Nice trail for solitude and training. Great river-side camps. Would have had views, but it was foggy. ~17 mile loop with plenty of elevation gain on both days. Could tack on Blue Mountain for views and 800 feet more elevation gain. Rhodies in bloom on the trail for a while near the Slab Camp Creek trailhead. Lots of pretty feeder streams on the Gray Wolf trail. No privy at trailhead, but privy available at Deer Park. Deer Park road is open now. Privy available at Three Forks Shelter. Privy at Gray Wolf Camp has been smashed by a tree. Did not investigate whether it was salvagable. Nice river-side camps at Camp Tony (near Slab Camp Creek / Grey Wolf junction), Gray Wolf Camp, and Three Forks. Walk downstream at Three Forks following the "camps" sign to find more private sites. Cameron Creek seemed to be less silty than Grand Creek, so I filtered that instead. The two creeks are very close together there. Gray Wolf Camp would be a better choice than Three Forks for a larger group. Trail generally in good shape. Deer Ridge section of trail features lateral slope. Coupled with very few switchbacks, this is hard on the ankles. The rest of the trail is pretty pleasant to walk on, with the exception of Slab Camp Creek. Slab Camp Creek trail was muddy. There are a few trees down here and there. The section of trail between Three Forks and Gray Wolf trail has a section that has been disrupted by a downhill tree-fall. It's short and passable, but I wonder about the stability of that section. All creeks on the loop are passable on sturdy foot logs. Sections of the trail are brushy and will get you wet if it has rained recently. The trail junctions around Gray Wolf camp are a little confusing. There are signs, but you have to look for them. Also, I believe the map to be wrong in this area. The trail between Three Forks and Gray Wolf Camp actually travels on the south side of Cameron Creek. The turn off from Gray Wolf trail to Slab Camp Creek trail is confusing. The original Slab Camp Creek trail has been obviously blocked on purpose. It's re-routed a little ways downstream the Gray Wolf trail, but for some reason the sign hasn't been moved. Keep walking downstream and you'll find the correct trail. (or try the blocked trail and look to your right for orange flagging). This section of the Gray Wolf trail doesn't get too close to the river. Loop described here. I did it in reverse. Note the driving directions. http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8005516 Excellent map here: http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/upload/WildernessMap.pdf National Park Service is really good about emailing permits. We called, paid with a credit card, and printed the permit. No need to go out of our way to hit a ranger station during their hours of operation.

Wow!! This was an amazing trip. Flowers everywhere, marmots, deer, you name it. The report will be divided up by days. Day 1- Deer Park to Moose Lake via Badger Valley. Day 2- Moose Lake to Upper Cameron Basin. Day 3- Upper Cameron Basin- Gray Wolf Pass junction campsite. Day 4- Gray Wolf Junction to Three Forks. Day 5- Three Forks to Deer Park. Day 1- Deer Park- Moose Lake via Badger Valley (10.8 Miles) Started out at 11:45 am from Deer Park on the Grand Ridge trail. The ridge is beautiful. The forest breaks and views start at about 2.5 miles from Deer Park. It was a clear day with a fog bank covering the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Views to the south were fabulous. To the north was fog. The fog did clear later in the day and views to Port Angeles were enjoyed from the Badger Valley cutoff junction. Trail had more elevation change than expected to this point, but was in great shape and overall was amazing. Took a left at the Badger Valley junction to hike Badger Valley cutoff to Badger Valley trail. This trail is in good shape despite being listed as a primitive trail by the national park. It was only slightly overgrown in places but is really just narrow. It is however VERY STEEP. The 1200 foot drop in 1.3 miles feels much longer and steeper. This section took us over an hour to get down. First marmot sighting was at the junction with Badger Valley trail. Badger Valley is full of flowers. The trail is slightly overgrown here but is easy to follow and is gorgeous. After two crossings of Grand Creek, We arrived at Grand Lake. The lake is a deep greenish color and is beautiful. Fish were jumping and campsites looked nice. The strangest thing was the we didn't see one group with camp set up here even though when we asked to camp here, the park service said it was full!!. After a short uphill, we arrived at Moose Lake at 7:15pm after 10.8 miles. This was a hard day of hiking but was all worth it for a great campsite at Moose Lake which by the way is home to an outrageous number of deer. 7 deer walked through camp that night. Day 2- Moose Lake to Upper Cameron Basin (5.8 Miles) Decided to get a little fishing in in the morning before leaving. Had 5 bites but no catches. Watched several large rainbow trout chase and nibble at my lures. These are the nibbliest