[Ski]

50th Anniversary Hike - Queets River Trail - 08/13/08 - 08/17/08 photos posted here Got to trailhead about 3 pm. Three vehicles at trailhead. Ate my little 'very berry' pie ( from the Farmer's Market in Hoquiam ) and had a cup of tea, finished loading pack and started out about 4. USGS site said river was running at 824 cfs when I left Tacoma. Crossing at Sams was crotch-deep- about 36". Met a couple of day-hikers coming out about a mile in. They got up to Andrews Field [1] and turned around. They looked a bit frazzled in the 85° heat. At about 3.5 miles, met another hiker on the trail who was carrying a fishing pole with a great big spoon on the end of the line. An auspicious encounter- turned out it was Andrew from nwhikers! We talked a bit, and he said he hadn't had much luck with the fish. ( Andrew, send me a p/m with a snail-mail address and I'll tie up one of my old man's "guaranteed to catch fish on the Queets" lures and send it to you. ) We both decided the bugs were getting the better of us and parted ways. Got up to my spot about 7, set up tent right away, and then noticed smoke about 50 yards downstream. A young man walked over and introduced himself as Hannes, from Sweden. He and his hiking partner Ted ( from San Francisco ) had just come in that afternoon, and were staying in one of the tarp-and-parachute-cord shelters the trail crew had left behind. Their destination was the Skyline Trail via Lake Beauty- a bushwhack up the Queets to just below Saghalie Creek, and then up the ridge spur to Lake Beauty. I'd run into a guy up there years ago who had done it from the Skyline down, but couldn't imagine anyone would try it going up. Hannes was young, and Ted looked pretty tough, so I imagine they probably didn't have much trouble. The bats came out at twilight, and I ate dinner in the dark with an almost-full moon rising. Saw all of one meteor, even though I wasn't really paying much attention, being busy listening to the river. Thursday, August 14, woke up early to beautiful weather. Made some oatmeal for breakfast. Hannes and Ted stopped by to say goodbye, headed for points upstream. It was hot and sunny all day; I spent most of the afternoon playing in the river. Made dinner and ate while watching pink cirrus clouds drift in off the coast. Friday woke up to strange weather- kind of overcast and not friendly-looking. After breakfast I went for a short walk up the trail a mile or so just to take a look. It finally cleared up, the sun came out, and I was down playing in the river when I saw a head pop up from behind the little alders on the gravel bar, and ran back up to camp and put some pants on. Turned out to be yet another nwhikers member, Gordy, who was up with his friend Terry, neither of whom had any issues with my indiscretion, obviously; in less than 30 minutes they were both down in the river as well, dressed the same as I'd been all morning. It had to have been at least 85° or 90° out, and the water temperature seemed to be just right. About 2 or so, went for a walk downstream, took a couple photos of the old Shaube cabin ( Smith Place ), now in the late stages of deterioration- only the north wall still stands, a testament to the fine workmanship of the 1964 Student Conservation Assn. crew that effected the repairs. Walked back into the forest and followed the Upper Crossing Way Trail back to Tshletshy. The route hasn't been cleared for a few years [ last cleared late summer 2004 ], but I was still able to follow it in spite of some confusing blow-downs along the eastern half of the way; somebody went crazy with a roll of pink flag tape and it was flagged the whole way back to Tshletshy. The ford of the Queets just above Tshletshy was about mid-thigh. The "Tshletshy Camp" site ( mentioned in a previous report ) is now effectively abandoned; the river cut the bank back and access down to the river there is a hassle. There's a suitable site downstream about 150 feet, but river access is still a bit dicey. The