Into the misty mountains: Duckabush River, July 10-13, 2015

Criag Vocelka took the Sunday Eucharist for me, so I decided to take four days to go to the headwaters of the Duckabush River in Olympic National Park. You can see a Google Map of my trip here. Forty six miles and four thousand feet elevation gain.

On Friday I drove to the trailhead on the Duckabush river and started hiking by 8:10 am. The day was cloudy but I expected it would clear off by afternoon.

By 10:40 I had panted my way to the top of Big Hump, a 900-foot gain followed by a 400 foot descent back to the river. It's a grind, but the trail is good with lots of switchbacks.

Switchbacks up Big Hump. It was burned a few years ago and there are lots of standing dead trees.

I continued up the trail, making good time. I passed Ten Mile Camp at 3:10 and decided to push on to Crazy Creek Camp, arriving at 5:20 pm. The clouds of the morning gave way to sunshine in the afternoon, brightening my mood considerably. The trail above Ten Mile Camp goes through open forest with little brush, making a pleasant walk. The trail goes steadily upward but I took lots of breaks.

Open forest above Ten Mile Camp.

This has been the driest summer on record and the river is very low. I can't imagine what it will be like in September. Still pretty, though.

Duckabush River

Saturday morning I was on the trail by 8:10, continuing up a  long sloped trail. The weather was gray with clouds hovering on the ridges above me. This is a nice section of trail.

A clump of cedars above Crazy Creek. 

At 11:15 I passed Upper Duckabush Camp. I like this camp because it has obviously been used by generations of hikers. It has multiple campsites and fire pits and has a comfortable feel to it.

Upper Duckabush Camp

I started to feel a pain in the upper part of my right foot. It was red and swollen and gave a sharp pain when I started walking after a break. The pain eased a bit as I continued walking. I'm not sure what it was.

Redness and pain in my foot.

In addition, I had a blister on my right ankle and blisters on my next-to-the smallest toes. Probably because I'm wearing a new pair of boots. Because there was mist and showers on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, my feet were continually wet. My poor feet!

Continuing past Upper Duckabush, I started into the steep portion of the trail leading to Marmot Lake. There was a shower, then mist and occasional showers, so I was pretty wet from the waist down. The trail was very steep and I went slowly, pausing every few minutes. By 3:15 I topped out at Marmot Lake and flopped beneath a tree. I rested until 4:00 and then began scouting for a campsite. Finally found one in a copse of trees above the lake. Set up my tarp, got water, and settled in for dinner. I was really pooped.

Frankly, Marmot Lake was a disappointment. It was a shallow, crummy little lake with some ragged rocks and a few scrubby trees. The clouds were hovering around and it was wet and depressing. It felt like Lake Mordor.

My camp at Marmot Lake.

Instead of a book, I brought my mp3 player with music and an audiobook: Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck. I found this a real pleasure. After dinner I could lay in my sleeping bag and listen to hours of storytelling about Danny and his rascally friends. On the third night I finished the seven hours of the book and fell asleep.

Sunday morning I woke up feeling much refreshed and decided to explore the upper basin. I didn't want to come this far and miss the real beauty of the high country. It was breathtaking, well worth the extra effort. The upper basin is rocky and open with a few trees climbing the high walls above. Lake Lacrosse is a green gem set in the upper basin with meadows leading down to the water. I spent some time exploring and taking photos.

 Lake Lacrosse

The mist hovered above the lake but occasionally lifted to show the ridgetops. If you go to the Olympics, you gotta expect some moisture.

I could look across the valley to see the glaciers on the side of Mt. Duckabush.

I hiked a side trail that came around a corner and revealed beautiful Heart Lake in a rocky bowl.

Looking back down the Duckabush Valley.

From that point on, it was all downhill back to the trailhead, twenty three miles of trail to get home. I started down at 10:45 , had lunch at Upper Duckabush Camp, and continued to Ten Mile Camp.

On of my favorite places in the Olympics is the stretch just below Upper Duckabush. It's a flat area with huge trees and almost no brush, like walking through a park.

I continued walking although I was tired, wet and my feet hurt. Arrived at Ten Mile Camp at 5:20 after a nine and a half hour day and 13.9 miles.

Ten Mile Camp.

Monday I hiked the ten miles back to the trailhead. Since it was mostly downhill (except for Big Hump!) I made good time and arrived at the trailhead at by 3 pm. There were just enough showers to keep the brush wet which meant my pants and boots were continually soaked. Sure felt good to put on dry socks and shoes at the car. Katy had pot roast and hot rolls for me when I got home.