well that solved that question. The ranger moved closer. Maybe I should sleep with my food in my tent so that I don’t have to tell the ranger I didn’t bring my canister? The ranger moved closer. Then I remembered the time I slept with my food in my tent at Shi Shi Beach…. It was 2013 and I was laying in my tent, I had hiked all the way from Yellow Banks that day and was too tired to hang what little bit of food I had left. It was dark and I was listening to Elliott Smith in one headphone because the other one had stopped working. Suddenly something started swatting at the back foot side of my tent. What the hell? I thought. I pulled out my single ear phone and listened. It batted again, my whole tent quivering under the paw of the beast. What the hell is that! I wondered. Suddenly the beast was at my side pawing the side of my tent inches away from my body. “RAR!!!” I yelled in somewhat of a cartoon bear voice. “RARRRR!!!” It was silent. Then without any warning, the beast nudged his nose under my rain fly and tried to climb under. HEY!!!! I yelled sternly, with a little more force than my fake bear growls. It disappeared into the night, like a fart in the wind. I laid back down. sh##. I’m going to have to hang my food now, I have no choice, and the THING is outside waiting for me. I grabbed my janky rusty knife that would give some one tetanus way before it would kill anyone and began gathering my stuff to prep for my journey outside into the night when suddenly….The thing came back. Pat, pat, pat it pawed at the back of my tent again, and then quickly moved to the front and pawed the front for a moment. I was surrounded by the thing! Before I could react, the thing stuck it’s nose under my rain-fly again, and protruded like a birthing child into the space between my rain fly and the front mesh door of my tent. I froze. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Starring back at me with beedy little black eyes was the beast. A small skunk. Yes. I was now sharing a living space with a skunk. The skunk approached me. I stayed frozen, I went full t-rex mode. The skunk stood up on his hind legs and placed his paws on the mesh of my tent sniffing the air as he investigated my loot through the door. It was as if he was saying, “Hey, hey, yea you, hey, did you bring enough for all of us?” I stayed frozen. I was trying so hard not to laugh but the scene was so ridiculous! This could end up so bad, I thought in my frozen human statue. Finally the beast turned and left bored, inching his way under my rain fly the way he came in. Back to 2014…The ranger moved closer. “Hey!” The ranger said in a friendly voice. “You’re the girl who writes those crazy stories online…” No way. I had never been spotted in the wilderness before without cluing someone into my love for writing trip reports. “You recognized me?” I asked laughing. “I knew who you were from across the lake.” The Ranger said smiling and proceeded to ask me about my feature film that I wrote and how my trip in the rainforest was. It was awesome. He introduced himself as Bruce, that is his name on nwhikers as well. He was a retired vet and got paid to hang out in the Olympics and help people out and check permits. I was peanut butter and jealous. That sounds like such a sweet gig. I hope when I am his age I’ll get to do that too. Or maybe I’ll just be Bruce when I’m his age. He was also really nice when I told him about my bear canister dilemma and let me borrow two from the ranger station. I really like that guy. Thanks Bruce!!! I sat that night overlooking the mountain vistas and near by tarn, watching the sunset eating some organic top roman that tasted somewhat like butt. You’d think because it was the organic stuff it would taste better than the normal stuff. Nope. Butt. It was a great evening. Clocked in 8 miles that day.