alder-and-jute-twine bench had been tossed over the bank and had grass growing up around it; it would appear someone else shares my sentiments regarding furniture construction on the Queets. Got back to camp and broke out my rod and tied a lure on, and went down and made a few half-hearted casts out into a pool. No action other than a few nibbles from little trout. Walked down and told Gordy and Terry a bunch of lies, whereupon Gordy informed me that they had taken a vote, and elected me mayor of the Queets, and immediately demanded a history lesson. I began to tell them the story of the original settlement of the valley, but was at a loss for details, my memory failing me in my old age. I made a note to myself to dig it out of a pile of papers when I got back home. Went to bed pretty early- about 10:30. Saturday got up about 9, made some oatmeal and tea. Sunny and warm again. After breakfast walked down and talked with Gordy and Terry, who were planning on taking a little day-hike up to Bob Creek. I sat around camp for an hour or so, decided I'd go see for myself what kind of shape the trail was in, laced up my shoes and headed up-trail, catching up to them after about a mile or so, just before the crossing of the little stream with the black rocks. We walked up a little ways past Bob Creek, and cut out onto a gravel bar where the trail runs right next to the river. I took a couple photos and ate my apple. Terry went swimming. We turned around and found a couple great blackberry patches on the way down and gorged. Met another hiker carrying a huge pack coming down-trail, who'd day-hiked farther up that afternoon. He was a bit red-faced in the heat, but looked determined. Got back down to camp and went swimming. Then walked downstream a bit and tried the fishing again- still no action other than little trout nibbles. After dinner went down and talked with Gordy and Terry again. It was a nice surprise to have met them, and certainly a surprise to meet somebody up there and end up going on a day-hike with them. I walked back up to my camp, and went to refill my stove to make tea when I discovered that I'd neglected to refill my fuel bottle before leaving. I wondered whether or not I had enough gas left even to cook breakfast and a cup of tea in the morning. About 10:30 the full moon came into view between the hemlocks across the river. Sunday August 17 had oatmeal about 10. Gordy and Terry took off early. I crawled back into the tent, in kind of a half-dream, half-awake state for about an hour or so. I heard a roar outside, and wondered if it was a C5A flying low overhead. Got up and walked out onto the gravel bar and felt a few sprinkles. Then heard the noise again and realized it was thunder rolling across the back of the ridge just north of me. The big black cloud coming over the ridge to the west didn't look good. Broke camp and packed up, headed down about 3:30. Met a hiker coming in at 6.5 miles, who didn't seem to be too concerned about the weather coming in. He assured me he had plenty of food, and I gave him directions down to the shelters the trail crew had left behind. Stopped along the way out to go take a look at the Big Fir, and was surprised to find it still standing, considering the amount of blow-down everwhere from last winter's storms. Got back down to trailhead about 7:10. Drove down Hwy 101 in pouring rain and had half-spaghetti/half ravioli with tea at Casa Mia in Aberdeen ( at 10:30 pm ) for ten bucks. Got home about 1:30 am, and was a bit dismayed to find the neighbor girl had not fulfilled her end of the contract feeding the cat. Mister Kitty was happy to see me. The trail is in the best shape I've seen it in 20 years. My sincere thanks to Mr. Carl Pangratz, trail crew boss, and his crew, for their excellent work, the senseless firewood-cutting notwithstanding. ( Why make six cuts when one will do? ) ( I am, from a phone conversation with another nwhikers member who just recently became the subject of much celebrity, not