fish I have ever seen. Left Moose Lake at 9am and headed for Grand Pass. Passed Gladys Lake and some nice campsites before heading into the upper valley. The upper valley is full of flowers and small tarns. Saw two more marmots up here before reaching the Grand Pass tarn. A few snowfields up here but nothing that caused any problems. Great campsties are located just below the pass. We were 100% fogged in at the top and had no views:(. The drop from the pass down to Cameron Creek is treacherously steep and long. We couldn't see the bottom for most of the trip down due to fog. We did see two marmots near the bottom of the meadow before it turns to forest. Took a lunch break just after the junction with Cameron Creek at a nice campsite right next to the trail. After this, it was up through the bushes to Cameron Basin. The trail was a total bushwhack here. The trail is always beneath you. Just focus on the tread and you will be fine. We spoke to some guys who had come up from three forks and had gotten a little lost before the junction with Grand Pass trail. Upper Cameron Basin is full of wildflowers, water, and views. The fog lifted after we got into camp and we were able to look up at Mt. Cameron and Cameron Pass. We arrived in camp at 4:30pm and were promptly greeted by 2 more deer. A few bugs here but not to bad. Day 3- Upper Cameron Basin- Gray Wolf Pass Junction Campsite (6.8 Miles) Left camp at 9:15am after being swarmed with bugs as soon as the sun came over the mountains. The temperature was into the twenties during the night and everything was frozen. Cameron Pass still has some snow on it but if you follow the trail, most of it is melted out. No issues here with anything. This is however a do not fall zone as the trail is very steep near the end with nothing but sharp rocks and cliffs below you. The view from the top of the pass is nothing short of spectacular. Top of the world. After spending time on the pass, we dropped steeply into the basin below Lost Pass where we took a break and dipped our feet in the creek. On the way, we saw two marmots below Cameron Pass. Next, we ascended Lost Pass, which was covered in flowers. The view is obstructed by trees. The drop from Lost Pass to Dose Meadows is another steep one, but is forested and short enough not to kill your knees that badly. Dose Meadows had some nice campsites where we stopped to eat lunch with another Boy Scout troop. We continued down the Dosewallips River trail to Bear Camp and on to just before the junction with the trail to Gray Wolf Pass. This section of trail is in great shape and is easy fast hiking. We paced about 4 miles an hour in the valley. The shelter at Bear Camp has four bunks. It is not is great shape though and the right two bunks were not usable at all. The roof did not look rainproof either. We set up camp at a trailside campsite just before Gray Wolf Junction. It was a little tight, but nice nonetheless. Day 4- Gray Wolf Junction Campsite to Three Forks Camp (12.8 Miles, GPS had it at 14.6 though) Left camp at 8:30am. Was on the top of Gray Wolf Pass at 11:30. The GPS clocked it at 4.1 Miles, even though the map said only 3.4. It was likely somewhere in between. The view from the pass is great, but was shortlived due to strong cold winds. It was very cold up there. After dropping into the basin, the wind died and it was comfortable. There is snow on the north side of the pass. It covers the trail in places and is treacherous, but it is go aroundable, which is the best way to deal with it, other than sliding down the one large snowfield all the way to the bottom which one member of our group took advantage of. The basin below the pass is thrilling. Waterfalls are everywhere, tarns small and large and wildflowers cover the whole place. One of the best spots on the whole trip. The bridge is out over the Gray Wolf River just below the basin. It can be easily forded and is only shin deep or can be crossed on a down tree. The trail then continues to Falls Camp, our lunch break. The camp is large enough for many groups and looked fine. The shelter is burned down though. An axe was there laying up against a tree (hmmmm). We continued down the Gray Wolf after lunch. The section between Falls Camp and Three Forks is easy hiking. Camp Ellis also looked nice. Gray Wolf Camp is very large. There was a shovel leaning up against a sign there too. Where did all these heavy tools come from? Upon arriving at Three Forks, we found the shelter in use and set up camp between Grand and Cameron Creeks. Day 5- Three Forks Camp to Deer Park (5.6 Miles) Left camp at 9am and was at Deer Park by 12:30. The climb out of Three Forks is very difficult and does not relent. The trail is in perfect shape though and the views get better and better as you go up. Summary- All trails were in good enough shape for safe travel. 50 miles was acheived on this trip through day hikes around camp areas. This entire loop is awesome. One of the best trips I have ever been on and definitly the best multi night trip. Better hurry and do this trip before it snows. Note: 25K feet of elevation change.