I slept like a dead man, and woke up around 6am to a thunderous rain pounding on my tent. Yeah I wasn’t about to get up for that. I fell back asleep and woke up around 9am and then rain had subsided, score! But the clouds hadn’t. I came to the quick realization that I wouldn’t get any views from the high divide which was a super bummer since I have been looking forward to hiking it for years. Oh well. Just meant I would get to hike it again and it would look totally different. I ate some left overs from the butt dinner and cleaned up camp and headed up to the ranger station to deliver the bear canisters. Bruce was sitting in the ranger shelter as if waiting for my return. “Come inside!” He said. “Sit down, tell me a story!” Well I picked a super lame story but it was what was happening in my life at the time and I guess I needed to talk about it. THE STORY A week earlier, 6 of my work friends and co-workers were planning on backpacking up to Talapus Lake and spending the night there, then getting up early and going back into work the next day. We were all in the parking lot, everyone had their boots on and were adjusting their bandanas and their backpack straps and small dogs when my coworker Michelle stepped aside for a moment to return a phone call she missed on the way up. We all chatted each other up and joked around excited to get up and go swimming and camping. But it all changed when Michelle turned around. “I have some really bad news” Michelle said. “David killed himself.” David was a good friend of mine, and of all of us really. He was our co-worker, one who was not on the trip with us. We all starred at our boots for a long time. No one knew what to do. It was like a movie moment that would never happen to you in real life. I had never had a close friend die, let alone kill himself. My mind raced, should we go back? Should we still hike? I felt guilty hiking having a good time, or trying at least after hearing that news. I had no idea what to feel. But we all agreed, we were there for a reason. To mourn David. There was no point in driving home and mourning by ourselves. So we hiked. We talked about David, we cried, we laughed and it was probably the best medicine for the moment. Hiking really does a wonder of healing. We hiked to Talapus and then to Ollallie and without planning it we all sat by the lakes edge and sat in silence for 20 minutes. Well, that is if you don’t count my friend trying to offer people weed in a soft high pitched voice. After telling this story to Bruce, I talked about how I was on the hike to try to come to terms with David's death. Then I felt bad, geez this guy asked me to tell him a story after reading all my trip reports, I bet he was excited for comedy hour and poop and fart jokes then I just word vomited this awful story on to this poor guy. He gave his condolences and I thanked him somewhat embarrassed about unloading on him. That reminds me of when my family and I were camping at Mt. Saint Helens, I was under ten years old, I was riding my bike back to the campsite with a curious look on my young face. “Alison, what are you thinking about?” My Dad asked. To which I replied, “Oh I was just wondering who was gonna die first.” Maybe I shouldn’t be so honest all the time, cause that sh## coming out of a kids mouth is just creepy. Anyway now that I am about as far off topic as I can be…I changed the subject and Bruce and I talked about where I was going to go. I planned on hiking back out to the main trail and up to Cat Lake, then back to the Sol Duc River Junction/Seven Lakes Basin junction and past Hart Lake out to Appleton Pass, over Appleton Pass and down to The Olympic Hot Springs. “You’re going a long way, you want to know a short cut?” He went on to tell me if it was nice out he wouldn’t suggest this route because then I would miss the awesome views of coming out back to the main trail and over to high divide. However, it was all clouded in, so I could save myself a mile or so by cutting through the mountain side and catching up with the trail at the high divide. He told me there were 14-20 (I can’t remember which number) or tarns and lakes up there that weren’t even on the map, only on the custom correct map. They were called the Wye (sp?) Lakes. Usually I don’t take short cut information from people, but this was Bruce. He was a well-seasoned outdoors man. And I was taking it. I thanked Bruce and headed out toward the end of Lunch Lake, and straight out through the mountains up to High Divide. I am so glad I took this route. It was AMAZING! I passed around 20 tarns and lakes amongst snow and mountain side back drops. I almost cried once. It was so pretty! And no one else was on this trail! I was having a blast. Great way to start my day.

Once I was up to High Divide, it was cold, rainy, and I was completely clouded in. I didn’t get the views, but I did get an incredible experience. It was as if I was on a trail way up in the clouds. It was gorgeous.

Coming down from High Divide, I reached the junction for Cat Basin and Sol Duc River and I headed out to Cat Basin.

If you look at the map, the Cat Basin trail heads up to Cat Peak, and has a side trail that ends mysteriously on the map. I told my Dad I was planning on heading up that way and he told me there was a beautiful lake at the end of this side trail. I hiked up the trail, saw a bunch of grouse, who always have a way of scaring the crap out of me by flying away when I am 5 ft away and don't see them. The visibility was terrible, I could barley see 20 ft in front of me. My “rainproof” pants were soaked through and stuck to my legs as if they had been vacuum sealed. My gortex boots had soaked through and were spitting out water through the seams when I stepped. I was extremely uncomfortable. But I kept moving. That’s the key when it’s cold and rainy, you just HAVE to keep moving. It’s the only way. Chin up, man up. I hiked along a very steep grassy ridge up to Cat Lake, the lake my Dad had mentioned and it was beautiful. Another lake that is not on the map. Score.

