Today brought some weird weather that was nothing like forecasted, but this hike turned out to be really nice for it.

Getting There & Trailhead

So I’m currently driving a Prius…

Stereotypes aside, it’s totally doable in a sedan, but I can’t promise you will like it. FR 2870 is bad for the entire mile. FR 2875 is generally fine, except for a few areas where potholes just congregate. These areas are totally predictable: when you see the road widening, slow down and brace yourself. It’s impossible to avoid potholes completely, but it’s always possible to choose the least evil and quite safely negotiate them at 5 mph. I never even scrapped, so definitely not the creepiest forest road in my life.

The trailhead is a wide gravel shoulder of FR 2875. There were about 8 cars at 11.30 am on Saturday. There are no amenities, so either stop at Sequim or hold it till you reach Deer Park campground.

Hike

0 to 1 mile is a very mild incline through beautiful rhododendrons. While it’s not a “tunnel” as the trail description suggests, it’s definitely a galore. Many rhododendron trees are bearded with typical PNW mosses, creating quite a peculiar display.

1 to 4 miles are steep, STEEP, S-T-E-E-P incline. Trailhead board says 35% maximum, and it’s not lying. Rhododendrons will have been left behind by there but there will be lots of little flowers (see one of the recent reports for extremely well-put list of species).

4 to 4.8 mile is a typical rocky ridge hike through alpine meadows, much less steep and with open views of the mountains. Tons of flowers, primarily phloxes, covering slopes.

At the campground, follow the road downhill to outhouses to get some views of surrounding mountains before heading backs.

Coming back to the trailhead, smooth downgrade with almost no rocks and roots invites for some running exercise. Being so steep, descent is really tough on thighs. So, while it’s possible to hike this trail other way round (start downhill at Deer Park and climb back), I felt I wouldn’t be able to do it, so shaky my legs got from the descent by the time I made it back.

Stats & Crowds

4.8 mi one way with 2800 ft elevation gain according to maps.

1:48 up
0:30 at the campground (including time to find nice views)
1:15 down

Only four fellow hikers (and one fellow deer) on the trail.
The campground was half full but overall quiet.

The road to the Slab Camp trailhead was as bad as ever:  lots of potholes in the last 5 miles.  Could be managed by a low-clearance vehicle, but high clearance is definitely preferred.

I reached the trailhead at 7:45 a.m., and no other cars were there.  There were still no cars when I returned at 1:30.

The trail was in good shape:  zero obstructions, no mud, no snow.  I had the trail to myself almost the whole hike, until I ran into a group of hikers who'd started at the top. 

The main attraction was the wildflowers.  A major rhodie show for the first mile, then just a scattering of woodland flowers for the next couple of miles, then lots of alpine wildflowers above 4500 ft.  Heaps of spreading phox, along with stonecrop, shortspur seablush, vanillaleaf, western wallflower, harsh Indian paintbrush, matte saxifrage, giant white fawn lily, and coast range lomatium.

Summary

It threatened to rain on Saturday and Sunday, but I managed a lovely weekend of quiet solitude with barely a smattering of the wet stuff. Thank goodness for rainshadows! In case you're curious, the rhododendrons are just starting to pop! If you have your eye on seeing the bloom this year, you likely have a couple of weeks before the peak.

Road Conditions and Parking

I had a leisurely morning and drove over to the peninsula, often through some fairly heavy rain that had me second-guessing my backpacking plans for the weekend. I arrived at the Slab Creek and Deer Ridge trailhead parking lot just a bit before 3 p.m. As I made a loop, I'd head out on one and return on the other. 

The drive-in was typical: a bit muddy, with quite a few potholes and a couple of very large mud puddles that could have been mistaken for small ponds. Most cars will be fine on this road; you must take it slow. Be mindful of the road edge, as I saw a vehicle that fell off the road in an attempt to avoid the worst of the potholes.