This was the second time in about 12 days I hiked to the Gray Wolf camp going down to Camp Tony, then up the ridge trail south of the Gray wolf River. The difference this second time was that I overnighted at Gray Wolf and hiked out up the Three Forks Trail to the Deer Ridge Trail and back to the car. The trail is in pretty good shape. There are some muddy sections, but wear boots and you can march right through them. There were maybe three or four patches of snow left covering the trail up near the Deer Park Campground, but no single patch was longer than 25 to 30 feet. There were few blowdowns that have not been taken care of. Of the few left, they are all easily manageable. The most difficult aspect of this loop is the 10 mile stretch of elevation gain if you do the loop clockwise, as I did. I was glad to have a night to rest after the first 4.9 miles of the gain. A day hike of the loop in this direction would be great for training and stretching out those legs. If you can overnight, I recommend it. I saw one person at Camp Tony when I hiked in. Otherwise, I had the whole wilderness to myself. Great orchids, and other wildflowers are blooming.

Hiked up to Moose Lake for the first night. Lovely campsite still plenty of water. Bears prevalent but the bear wire there takes care of the food issue. Tons of mosquitoes. The hike over Grand View Pass was well, grand. The second night spent in Three Forks was a good distance from Moose Lake, but definitely was an all day trek down Grand Creek. Three Forks campsite is deep in a valley and dark, but beautiful and feels very remote and wild. The last day of the three day trip was spent climbing steeply until Deer Park and then miserable weather set in on the long traverse to Obstruction Point Trailhead. A great trip although the last day of weather was lousy. I would definitely recommend the route I took, which was Obstruction -->Moose Lake --> Three Forks --> back to Obstruction. Have fun and be safe!

You would think, even starting from Seattle, that a 4:30am wake-up would mean an early start on the trail. By the time we caught the 5:45 Edmonds Kingston Ferry, had a mandatory breakfast at the Oak Table in Sequim, picked up a few bear cans at the WIC in Port Angeles, and drove the additional hour to the Obstruction Point trailhead, it was 11:15 when we finally shouldered our overly provisioned packs and headed down the Grand Pass trail. The views are spectacular from the beginning, as the trail head is at 6100 ft. The first day of our 45.5 mile loop took us through the Grand Valley, up Grand Pass, on to the Cameron Creek Trail, and in to Cameron Basin where we camped near the waterfall in the North end of the Upper Cameron. We found the trail to this point to be in fine shape. The first few switchbacks down from Grand Pass certainly are steep and covered in loose rock, and the entire plunge down to the Cameron Creek Trail is pretty jarring. The ever changing viewes more than made up for this. Our Upper Cameron camp was bug free, and next to one of the prettiest streams I've seen. Day two took us over Cameron Pass, Lost Pass, down to the Dosewallips trail, up Grey Wolf Pass, down to the Grey Wolf River, and finally to Falls Camp. Again the views were amazing. The trail was in nice shape except for the portion of the Grey Wolf River trail between the Grey Wolf basin and Falls Camp which has quite a few fallen trees, and a couple of iffy log crossings (but still quite passable). From the junction at the Dosewallips through to the end of the loop there were quite a few hornets and yellow jackets buzzing around. They didn't seem to be at all interested in us, but one of our party did get stung on his leg while pushing though some brush along the trail. There were also signs of bears all around, and it was in the upper portion of the Grey Wolf River trail that another member of the party had a fairly close encounter with one. Falls camp was also very nice, bug free, and with several logs and rounds to sit and cook on. Day three was a shorter hike up to the Deer Park car campground via the Three Forks trail. The grade of the trail was significantly easier than the previous two days. The old growth forest surrounding the Grey Wolf River trail was a nice change of scenery. Be warned that there are several guide books out there stating there is a water pump at Deer Park. It is no longer there. There was a very small stream still trickling just a hundred feet West of the ranger station, otherwise, there is no water between the three forks junction and Obstruction Point, a distance of almost 14 miles. Unfortunately, day four found us mostly in the clouds. The 7.5 miles back to Obstruction point was a very nice alpine meadow hike, but I understand that the views are commanding. The drop off from the trail was fairly intimidating in places, and together with the clouds, I was glad to be hiking with others. A good description of this hike can be found in a Back Packer Magazine book that I believe is called Trekking Washington, Trek 23, The Grand Loop.