Forum Index > Trip Reports > Wolf Creek Trail to Hurrican Ridge ONP, 16 April 2017
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meck
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meck
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PostMon Apr 17, 2017 10:40 pm 
Wolf Creek Trail, ONP 16 April 2017 Price of fuel: ~$25 Price of Snacks: ~$10 Car Time: ~4 hours RT Having all of Hurricane Ridge to yourself: priceless! The Wolf Creek Trail heads up to the Hurricane Hill Road from the Whiskey Bend TH along the Elwha. It is an old converted Service Road and gains about 3900' in 8 miles. First significant snow patch started around 3500' (about 500 yards), and then became continuous around 3800'. I used snowshoes from there, all the way up and then back. I got a late start around noon from Whiskey Bend, made it to the Hurricane Hill road, and then on to the Visitor Center lodge by ~1610. I had a snack in the snow in front of the "Bailey Range" webcam, signed the visitor book, and then wandered on back down the road/trail, arriving back at the TH by 2000.
several transformers along side the trail on the way up.
several transformers along side the trail on the way up.
looking up to the ridge line
looking up to the ridge line
one of several switchbacks on the way up (a couple of them would make for nice camps... aside from no easy access water source)
one of several switchbacks on the way up (a couple of them would make for nice camps... aside from no easy access water source)
Hey there Easter deer!
Hey there Easter deer!
Bear Tracks
Bear Tracks
First spring flower in the snow
First spring flower in the snow
nearing the top
nearing the top
snow pinwheel
snow pinwheel
more views opening up
more views opening up
Hurricane Hill, Griff and Unicorn (or maybe only Unicorn and Unicorn Horn?)
Hurricane Hill, Griff and Unicorn (or maybe only Unicorn and Unicorn Horn?)
Hurricane Hill
Hurricane Hill
Mt Angeles to the east
Mt Angeles to the east
Visitor Center
smile for the camera
smile for the camera
a great view for lunch
4 labels
a great view for lunch
sunny highlights
sunny highlights
sign in for my visit
sign in for my visit
Panorama from the Visitor Center The trip back down
sunny spot in the clouds
sunny spot in the clouds
interesting clouds over Pt 6100 (r) and Mt. Appleton (l)
interesting clouds over Pt 6100 (r) and Mt. Appleton (l)
Someone has been doing some trail maintenance work on the lower portion of the trail, and it show! Quite a bit of brushing had been performed recently, and some water diversion work was working well.

*Just say NO to Rent-Seeking, don't give up the concept of "ownership"*
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fourteen410
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fourteen410
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PostMon Apr 17, 2017 11:30 pm 
up.gif I've always wondered about that trail. thx for sharing.

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Distel32
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Distel32
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PostTue Apr 18, 2017 6:41 am 
up.gif

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silence
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PostTue Apr 18, 2017 6:55 am 
Very nice report! Thx for posting.

PHOTOS FILMS Keep a good head and always carry a light bulb. – Bob Dylan
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RodF
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PostThu Apr 20, 2017 1:33 am 
Well done! Thanks for sharing, Meck.
meck wrote:
one of several switchbacks on the way up (a couple of them would make for nice camps... aside from no easy access water source)
one of several switchbacks on the way up (a couple of them would make for nice camps... aside from no easy access water source)
Indeed, one was! I think that meadow was the roadside picnic area (built by Civilian Conservation Corps ca. 1934) overlooked by Idaho Camp Shelter (built trailside by USFS ca. 1930 before the CCC road). I think the green metal roadside boxes were simply junction boxes (not transformers) where they spliced on the next spool when laying the underground powerline to the Visitors Center ca. 1953.

"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir "the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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meck
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meck
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PostThu Apr 20, 2017 5:33 pm 
Thanks all for giving this a read. @hesman: That must have a been a long day, but yeah that downhill road/trail stretch would be a good "zone-out" section! I'd been considering that loop later this summer to "bag" this trail but opted to just go for this trail last Sunday to keep working towards my goal. I've only got one more trail left to hike in the Elwha drainage now (5 mile primitive from Dodger Pt down to the Elwha), and only three more trails/sections on the north side of the ONP/ONF to hike (Little River, the 0.5 mile spur down to Happy Lake, and the 1 mile stretch between Lizard Head Peak and Happy Lake Ride). All the rest of the trails that I've got left to hike in ONP/ONF are the west side river trails (Bogie, Hoh/S.Hoh, Queets, Humptulips), a few trails on the south end (Elip Creek, short loop hikes on Lake Quinalt & Fletcher Canyon, Graves Creek tr, Six Ridge, Colonel Bob) and the Lost/Cameron Pass and LaCrosse Pass trails. @RodF: That makes a lot of sense given the nice terrain. A few of the corners were wider than I'd expected (even for an old mountain road), and had some pretty amazing views. The junction box thing makes more sense too given the shape and overall size (and the distinct lack of a "hum"... though without a significant electrical load maybe it would not hum much). Is that still the Visitor Center's power path? (I've noticed a few vault boxes on the main HR road too) If so, I would think that bodes well for keeping the Whiskey Bend road open/maintained in the future. Every time I drive that road I wonder if it will be the last given how many spots look like they could wash out catastrophically.

*Just say NO to Rent-Seeking, don't give up the concept of "ownership"*
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yorknl
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PostThu Apr 20, 2017 9:06 pm 
Very cool. And if I'd ever stopped to wonder what the Kloshe Nanich / North Point road would look like ten years after closure, that mystery would have just been answered.

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RodF
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PostTue Apr 25, 2017 3:36 pm 
meck wrote:
Is that still the Visitor Center's power path?
Nope, the new underground powerline is beneath the outer shoulder of Hurricane Ridge Road "The initial phase of this project, trenching and installation of 4 ea. 2-inch diameter schedule 40 PVC electrical conduit, with junction boxes and grounding rods the full length of the 12.5-mile Hurricane Ridge Road, was completed as part of the Hurricane Ridge Road construction project." I think that was 2009 ARRA funding, and done in 2010 and 2011. "This project consists of installing 12.5 miles of single-phase electrical conductor in the completed conduit. "The new line will replace 8.1 miles of aging jacketed single-phase direct burial electrical cable that extends through designated wilderness plus 4.5 miles of cable along the Whiskey Bend Road from the Elwha Ranger Station." The old line was abandoned. I think that was in 2012.

"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir "the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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Forum Index > Trip Reports > Wolf Creek Trail to Hurrican Ridge ONP, 16 April 2017
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