the only person who made this observation. ) The trail has been re-worked to just past Bob Creek, where a stone 'bridge' has been constructed across the creek. The Park had them scheduled to go back in for another week, but they've been delayed. It remains to be seen as to whether or not the upper end of the trail will be cleared this season; quite a challenge considering the washout just below Paradise Creek. Because of high-water and high-wind events the last couple years, much of the trail has been re-routed. So much, in fact, there were sections I didn't recognize. The most significant of the re-routes is just above Spruce Bottom. Referred to as the "burro reroute", the old trail has been abandoned at 5.2 miles, and now drops down to the gravel bar ( where a small stream comes down off the back of Kloochman [ see here also ] and meets the Queets just above Spruce Bottom ), and follows a circuitous ( but flat ) route through the alder flat on the inner side of the gravel bar between Spruce Bottom and the Upper Crossing Way Trail junction at 6.0 miles. While this re-route eliminates a mile of up-and-down trail, and avoids that area which has been "blow-down hell" forever, I have concerns regarding its viability: it won't take much water to tear up the upper end of the re-route, which will put hikers in a situation where they will be scrambling over logjams trying to regain the trail at 6 miles. Additionally, I will miss greatly marvelling at that magificent specimen of Douglas Fir which stood about 50 feet upslope of the trail at 5.5 miles. The "Big Fir Trail", because of the demise of that magificent Western Hemlock which stood on the bank of Coal Creek 200 feet upstream from the trail, has been re-routed as well, and the trail junction has been moved west about 500 feet, but is as of yet un-marked, and is easily missed. ( I didn't even notice it going in, and had to look for it coming out. ) Overall, I'm happy to see ONP finally got up there and cleared it out- I can do it in the dark now, at least to Bob Creek. It hasn't been that way since 1994, and then they only worked it up to Tshletshy. Driving Directions via New Route #21 Road Precautionary note regarding Queets ford PLEASE READ Caveat regarding information on USGS Gaging Station Site More Info on Queets River Trail Queets Photos 1937-2005 Queets Photos 2005-2006 "Evergreen on the Queets" A History of the Original Settlement of the Queets Valley Historic Fire Events in the Queets Valley Previous thread regarding abandoned "Tshletshy Creek Trail" 08/20/07 Previous thread regarding abandoned "Tshletshy Creek Trail" 06/30/05 Historic Photos of Smith Place ( Shaube Homestead ) Historic Photos of Andrews Barn ( Andrews Field ) Historic information on Andrews Barn ( Andrews Field ) and Smith Place ( Shaube Homestead ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maps: USGS 7.5 topographical maps: "Stequaleho Creek" 1992 ( shows first 3/4 mi. of trail ) "Kloochman Rock" 1990 ( 3/4 mi. from trailhead to Harlow Bottom ) "Bob Creek" 1990 ( Harlow Bottom to Alta Creek ) "Kimta Peak" 1990 ( Alta Creek to Saghalie Creek ) "Mt. Olympus" 1990 ( Saghalie Creek to below Queets Basin ) "Mt. Queets" 1990 ( Queets Basin to headwaters ) Custom Correct maps: "Queets Valley" 1988 ( trailhead to Hee Hee Creek ) "Mt. Olympus Climbers Map" 1990 ( Hee Hee Creek to headwaters ) Green Trails map: "Kloochman Rock" No. 165 1990 ( 3/4 mi. from trailhead to Alta Creek ) ( * The "Kloochman Rock" and "Bob Creek" 7.5 topo maps, and/or the Custom Correct "Queets Valley" map will be adequate for most on-trail hiking. The others are listed for reference only. ) ( * The Custom Correct and Green Trails maps are not suitable for off-trail navigation in the Queets Valley. ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] "Andrews Field" ( formerly known as "Andrews Lower Field" ) is incorrectly labeled "Anderson Field" on the Custom Correct "Queets Valley" map. ( see note here ) revised Ski 09-04-09 4:00 pm PDT