I headed back quickly, each cold step had a word attached to it. Right foot, “Hot”, left foot, “Springs”, right foot, “Hot”, left foot, “Springs.” I hiked back to the junction, but I never found the junction, instead I ended up on a trail that headed down to Hart Lake, must have been a way trail or something. I was confused, I must have passed through some weird time laps vortex or something. But whatever I made it to the little gem of a lake (Hart Lake). It was really peaceful...And hard to see hah.

Still wet and cold, the rain came on harder and I tried to keep my morale up by listening to new music that I had downloaded to my phone on Spotify. I played it on speaker so everywhere I went I came with my own soundtrack.

When I came down out of the clouds my attitude got a little bit better. I could actually SEE again, and it was really beautiful! Sol Duc park is a neat little camp spot, and great place to explore.

After passing Sol Duc, I eventually came upon the Appleton Pass Junction. Alright, here we go! Climb climb climb climb. 2.6 miles to the top.

The views are breathe taking at the top. There is a camp area at the top as well. But I was on my way to the Hot…Springs….Hot….Springs! From the top of Appleton Pass it’s a little over 5 miles down to Boulder Creek Camp. Coming down Appleton Pass was really cool, lots of views and beautiful flowers.

At the bottom in the basin below the route finding gets really tricky. I lost the trail multiple times and was pretty sure I was going to have to turn around. But, wait, what is that?! YAYY!!!! Thank you to who ever put the markers out you saved my trip!

I followed the markers through thick vegetation and very little trail that wasn’t covered by overgrowth. The remainder of the trail down to Boulder Creek is in the trees. It’s your typical Elwah type woods, peaceful, mossy and beautiful. But LONGGGG. This is a long 5 miles. I swear it just kept going and going and going. By this time the rain let up and I was still super stoked to go to the springs, I am sure this had a little to do with the trail going on forever. Finally I reached the camp ground. It was completely vacant. In fact I hadn’t seen anyone past the junction for Appleton Pass. It was really weird.

I eagerly walked down to the hot springs. No one. It was very apocalyptic. Kind of creepy to have such an amazingly beautiful, peaceful place with no wild humans. Like I didn’t get the memo that there were zombies or something. I mean I know why there is no one there, the road is and has been closed to drive up to the place and hike 2.3 miles in. I guess I just assumed that other people would share in my idea by hiking out to them, but apparently not.

I sat in a hot spring and the sun even came out for a bit. Yiiissssssss. I was so happy to be warm again! The Olympic Hot Springs are awesome. They have a lot of egg like textured green and black algae in the bottom and around them which I am not sure if that is normal or if it’s cause no one has been using them, but once I got over that I was having a great time. That night I set up my tent, and boiled some water to add to my mountain house sweet and sour chicken my Dad gave me and holy crap. That sh## is good!!! I mean like really good. Yum. And they had bear wire so my bear canister dilemma was held off a night. I slept really well again. Tacked on 17 miles that day. The next day I couldn’t pull myself out of my tent. In the early morning is was raining, so naturally I wasn’t coming out of my cocoon. I was also kind of depressed about David. I laid there in and out of sleep…9am rolled around, then 10am, then 11. I was so comfortable and lazy I couldn’t bring myself to get out. Finally noon rolls around and I roll my lazy ass out of my tent and ate some left over sweet and sour chicken. I decided I would only go 7 miles that day so I could spend more time at the hot springs. The sun was out, and it was supposed to rain that day! Woohoo! I hiked down to the hot springs again and found a huge mother hot spring and laid my bones to rest for about an hour. I used my pad as a pillow for my head at one point....But then it fell in.

