Our party of 8 started from Obstruction Point, did a 3-day backpack into Grand Valley.

Day 1:  the gravel road from Hurricane Ridge to the TH is in good condition. While the road may be intimidating for some - very steep sidehills - it's in good condition and OK for regular passenger vehicles. We hiked the Lillian Ridge trail into Grand Valley, camped at the group site at Moose Lake. This trail is in very good condition and offers grand views into the heart of the park. The group site is very tight for 8 small tents, and slopes somewhat. The bear wire is about 1/4 mile away. Good water source from the stream flowing into Moose Lake.

Day 2: We day hiked up to Grand Pass, and to the peak a short distance above. The upper trail to the pass is quite steep in places, but is in good condition. We crossed one small snowfield without difficulty. Going up to the peak is steep, and there are numerous trail variations, but we found our way to the top and were rewarded with fine views.

Day 3: We took the Badger Valley trail to return to the TH. This trail is lower standard than the route in. We encountered several blowdowns, and the trail is brushy in places. There are lovely meadows to enjoy as the trail climbs up the valley.

Obstruction Point Road is open! The road is sometimes steep and narrow with sheer drop-offs. However, it's totally doable as long as you're slow, cautious, ready to yield, and lucky with no upcoming cars in the worst parts :) The parking lot had ~16 cars when I arrived a little after 10am on Friday.

I originally planned to spend two nights (Thursday the 18th & Friday the 19th) at Moose Lake, but cut it down to one since it was unclear what time Obstruction Point Road would open on Thursday. The rangers told me it would be Thursday afternoon, but didn't have more information than that. I appreciated their patience with my frequent calling.

I did the Grand Valley Loop (in through Grand Valley, out through Badger Valley) + Grand Pass and Grandview Peak.

The Grand Valley trail starts off with spectacular views and blooming flowers, then descends down to the lakes. No snow or obstacles on this portion of the trail. I set up camp at Moose Lake, then day-hiked to Grand Pass. The trail got more and more beautiful with each step I took. Wildflowers galore! There were a few inconsequential snow patches below the pass. The views were great, but I'd recommend climbing the extra 200 ft to the peak on right. Up there, you can see Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and much more! I'm not much of a scrambler or peak-bagger, but that one was quick and worth it.

Moose Lake is a great place to camp! Just be aware of the salt-hungry deer - guard your things and pee away from your tent. A few got close to my campsite, but I didn't have any incidents. The area got more campers as the day wore on, and I could see some from my campsite, but it still felt quite peaceful. The toilet and streams were both easy to find, and the bugs were not bad at all. There were not many mosquitos until the late evening, when they grew in numbers.

I returned to the trailhead via the Badger Valley trail. Here, the trail was often brushy and had a number of blowdowns (all easily passable). It began with 2 miles of continuous downhill, which was hard to deal with mentally, because I knew that meant that my final uphill hiking would be condensed into fewer miles. There were also lots of mosquitos in the forested section before the low point of the trail, just to add insult to injury.

However, once you climb out of the forest, the flower-filled meadows appear and the world feels better again! There were lots of small streams for potential water sources, and the views were superb. Doing the loop is satisfying because you get to see many sides of this grand area. The final push up the scree slope is steep, but stable and manageable.

Definitely a great backpacking trip! The trail never felt too crowded. You can connect to lots of other trails from here, so there's plenty more to explore!

Hiked from Deer Park on along the ridge to Moose lake. Stayed overnight and hiked out through the valley on the way back.

Something like 12-13 miles each way. Bring plenty of water for the ridge because there's zero shade for basically the whole day. Ranger recommended 3 liters per person. Hiking out through Badger valley was nice for a change of scenery but we think it added more total gain because you have to go down about 1000ft first leaving Moose lake before ascending 2000ft to the junction.

Good trip! The view early on north to the sound is pretty incredible. Nice views around the Maiden Peak part of the hike of Port Angeles, the Dungeness Spit, Vancouver island, Mount Baker, the Canadian Cascades, San Juan & Lopez, Whidbey, etc.

The deer at Moose Lake are salt aggressive. Tried walking off with my friend's trekking pole! Hide your salty items and watch your camp.