[Ski]

Addendum 08/24/08 9:20 pm After reading several posts today about berries, lost hikers, and bears, I thought I should add: When I met Hannes and Ted, they told me on the way in they found a bear trying to tear into the food cache left by the trail crew, and chased it off with a lot of screaming and yelling. Just FYI.

[GoBlueHiker]

Nice report, ski! I'll be curious to see your pictures when you have 'em. I always love pictures on the Queets. - Mike

[goats gone wild]

Ski, thanks for the great TR and update on the Queets. Sounds like a great way to spend a week. Relaxing, a bit of dayhiking and fishing. That's living!!! Hats off to Pangratz for all his hard work. My understanding is: He thinks this might be his last year up there and wanted to get as much done on the trail as possible. I think the crew is schedule to return Sept. 1 to see how much further they can get (if they are not rained out at the crossing.) Looks like Queets was running at 2460 cfs today. Not surprising given all the rain we had today. Glad you made it out okay and had a wonderful time. Did you hear/see any elk rustling about? ***I might make it up next week and help do some trail clearing if the river cooperates.

[Ski]

At 10:30 pm Sunday, the Queets is running at 8,750 cfs, and crested at 4,110 Thursday. Weather guy earlier said there was 2.58" of precipitation at Pacific Beach during the last 24 hours. My gut feeling is nobody's gettin' back in until after Labor Day, and I hope that guy I met going in Sunday either ran right back out the next morning, or packed a helluva lotta food in his pack. ( I tried to tell him! ) Per John Meyer, fisheries biologist, ONP ( retired ): "The Queets is probably the most dynamic river [ in terms of streamflow fluctuation ] on the Olympic Peninsula, possibly in the entire State." ( pers. comm. 1989 ) ( see addendum below ) The whole week I saw: 2 hummingbirds, 1 Bewick's wren, and 2 great big green toads. No elk, no deer, no bears. ( See note above- Hannes and Ted chased one off just below Tshletshy. ) But then, I went in right after the trail crew came out, with no less than 3 chainsaws, so all that noise probably spooked every elk up over into the Clearwater-Solleks or up Tshletshy. Mike, most of my photos ended up over-exposed, and my CD drive is broken, so I can't upload anything. I'm going back up soon ( hopefully I can find film ) and plan to shoot the trail itself, and was hoping to shoot that big burn area if my old legs will take me that far and the weather holds. It'll be a cake-walk up to Bob Creek- I can do that much in a day- it's that stretch between there and Pelton that concerns me. Now that I know I've been on the wrong side of the river for 20 years, farther up might be a bit easier.

[Ski]

Addendum 08/24/08 11:02 pm A couple more long-winded stories I've told before- We were camped in front of Smith Place one year- 1964 or 1965 ( ? ). My old man woke us all up about 3 am, and yelled "Get up! Get your stuff packed!" It was pouring down rain. My oldest brother Mickey had a huge fire burning and was stoking it as fast as he could. We packed up, bleary-eyed, and ate all the food we could hold and waited for enough light to head out. My old man and Jack Eyrish figured the crossing in front of Smith Place was too hairy, with the river coming up, so we ran down the trail to the lower crossing. I was terrified. My sisters and I were all screaming. We ran down that trail. The river was rising about a foot an hour. We drove up to Clearwater and stayed with Paul Housand for a week, cooped up in his stinky old house while they played pinochle and told each other lies over Canadian Club and MacNaughton's. It never did stop raining that week. I was up at Alta a few years back, camped on the gravel bar next to the river. After breakfast I was watching big puffy clouds circling overhead, trying to figure out which way they were blowing, and wondering if the weather was changing. About 12:30 pm it started sprinkling. I thought "That's it!" and broke down the tent and jammed everything into the pack and started running. I got down to Tshletshy at 5:00 pm, and stopped under that big maple there to get out of the rain for a few minutes. I saw two figures coming up the gravel bar out in front of me. They had big packs and were wearing ponchos. They climbed up the bank and the young man asked me "Are you camping here?". I told him no, I was leaving, and that if he had any sense, he'd follow me out before the river came up. He told me they'd spent the entire day bush-whacking it along the bank from Spruce Bottom, about 2 miles downstream. He was 19, and his girlfriend didn't look much older. She tried to persuade him to follow my advice, but he insisted they were fine, had plenty of food, and wanted to stay another night. I bid them well, put my pack on, and started running again. I got to the trailhead well after dark, and forded the river at Sams with a flashlight in the pouring rain. A few days later, I called Mike Larsen, then the law enforcement ranger up there. I asked him if those two kids got out okay. He said no, they were still sitting on the gravel bar across the river from Sams, and they still had some food left, but they were both wet and cold. I cannot say it enough times: don't get stuck up there in a rainstorm. To say this time of year the weather up there is capricious would be an understatement. It can get damn screwy, and that river can come up in a matter of hours. When in doubt, run out.

[sarbar]

It sounds like you just missed GoBlueHiker then? He came out on the 12th from his trip up to Service Falls - or did you see him?

