Food in individual meals
My backpacking gear
I left home at 1:50 pm Tuesday afternoon, stopping at the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles about 3:30 to get my permit. I arrived at the Hoh River Campground near the Visitor Center about 6 pm and set up camp. I made some dinner (Canned beef stew) and walked around the grounds. It was a quiet evening, very peaceful. Chatted with my neighbor, a 55ish woman in a camper van with a big dog traveling by herself.
Hoh River Campground
From the campground as the sun was going down
The next morning I got on the trail by 7 am. The first 12 miles of trail are nearly flat and the trail surface is flat and wide -- easy traveling. I had many good views of the Hoh River as I walked alongside it. The fall floods scour the bottom so there are wide gravel bars nearly the whole length.
Hoh River in the morning
The travelling was easy and I was surprised to find myself at Olympus Guard Station, my goal for the day, at 11:40 am! I spent the afternoon relaxing in the meadow.
Olympus Guard Station
I camped on the gravel bar because the meadow campsites were taken. They campground was full of people -- probably 25 or 30.
My campsite
Thursday morning I started up the trail to Hoh Lake and Bogachiel Peak as a day hike. Since Bogachiel Peak was fogged in when I climbed it two weeks ago, I wanted to get the views on a clear day.
The elevation gain is 4,200 feet -- quite a challenge. I started up the switchbacks in the cool early morning. By 11:30 I reached Hoh Lake, took a break, and started for Bogachiel Peak.
Hoh Lake
Above the lake the trail enters the alpine zone and the views open up.
I came around a corner and saw Mt. Olympus to the south. What an impressive sight!
Mt. Olympus
At 12:40 I reached the top of Bogachiel Peak, slightly tired, and ate my lunch in the company of three guys who were joking around with each other. I could see down into Seven Lakes Basin.
Seven Lakes Basin
On top of Bogachiel Peak, Mt Olympus over my shoulder
I started down the trail, arriving back in camp about 4:45, quite tired. Camped on the gravel bar again. A warm night.
In the morning I packed up and started for Glacier Meadows, 8.3 miles and 3,300 fee up. I was tired from the previous day's hike and went rather slowly. At Hoh Bridge I took a break. The river is a torrent far below in a deep chasm. By noon I got to Elk Lake, where I had lunch with three climbers I'd been passing on the trail.
After lunch I struggled on, but the trail was steep and I was tired. I went very slowly, sometimes a hundred feet at a time. I was determined to get to Glacier Meadows because I really wanted to see Blue Glacier. The day was very hot and I sweated gallons.
Just before the camp, there's a place where the trail is completely washed out. The only solution for the trail crew was to install a steel-cable-and-wood ladder to get down the washout. It looked scary, but it was actually pretty secure once I was on it.
The hardest part was struggling up the sliding rock and gravel on the other side to get back to the trail. Luckily, the rest of the way was nearly flat and I arrived at Glacier Meadows before 5 pm. I was exhausted and took a long rest before making camp.
Resting at Glacier Meadows camp
The next morning (Saturday), I hiked up to Blue Glacier. On the way I ran into a mama bear and her cub. I circled around her and kept going. I also saw a mountain goat on the mountain side.
The path was steep and went up 700 feet, so it took me until 9 am before I reached the top. When I came over the ridge and saw the sweep of the glacier below me and the whole massive bulk of Mt. Olympus before me, I was in awe. It was magnificent!
After a good interval of time gazing at the scene, I started down. Luckily the rest of the day was downhill. I arrived at Lewis Meadow in mid-afternoon and took a long break. The day was very hot and I was tired.
My camp on the gravel bar near Lewis Meadow.
On Sunday morning a cool front had moved in and there was a lovely cool mist everywhere. I started back to the trailhead, hiking easily with a light pack on the wide trail.
Arrived at the Visitor Center at 1:45 pm. It was packed with tourists. I cleaned off at the water spigot and took a stroll through the Visitor Center. Got in the car and made it home by 7 pm, stopping at the Bogachiel River to investigate the trailhead there.
No comments:
Post a Comment