As I pulled the 30 lb. pack onto my back and struggled to position the straps, the thought of 36-plus-miles of hiking and 5000 ft. of elevation gain we would traverse weighed heavy on my mind. ‘I’m afraid I can’t do this’ I thought…but I did it. We did it together.
Flashback a few months, my Man asked “how about doing a 30-something mile, 4 or 5 day hike during our visit to the PacNW?” I instantly envisioned a back country broken ankle or bear attack, or even worse a naked crazy forest-dwelling hippie attack, but I pushed my very logical concerns (complete with visuals) aside and after some consideration said let’s do it!
Our hike started in Olympic National Park in Washington state, in the mossy and lush Hoh Rain Forest. From there we climbed along towering trees and rock to the windswept Blue Glacier on Mt. Olympus then back to the Hoh. We “trained” beforehand, but there was little opportunity to prepare our Florida flat-lander thighs for the elevation.
Day 1~About 3-miles in we found ourselves amongst a posse of elk wearing WTF expressions as we quietly crept by. Hiding in the sea of green ferns we saw bright orange blooms of lobster mushrooms as a big as your head. I unfortunately found out AFTER our hike they are edible and quite delicious.
Lobster Mushrooms
Our guide for most of the hike was the milky blue Hoh River which provided water for filtering, beautiful scenery for our meals and a pleasant lullaby at the “Happy Four” campsite on our first night.
Temperatures were in the 60′s during the day and dipped around 50 in the evening, cooler than we expected, but an unplanned blessing as our efforts of packing a combined 70 lb. of gear kept us pretty warm throughout the hike. Even a constant drizzle was welcome throughout Day 2 as we trudged up long hills, short downhills, then uphill again for most of the way.
Day 3 found us feeling light as we left our full packs near the lily pad covered Elk Lake taking only the necessities and camera gear in a small daypack to make our way up towards the lateral moraine of Blue Glacier hoping for a clear view. As we climbed the steep dusty trail it began to narrow with more cliffs and breathtaking views. A portion of the trail was washed out, so our new route would be a 50 degree angle dressed with a 100 ft. gangly cable and wood ladder laying atop loose rock coupled with a hand rope for balance. I was thinking ‘Oh Crap!’ as James was thinking “cool!” but I kept calm, stayed low (thank you roller derby training!) and feeling a rush of adrenaline made it down the ladder.
The "Ladder"
Glacier meadows was true to it’s name as it opened up to a field of wild flowers but at the first sign of snow began the boulder scramble. We wouldn’t see any more flat land for the rest of the trip up, just rocks piled upon rocks and small snowfields. As we pushed forward, not knowing exactly what was ahead, I was feeling really exhausted and wondered if we should keep going. We were low on water and didn’t have a lot of food if there were an emergency, but throughout our last 2 1/2 days of hiking we were told by those descending that our destination was breathtaking, so we pushed on.
As we topped the moraine a blast of cold air pushed back at us while the full view of the glacier unfolded before our eyes. Laying out in front of me was the massive blue glacier hundreds of feet deep pouring over the spines of Mt. Olympus, a creeping tsunami of snow rolling across the valley below with it’s ancient blue ice peering out from millions of cracks and crevasses in the foggy white landscape. The awe of the whole scene made us feel wonderfully small.
Blue Glacier
We made our way back down to our “base camp” at Elk Lake and enjoyed our luxury items, a few pieces of Hershey’s Chocolate bar (w/ almonds!) and bourbon as the lake reflected the sun dropping below the mountains and clouds descending upon their peaks.
Elk Lake
The next morning we awoke for Day 4 feeling like grizzled veterans of the trail and did our planned exit hike of two days/15 miles out in a little over 7 hrs. and were back to civilization enjoying a beer and a burger by nightfall.
Many have had bigger adventures and more strenuous hikes, but it was our greatest adventure yet…and it’s only the beginning…
To see more images or inquire about publishing or purchases go to http://branaman.photoshelter.com/gallery/Hoh-River-Trail/G0000VkWJ0jnUjr8/