[MikeBeebe]

[geophagous]

Great TR!! I am planning on heading in for a quick weekend on September 13 and 14. I am hoping that we get a bit of dry weather. Love that place, and I love the old stories. If you can make it out it would be great to hear some more stories in person over a campfire. I can even bring beer! Anyway I loved the tales and am very glad to hear the push that ONP is putting in on that place. Although I hope they do not abandon it again as they have for the past few years. I would think with all of the money spent making the "new" road and cleaning up the campground they would want to keep it up. Thanks again,

[Ski]

Sarbar- I went in on the 13th, Mike went out the 12th. We've talked several times, but I've never met him. ( We seem to always be a day or two apart- which is a good thing, because he seems to pick exactly the same spots I usually stay at. ) I heard ( from Gordy, on Friday the 15th ) that he'd been up there that week. geophagous- I'll be back up there as soon as the river drops and I see a good weather window- which looks to be at least a week or so off yet. I've been up there in mid-October when it was 85°, so you never know- we may yet have a bit of "Queets season" left yet. I don't drink beer- just tea- but I got enough "Queets stories" to talk both your ears off. Maybe I should type out some of my old man's tall tales ( recorded just before he passed away ) and post them. I'd have to do some serious editing though so they'll pass inpection by the moderators. Just for laughs, below is one of my own I wrote for my sister years ago. I don't think "abandoning" the Queets is on ONP's agenda. That watershed is used by a lot of researchers and scientists ( UW Fisheries, Quinault Tribe, etc. ) because of its "natural" state, an understated but very cogent argument for retaining vehicle access to the trailhead. Okay, you asked, so here you go: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: floating down the Queets Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 13:26:52 -0800 From: "ski" To: "Lise" Floating Down the Queets In 1966, Mom gave me a Sevylor inflatable kayak for my 12th birthday. It was 8 feet long and seated two. It was heavy vinyl, and took a lot of huffing and puffing to inflate. Rhett came up with a plan to pack the boat up the Queets trail and float out from Smith Place. At the time, it sounded like a great plan, as we wouldn't have to carry heavy packs back down the trail on the way out: we would just float down, relaxing and enjoying the scenery. After a week at Smith Place, we broke camp and Dad started loading up all the packs. Since Rhett and I weren't carrying packs, but rather floating them downstream on the boat Rhett had packed in 6 miles, Dad thought it would be a great idea to give us all the heavy stuff: our packs were loaded with cast-iron skillets, stainless-steel silverware, and near-full jars of peanut butter and jelly. We got in the boat out in front of Smith Place, with Rhett in front and me at the rear of the boat, and the packs between us. We floated off, laughing about our good fortune at not having to haul those heavy packs back down the trail. Just below Spruce Bottom (less than one river mile below Smith Place) the river was all full of big rocks we had to negotiate our way around. We got out of the boat, and walked down the river pulling the boat until we got into deeper water. About a half-mile below Spruce Bottom, the river split into narrow channels. We picked the wrong one: about half-way through it, the boat capsized, dumping us and the packs into the river. We got back in, tossed the packs back in, and started off again. After another half-mile or so, we hit another series of rapids on the river. The boat flipped end-for-end, dumping us into the river again. I clearly remember looking down into the water and seeing the silverware, all silver and sparkly, bouncing along on the rocks in the riverbed. The packs broke open and most of the contents were spilled into the water. Rhett's new 35mm camera got soaked, and his new binoculars. My paddle was broken in half. Everything remaining in the packs was soaked, the rest was at the bottom of the river. It was all an adventure for me, but Rhett lost his composure when he found his new camera had been ruined. When I asked him what to do about the broken paddle, he grabbed it from me and tossed it out of the boat up onto the bank. Then (presumably to lighten the load) he started removing things from the packs and tossing them overboard. Somewhere along the banks of the Queets River, between Spruce Bottom and the campground, one might find cooking utensils, frying pans, and near-full jars of peanut butter and jelly. When we got down to the campground, we figured we'd have to stand around for quite a while waiting for the rest of the group. To our dismay, not long after we got to the end of the road, Dad came out of the woods on the other side. Rhett's plan of floating out had not only not saved any time in getting out, it also ruined what little equipment hadn't been lost in the river or tossed overboard. The moral of the story is: Don't try to float down the Queets River. If you are crazy enough to attempt it, don't bring anything of value with you.