Started at Deer Lake Trailhead around 7:30am. The road in was very doable in a sedan. Limited parking (~15 cars) but not a problem for us.

Overall the trail was in good condition. Some shaky shale(?) patches on the path to Elk Mtn but these were mostly mentally difficult, seeing the ridge fall so steeply away from you. Some wildflowers in bloom.

Hiked to Elk Mountain along Grand Ridge and then continued to Obstruction Point. There were a couple of difficult snowchutes to cross. Absolutely would *NOT* do without at least poles and/or spikes. Very risky of a slip. We crossed slowly and carefully with spikes, pausing to kick out small steps.

From Obstruction pt, started Lillian Ridge / Grand Valley Loop portion, heading down to Grand Lake. No issues with the trail here. Some snowfields to cross but they were all flat and easy.

From the lake, we headed back up, got to the junction with Elk Mountain and took that route back up to the Grand Ridge trail and then returned back to Deer Lake.

Note: not us, but other hikers spotted a black bear around this junction in the early afternoon. We did see plenty of bear scat but nothing in the flesh. A half-dozen deer and marmots were our only visible company.

All told, a little over 21 miles, ~10.5 hours.

Obstruction Point is one of my favorite areas for day hiking, and I make a pilgrimage here every year. This time we were met with the dual obstacles of smoky conditions and limited access via Hurricane Ridge Road. However, the area remains as beautiful as ever. The wildflowers were especially spectacular this time, with at least a dozen different varieties blooming along the trail.

Here's the 411 on Hurricane Ridge Road: Since the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center burned down this spring, NPS is limiting access to the area due to lack of facilities. At time of writing, only 430 vehicles are allowed up the road each day. The first 175 are allowed through, then 255 are admitted at a rate of one car every 90 seconds, then the road is closed for the day. (These numbers change frequently, and there are also exceptions for backcountry permit holders, so check the NPS website for the latest info.)

Since our hike was on a Saturday during peak tourist season, we arrived at the entrance station at 7:30am. We hoped this would be early enough to guarantee entrance to the road. Luckily, it was a breeze. There were only 4 cars in front of us, and a ranger opened the second toll booth just as we pulled up, so there was virtually no wait. Based on what I saw later, I'm guessing the vehicle limit is reached by noon.

After reaching Hurricane Ridge and turning onto Obstruction Point Road, we didn't encounter any other cars until the TH. The road is as narrow and dusty as always, but in great condition overall. Our Toyota Camry had no trouble. When we arrived at the TH at 8:15am, there were 15-20 cars in the parking lot with plenty of space.

Hit the trail at 8:30am, hiking in a counterclockwise loop: Obstruction Point TH -> Lillian Ridge -> Grand Valley -> Moose Lake -> Grand Lake -> Badger Valley -> Obstruction Point TH. I've done the same loop in both directions and prefer the steep descent into Grand Valley rather than slogging up the exposed hill in the opposite direction.

The weather was sunny with occasional clouds, but thick haze made it difficult to see Mt. Olympus and the surrounding peaks. Visibility improved slightly after descending into Grand Valley and Badger Valley, but the hazy conditions were still noticeable for the rest of our hike. AQI was probably around 100 throughout the day.

Luckily, the haze didn't impact our ability to enjoy the bountiful wildflowers, which were the stars of the hike. I was amazed by the variety of species that were in bloom. Here are some species we saw: Scouler's harebell, paintbrush, fireweed, thistle, Explorer's gentian, queen's cup, alpine aster. (Thanks to WTA's wildflower guide for helping me identify these!)

We encountered relatively few folks on the trail compared to previous visits. Usually there are more backpackers, but this time we saw more trail runners and a few groups of day hikers.

Ate lunch in the Badger Valley meadows, which are a beautiful golden color this time of year, then grunted up the hill to the ridgeline and TH. Returned to the car at 1:30pm. There were more folks around, but still spaces left in the lot. Hurricane Ridge Road was already closed by this time, because on our way down we didn't see anyone coming up.

All in all, a fantastic hike as always. Even though it required more research and planning than usual, it was definitely worth it!