Lots of people on bicycles.

I took my inflatable paddle board and intended to head to Devil’s Punchbowl, but it was closed. I ended up launching from the side of the trail a little ways back from the tunnel. It was actually great. I paddled around to go see the punch bowl, but it was so small with no beach, so I couldn’t have launched there if I wanted to. Beautiful day in the lake. 

Day two of our family adventure in the Olympics. We started at the Spruce Railroad trail in the morning and walked out as far as the Devil's punchbowl. The majority of the trail is nice and flat and wide, and made for easy walking.

The short spur trail to the punchbowl was much more challenging, with roots and rocks, and pretty eroded in places. It was nothing too tricky compared to many of the trails in WA, but for my family visiting from the East Coast it proved to be a challenge. My mom fell in one of the eroded sections but thankfully was ok. If I had realized what the trail conditions would be, I would have recommended she wait for us on the main trail or honestly skipped this one altogether. The lake was beautiful but crowded. We checked out the tunnel after returning to the main trail, which was really fun. Just a reminder to please walk your bikes through the tunnel, a cyclist ran into my sister after losing control of his bike.

Afterwards, we headed out to Sol Duc falls. Parking was hard to find and we ended up parking quite a ways down the road. The trail to the falls is steep in some places, and rocky and rooty. My mom found it tricky in spots and we had to assist her in some places. The falls were beautiful but understandably crowded so we didn't spend a lot of time there. My partner and I walked back to grab the car and when we arrived back in the parking lot we were lucky enough to see some of the park's mule team coming out of the trail after a day of trail work. What a treat! The bathrooms at the trailhead proved to be in pretty rough condition so we drove a short ways down the road to the campground for a rest stop before heading back to Port Angeles for the night.

We got ready for the start of this year's Hike-a-Thon by wearing last year's T-shirts, and of course we brought along Miles the Marmot! #HikeaThon

First- signs and local employees are recommending hiking with others due to recent cougar activity.

I arrived to the trailhead at 9:30 a.m. on a cloudless Tuesday morning. I was the 4th car in the lot. The pit toilet had just been cleaned, so plenty of tp and hand sanitizer. We only went just passed Devil's Punchbowl. We passed just a few cliff jumpers, hikers, and bikers on the way in. There were old articles of clothing throughout Devil's Punchbowl but other than that, the trail was super clean. 

There are a few purple and yellow flowers still along the trail. Bees were bad in spots, and flies were annoying. The water is breathtakingly beautiful with all of its clear blues and greens. 

On our way back to the parking lot, we saw several groups of people. We arrived to our car at 10:40, and the lot and street were full. 

If interested in boat rentals, Lake Crescent Lodge has some plus paddleboards, but inventory is low and they sell out fast. They recommended Log Cabin Resort boat rentals, which works for us- much cheaper, larger inventory, but no paddleboards. Just FYI.

Today I walked the Spruce Railroad Trail from the East Trailhead walking 4 miles west, then turning around and walking back for 8.15 miles total.  I drove in from Joyce, and the roads were in great shape.  I pulled into the parking lot at 7:45 a.m.  Mine was the 10th car in the lot.  There is one pit toilet at the trailhead, and it was just about out of TP, so be sure to pack your own.  Unfortunately, someone has stolen or destroyed the trail sign where people typical pose for photos.

The weather was cool, 51 degrees, when the weatherman had predicted 58 degrees for nearby Joyce.  There were low clouds over the mountains which were still hanging on at noon.  When I pulled out of the lot just before noon the temperature had risen to 58 degrees, which was 14 degrees below the forecast.  Perfect for walking!

This is a paved trail on what was a narrow gauge railroad line.  There are many more bicyclists, including electric driven cycles, than there are pedestrians on the trail.  On my outbound leg I saw 16 people; only 3 were fellow walkers.  On the way back I saw over 100 people.  About 75% were on 2 wheels. 

This is a beautiful trail, with Lake Crescent on one side and a mountain on the other.  The mountainside is steep, tree-covered, and close at hand.  The lake is beautiful, surrounded by mountains on all sides.  There were no bugs to speak of.  I saw a few birds and chipmunks, along with one small snake.  On the outbound leg I walked the path to the Devil’s Punchbowl, where a couple of kids were swimming in the cold water.  On the way back, I walked through the train tunnel.

Unfortunately, the trail shows it is heavily used by people who are not “typical” hikers.  I saw lots of little trash—wrappers, cans in the water, scraps of paper and plastic, bagged dog crap, stuff you won’t find on other Olympic Peninsula trails.  Also, this trail is much weedier than most trails.  It seems like some person or group has weeded the first mile or 1.5 miles, but beyond this, the trail is lined with Scotch broom and many other flowering weeds.  If I win big in the lotto, I’m going to have it cleaned up.  Until then, I did my part.  I picked up a piece of sharp glass from the trail and disposed of it.  It was big enough to take out a bike tire or send some kid in sandals home needing stitches.  I couldn’t figure out where glass like that came from.  I also stopped and uprooted 4 Scotch broom plants.  I hate those things.

Overall, great day for a hike with lots of happy people enjoying the weather, except for the biking group from Purdue.  Those people were sour.