It was incredible. That’s like the greatest thing you could have hiking, a hot tub in the woods. Man I was so lovin it. And so were my feet. Hell yeah. I thought a lot about David, and started to feel a bit better about things. Afterwards I packed up my camp and headed out with the idea of going 7 miles. But as soon as I hit the junction to Boulder Lake my curiosity perked up and I had to go the 2.5 miles up the trail to see the lake. I left my pack at the bottom so I could quickly head up, it was 3:45pm, and now that I was doing Boulder Lake I had 13.5 miles to go that day. I sped walked up the trail to Boulder Lake. The trail is steep and boring, but the pay off it big. Boulder Lake is stunning. Super buggy, but great for solitude and meadow sluts.

Due to the time, I had to head down practically as soon as I got up there, and I choose to jog back down the trail to save time. I had this nervous idea that animals had stolen my pack eaten all my food and were waiting for me at the bottom of the trail. It’ just weird to be away from your pack when you are back packing, it becomes so much a part of you. I felt like I had left an organ at the bottom of the trail and I wasn’t functioning correctly without it. Luckily it was right where I left it. Yay. Plus I found a nature sword!

The 4 plus mile back to the top of Appleton Pass are the longest 4 miles. Man. They just go on and on, like the way down, only now I was hiking uphill and they were lasting forever. But this time I had visibility, no rain and I knew how to better navigate the basin below so I had those things on my side. My butt has never been so sore from hiking. I can’t even put it into words man, when I was hiking back up Appleton from having hiked 17 miles the day before and hiking Boulder Lake that afternoon. My butt was on FIRE! I had to stop at almost all of the switch backs going up the side of the mountain on Appleton Pass to let out pathetic audible moans that sounded some what like a dieing cat.

When I got to the top I was in the clouds. It was incredible and It was really cold. I stopped, but on some layers and headed out when suddenly I saw some black fur in my vision. No. Way.

This is the biggest bear I have EVER seen!! It was friggn HUGE! Like a monster huge. I starred in awe. I have seen many bears but nothing like this one. I didn’t have my bear mace on me, so I grabbed my knife and opened it up in one hand, to give myself some piece of mind-with no intention of actually using it, basically just to say I did it. It probably looked really funny to the bear, like I was going to try to defend myself with one bear claw. He looked back at me for a moment, and then stoned, continued to eat plants. It was magical. I was ecstatic. It was so cool! I hiked down the pass and when I reached the bottom it was around 9:30pm and dark. I came into the Appleton Pass Junction camp (which is also not on the map) and laid down my tent. There was another group camped there, but they were asleep and I tried to look for a campsite further away but there was only one and it was uncomfortably close to theirs. Meh. I was tired and I had no energy to go anywhere else. I set up my tent and made the best Thai peanut noodles with green beans. I sat in the dark in bliss shoveling piles of fat noodles into my hungry mouth. Then there was the bear canister problem and no branches problem again. sh##. The best I could do was tie my food up between two trees about 4 feet off the ground. Now I realize that this is the perfect height for a bear, but a t least it would keep raccoons and squirrels away. It was the best I could do in the dark in my situation. It looked absolutely ridiculous. I laughed at myself and went to bed with horrible immersion foot due to my soaking wet boots for days. So sexy. Clocked in 14 miles that day.

Hot. The next morning around 9am I could hear my neighbors talking quietly. I was excited, people!! I hadn’t seen anyone in around 30 hours and I couldn’t wait to tell them about the bear I had seen. Excitedly, I quickly got all of my gear put away in my backpack while I was still in my tent rehearsing in my head what I would say to my new friends. I opened up my tent to a beautiful morning with the sun shining between the trees. The neighbors were a couple in their 60’s, I smiled and greeted them. “Hey! Good morning! Sorry I had to camp so close to you guys, I got here in the dark and…” I was suddenly cut off by the shrill stern voice of the women, “Do you even have a PERMIT to BE here?” She barked at me. I was shocked. My voice caught in my throat. They starred at me like I was a rat in her kitchen. “Yes I have a permit to be here.” I replied confused. “You didn’t even BRING a BEAR CANNISTER???” She bellowed still starring me down like a angry mom. “I forgot mine, and I did the best I could, I realize my hang job is ridiculous but I made a mistake and I figured I would at least try to keep it away from the squirrels as there are no branches here.” “Yeah there’s NO branches.” The lady said then turned away and ignored me. I was bewildered. I had never been treated so rude in the woods before. My feelings were legitimately hurt. I had been so excited to talk to her and she was so mean. I didn’t know what to do. I felt so awkward. Like the fat girl around the popular girls in high school. I quickly put my stuff together skipping breakfast and my morning pee and decided to get the f out of there. “Have a nice hike” I told the women. “You too.” She said to me. “Whore.” I whispered grinning and turned onto the main trail. The Sol Duck River Trail from there out if about 4.3 miles long. It’s a gentle downhill trail from the pass with multiple camp sites along the way (they too, are not on the map.) I stopped a safe distance from the menopausal woman and ate some left over peanut noodles trying to get myself out of my shattered mood. The sun was coming through the trees in spears and I couldn’t help but feel happy again.