[geophagous]

Great story! I could probably be persuaded to rustle up some tea as well. How much more use do you think the Queets is getting now that the road is back? Glad to hear that it is unlikely to be "abandoned". It certainly does feel wilder than the Hoh. Thanks,

[brownster145]

Great report Ski, good seeing you up there. As I conceded in our brief conversation, I may have preferred to let the road turn into trail, but the restored road and trail certainly makes for faster travel upstream, whatever one's purposes may be. I headed back up last Friday. The river was heavily colored with maybe 12" of vis at Sam's. The crossing was interesting to say the least, but I made it across and headed back up to a bit below Harlow. The crossing in the evening was a lot more comfortable (sunny w/ dropping flow all day), and I saw a solo backpacker had come across that afternoon. River is dropping hard now after almost touching 9k cfs last night. For the sake of anyone planning a trip, let's hope any more October-style systems keep their distance. Unfortunately it looks like there may be some continued precip to ~.5" in/day this week, which will serve to further elevate groundwater. Pretty tough when median flows this time of year are in the 600s. Good luck to anyone planning to head up. It's worth the work, but please do check the weather before you go, and if you're able carry a weather radio. What an odd August it's turning out to be. Andrew

[Ski]

I don't think it's getting any more or less use than it has seen in the past. There were only 3 vehicles at the trailhead when I went in, and two of them were day-hikers. When I came out, there were 3 other vehicles at the trailhead, and four parties in the campground. I've been up there when there were 27 vehicles at the end of the road- a hassle when you have just one idiot who can't figure out how to park at a trailhead- but that was a record low-water year and the ford was only ankle-deep at Sams in July. I posted the trip report with some trepidation, just as I'm sure some others here hesitate to post reports, fearing that publicity will bring in droves of people. Mike ( GoBlueHiker) and I spent quite a while talking about that on the phone the other day. This forum isn't going to bring the crowds up to the Queets, as it caters to a fairly limited market, and the river tends to keep things in balance. The increased traffic load during the last decade has been the result of various articles which appeared in the Seattle Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and ( most especially ) a photograph of "the Hobbit Trail" [ a section of the Sams Loop Trail ] which appeared in National Geographic in 2003, and brought ( literally ) hundreds of people into the Kalaloch RS asking "Where's the Hobbit Trail?" Fortunately, those tourists stayed on the Sams Loop Trail, and the great majority shy away from that ford of the river. ( story below ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got up to the end of the road one afternoon, and found several other vehicles parked there. One was a fairly-new SUV, and the couple in it was unloading their gear and loading their packs. I stuffed my old gear into my old pack, and tied my old tent on top as I watched them prepare for their trip. Between the two of them, they must have had at least $4000 worth of brand-new REI gear. New packs, new bags, new boots- new new new. I diddled around there at the end of the road, watched them drop down the bank and out onto the gravel bar, and tip-toe across Sams on the tops of the rocks sticking up out of the water. They walked across the gravel bar and out to the Queets. I stood there next to the trailhead registration kiosk and watched, wondering if I should be ready to run down and pull yet another person out of a river. They stood there with their toes right at the edge of the water. I could see their heads swinging back and forth, looking up and down the river, and thier lips moving constantly. This went on for at least 10 or 15 minutes. The bugs were eating me alive, but I was enjoying the show. They turned around, he following her as she stomped back up to their SUV. They popped open the back door, tossed the packs in, and took off in a cloud of dust, throwing gravel as they left. The Queets will always hold its own. No need to worry about "crowded". Fear sometimes works in your favor.

[sarbar]

That ford alone will keep the masses out Though I would say the road in is fab - the campground is one of the nicest around. But...it is also desolate and remote. So that alone keeps many away. No flush toilets, no paved roads, parking lots or visitor centers. Nothing wrong with that

[Ski]

Not to mention those great big fat yellow biting flies with the irridescent green eyes- the ones that lick the DEET off your arm before they start chewing on you. hey Andrew! I was serious about the lure- send me a snail mail addy and I'll tie up a couple for you and mail 'em.