When I arrived, the parking lot, with about eight cars, was quite full. There was easily room for 1-2 more, and then there would have been ample shoulder-side parking for quite a few more. Be warned that this trailhead does not have cell reception or bathroom facilities.

Trail Conditions

Slab Creek

I typically try to get to the Buckhorn wilderness once in the Spring to peep the rhododendrons in bloom. This year, I was a tad on the early side, as things were just starting to pop! But, there were a few blooms along the trail, and many buds were still prepping for their display.

This section of the trail was smooth sailing. No significant or minor obstacles. Passed a few parties on their way back to the car, but by no means anything one could consider busy. I met my last trail companion at the Gray Wolf River Trail junction. She was trail running the same loop, but in the counterclockwise direction, and reported no natural hazards, nice campsites, and nary a soul in sight. Perfect!

Gray Wolf River

Before heading towards my destination for the evening, I decided to go on a side quest to the site of the now washed-away footbridge that spanned the Gray Wolf River. It is a stretch to call this 1-mile stretch a trail as it is no longer maintained, is infrequently trodden, and is barely a footpath in many places. There are many down trees to crawl over, under, and around. The path is narrow and eroding in many sections, making the journey slow, and one needs to be mindful of where one steps.

Once back on the main trail, it was a slow and steady climb up and through the forest past Slide Camp and Gray Wolf Camp to my final destination, Three Forks Camp. There were a few blowdowns, but all were easy to step over or around.

There was already another party at Three Forks when I arrived. They were in the space nearest to the shelter and privy. This was fine by me, as I was hoping for a creekside camp space, of which there were several a tenth of a mile behind me at Gray Wolf Camp, but I found precisely what I was looking for just a few hundred meters down a side trail from the shelter.

Three Forks

After a very leisurely morning of creekside coffee and books, I began grinding my way up the four-ish miles of the Three Forks trail. To be honest, I was expecting worse. The incline is steepest in the final mile or so, but earlier on, this steepness was tempered by the many switchbacks. Again, there were a few downed trees but nothing of consequence. Near the top, the forest gives way to more barren slopes, which are putting on their springtime flower display.

Deer Park + Ridge

I left at the trail junction to check out Deer Park camp and have a snack before returning to my car. At first, I was slightly disappointed as I did not spy a single deer in their namesake park, but just as I was settling into the picnic table at site 16 for a snack, the deer began to emerge. These deer seemed hopeful for a handout as they cautiously approached my picnic table in an ongoing procession of visits. Ultimately, I encountered 12-15 deer roaming about in the open before I packed up and began the return trip down Deer Ridge to my car.

After ambling about with moody, expansive views above the treeline, the trail plunges back into the forest and down the ridge. This section of trail felt the most steep and muddy to me, so I kept my speed in check, as I didn't want to slip and slide. The last mile or so of the trail is flanked with rhodies.

Deer Ridge has a special place in my heart as Deer Park is one of my favorite places in the world. I’ve camped at Deer Park all of the decades of my life – with my parents who are long gone now, on my own in college with friends, and I’ve taken my kids as well. Glad I can still make it up this trail in my 60s! it is all the better right now before the road opens and the campground fills.
The road into Slab Camp is in decent condition, with intermittent deep potholes from time to time which are challenging to navigate. We saw low clearance vehicles parked at the trailhead, so I think most any vehicle could make it. The forecast was for 20% chance of precipitation,but it spit rain often on the ascent and even hailed a little bit. There was fresh snow visible both on and off the trail in patches, nothing too significant. I hadn’t brought spikes with me, nor did I need them. The rhododendrons near the trailhead are still a few weeks out, but there are lots of wildflower varieties blooming up at Deer Park. We saw about 10 other people today. Slab camp parking lot was not full. Be sure to take a waterproof shell, and extra layers up to Deer Park – even in mid May, it was mighty chilly in the clouds up there. Not a big view day today, but still a gorgeous place to visit.