Olympic NF is developing a second trailhead that gets you to the Gold Creek crossing on the Sleepy Hollow Trail in less than a mile. The new TH is on Road 28 about two miles west of the Mt. Zion/Sleepy Hollow TH. It's not marked though there is a blank signboard. Look for a parking area with an obvious road/trail leading through a barrier. ONF calls it the Sleepy Hollow Extension Trailhead on their website. You could make a six-mile loop by using Road 28 to return to your car. Or you could do what I did--walk this new trail to access the upper part of Sleepy Hollow trail sooner. The way is well graveled and pleasant to walk. Gold Creek is really the only obstacle on the whole trail--I splashed my socks getting across. Then it is more easy walking uphill on old road around the end of a ridge, then downhill and level to the crossing of Sleepy Hollow Creek. I continued on to the intersection with Gold Creek Trail, then returned. The trees were mainly second and maybe third growth, though they got larger near the Gold Creek Trail end. I saw deer and many birds, and had the place to myself. Surely I am not the only hiker to try this excellent shoulder season hike! I saw mountain bike tracks but no footprints. A mountain bike group, perhaps along with the Forest Service and the PNTA, did a major clearing job on this trail, which is now in great shape for its entire length. Thanks! The trail is part of the Pacific Northwest Trail.

Olympic National Forest is making a trail network in the far NE corner of the Olympic Mountains, often by converting a logging road into a trail. This is an example. The trailhead is on Road 28 at the same spot as the Mt. Zion trailhead, about two miles northwest of Bon Jon Pass. There is a new parking lot and toilet, and a Northwest Forest Pass is required. The FS website has a description and a map. The trail starts downhill immediately on an old road, then is on new trail for a bit. Eventually the trail pops out onto more closed roads and winds down to Gold Creek. According to my old ONF map, the road along Gold Creek was once FR #28, but it was closed and that designation was assigned to the road higher up the hillside. Anyway, from the Gold Creek crossing the trail continues uphill in a westerly direction on an old road. After a long mile the trail rounds the nose of the ridge and turns south, descending a bit. There are good views into the Upper Dungeness drainage from here. The walking up to about the five mile point is quite easy. After five miles, maintenance has apparently ceased. The alder closes in and there are blackberry bushes to contend with as well. Once I started getting into soaking wet alder, I decided that was enough brush bashing for one day and turned back, about six miles in. This trail is the route of the Pacific Northwest Trail and deserves a little more maintenance. In another two miles, according to the FS map and also the maps available at pnt.org, the road/trail intersects the Gold Creek trail and continues south to the Tubal Cain Mine trail. Like many of the trails in this area, it is relatively close to Seattle and would make an excellent shoulder season trail.