[meck]

Happy Lake Ridge Loop via Olympic Hot Springs Road/TH 7 December 2014, Solo Elevation Gain: ~1800' to highpoint of ~5650' = 3850' (lots of small up-down on the ridge) Round trip distance: ~16.2 miles (all on trail) Continuing progress on trail-bagging the entire ONP/ONF, I left the Boulder Creek TH around 0945 in the morning and headed east back down the road to the currently unmarked Happy Lake Ridge TH (~a little over a mile back).

Happy Lake Ridge TH

brush work

tread work

healthy looking hoofed quadruped

first glimpse of Olympus

nearing the ridge line, a wonderful pine smell in the air

bright green moss

intricate pattern close-up

The trail crew has done a fantastic job of clearing the trail up to ~4500' where the trail meets the ridge line. From here on until Boulder Lake, the trail passes through patchy snow (no more than 3-8 inches deep) along the shaded/northern facing parts of the trail.

view to the southeast

some light snow along the encroached path

more snowy travel

Mt Baldy Ridge to the north (not to be confused with "Baldy" next to Tyler peak in NE Olys)

Mt. ? across the sound to the north east

final snowy meadow before the Happy Lake junction

I reached the 0.5 mile Happy Lake junction at ~1230, though I did not see the sign at first. I headed north a few hundred yards up the nearby rocky point to see if I could get a better view of the surroundings. The elevation was roughly 5650'.

up this rocky point (actually went to the right around the east side to avoid the crappy rock near the top)

Mt Angeles and Hurricane Hill to the east

I had a quick snack on the top of this brushy point and took quite a few pics of the surroundings. I spotted Happy Lake below and to the west; it was frozen over, with a thin layer of snow.

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Boulder Peak with a sugar coat

looking south down from the point

Happy Lake, frozen below

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over towards Mt Appleton

view northwest, Aurora ridge on the left towards the Straight

Given my late start, and my belated realization that I still had about 11 miles to go, I decided not to go down to the lake, left this junction at ~1300. Proceeded along the ridge following the trail, which was conveniently marked by dozens of critter tracks, which was great because it is pretty brushy in spots. Various sizes of deer and elk tracks were visible, along with a couple of different pawed animals. It was kind of funny to be following different animals at different times, with most of them sticking to the trail for a couple hundred yards at a time. In one particular location the snow on the trail was packed down by seemingly a couple dozen different animal (reminded me of Mt Si or Tiger Mtn in the winter). During the day I came across several deer... gotta watch out, they are sneaky.

brushy portion of trail

jumping/pouncing tracks?

busy trail!

The temperatures were pretty darn warm the entire day (unlike last time I was in this neck of the woods). The views along the ridge were pretty spectacular, with the entirety of Mt Olympus visible to the south, and much of the southeastern Olys visible too with a nice white powder coat.

zoom in on Boulder Peak

Pt 6100 and Mt Appleton

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Fitzhenry, Fairchild and Carrie

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Up the Elwha

Reached the three-way junction of the Happy Lake Ridge trail, Boulder Lake, and Aurora Ridge trails at ~1430. Lizard Head Peak (a nice off trail winter scramble) was poking up to the northwest.

three way trail junction

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Lizard Head Peak, visited in Nov 2013 (even ran into Ms Pullen that day...)

The trek down to Boulder Lake was pleasant; the tracks at the lake indicated lots of recent visitors. The thick ice from earlier in November on the trail had completely melted.

Looking east again, the clouds looked brooding

more deer!

Boulder Peak from the lake

Boulder Lake looking wintry

Last hour or so back to the TH was in the dark, coming across the only other hikers I'd seen all day since leaving the TH. The last quarter mile was by flashlight; arriving around 1725. A great way to spend a Sunday...

[meck]

@ Hesman: Trail-miles, I'd estimate that I'm between a third and one-half completed. On the east/north side of the Olys I've still got to travel over: upper portion of the Duckabush (west of 10 mile camp), Lacrosse Pass, and the sections up to First Divide and ONeil pass/Marmot Lake (been to both from the south sides); Gray Wolf River/Pass; Lost Pass Way trail; Little River and Wolf Creek trails up to Hurricane Ridge; Heart O'the Hills; Lillian River tr; Dodger Pt way trail (maybe never on this one...); Appleton Pass via Oly Hot Springs; North Fork Sol Duc trail; about 2/3 of Aurora Ridge that I have not yet visited piecemeal; Spruce Railroad tr (saving this for a wintry day); Mink Lk/Deer Lk loop; plus maybe 5-6 of the really short ONP/ONF trails. On the west and south sides I still have a lot to visit: Bogachiel, N&S forks of the Hoh, Calawah and Queets trails; N fork Quinault and Skyline Ridge; mid and northern coast trails; Wynoochee/Sundown/Six Ridge passes; S fork Skokomish; and the Colonel Bob & Wonder Mtn Wildernesses; and of course Mt. Olympus itself. I figure that'll take me another good 3-6 years as I'm not a huge fan of backpacking (I prefer, sometimes ultra-long, day hiking).

[Jeb]

Nice TR and great photos! Olympus looks especially gorgeous. The big snowy one across the sound to the NE must be Baker.

[ranger rock]

Wow, all those tracks are really neat. I'm glad I made it up there this summer as the area is sure to be more visited with the road open. We had the hot springs all to ourselves.

[RodF]

Delightful report, Meck!

[meck]

@ Jeb: Thank you! (and thanks for naming the peak, I'm woefully ignorant of the mtn names on that side of the water). @ RangerRock: Yeah, you visited it at the right time. Both times I've visited since the reopening, the parking lot has had no less than 12 cars there. I'd had no idea that hot, smelly water was such an attraction ... (of course I never really cared for hot-tubs either...) @ RodF: please pass my thanks to the BCHW! The section they'd worked was in great shape (especially when compared to some of the less recently maintained sections along the ridge, many section would be hard to follow in snow as they blend right in with the surrounding brush). Given the distances, I can see how having stock available for hauling equipment would make the trail maintenance an order of magnitude easier, it would be a shame to lose that as an option. @ Hesman: I'd be game for trying out an "over-the-ridge" hike (one car at Little River, the other at Whiskey Bend or Elwha RS). I half-thought about doing the Dodger Point loop this last August (up the trail, down the way trail, cross the river then back via the Elwha trail) with low-river depths, but went for the Bailey Range Traverse instead. I read your TR of that crossing and trip with great interest. I'm gonna have to give it a go next year (maybe after having visited Ferry Basin via Dodger Point and stopping by Ludden and Scott on the way back out too).