Soon I was at the trail head again. I had to work at 6pm that night but it was only 11:00 and I opted to go to the Sol Duc hot springs to soak before I went home. It’s only 13 bucks to use the pools but it was quite the culture shock from just being in the vacant Olympic Hot Springs, to the busy overweight families soaking in tiled pools probably full of chlorine. But I still loved it. Just a different kind of love. A less egg smell hippy type and more social shave your legs type kind of love.

Sol Duc

Overall it was an awesome trip. Did about 40 miles, and I can’t wait to go back and see what the High Divide really looks like!

[Magellan]

Love all the effort you put in the report!

[Jaberwock]

These are some of my favorite TRs on here. Didn't realize it at the time but I think I saw you at Lunch Lake... July 22? You would have been in the honeymoon suite up there by the privy.

[suziq999]

Goats and bears and a sword in one trip!! What more could a girl ask for? Well done.

[Magellan]

I hope the trenchfoot heals up.

[coldrain108]

Awesome place, especially the Triple divide where the Bogie trail, Hoh Lake Trail and High Divide come together. Thankfully that area is managed like the Enchantments or Copper Ridge. I was just up there this weekend (got my permits on April 15th) - opposite weather conditions - it was the anvil of the sun in the upper lake basin. We were praying for rain. The campsite hunt at Lunch Lake at dusk is pretty tough - we got in to camp at 3 and watched the pack train come rolling in as the sun was setting. Glad Bruce had an extra Bear can for you as there is a big old bear hanging out in the basin, he is pretty indifferent to the humans but that could easily change if he scored some human grub.

We saw this bear 4 times on Sunday as he was cruising all over the basin. We had to detour around him once when he was on the trail with no intention of moving for us.

[Ski]

great report. sounds like you need to find some boots that keep your feet dry. oh... and the lady hollering about the permit and bear can: don't let assholes in the woods ruin your day.

[HumpnoocheeGirl]

[contour5]

Another highly entertaining read, GG. Sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. Some great shots and quite an impressive trip considering the less than ideal conditions. You may have a possible future career as an Elvis impersonator!

[GranolaGirl]

That was me up by the privy!!! Holla! Thanks for your kind words guys-- and great pics of the bear in the basin!!!

[coldrain108]

the bear made a really, really loud slurping sound as it was drinking. It made us laugh, that is why the next picture he's looking at us like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas - "I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to f****' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?" That is when we decided to split but he still cut us off before we could exit the upper basin. He stopped to graze right in the middle of the trail. We went cross country to get around him. Here he is right on the trail

our first encounter

[Don]

Two weeks to write this TR? Geesh - this would have taken me two months! Fun to hear how accommodating Bruce was - typical of him. Nice guy. Great report and pics as always, GG. Hope the feet are doing better now.

[Stefan]

sorry about your friend. Does your pinky toe really tuck under the other toes like that? Or are you doing some Vulcan "hello" thingy?

[GranolaGirl]

Great bear pics hahah I love how you talked for the bear I totally would have done that too. Dude I have the weirdest feet my pinky toe totally hides it's weird and my toes next to them look like little smokey sausages.

[kiliki]