The Elwha River is such a lovely area. I was happy to be able to get out for a quick overnight trip.
The road is washed out in a few places meaning there is a 7 mile road walk before you reach the actual trailhead. Once you reach that, it's somewhere about 3 miles to the Humes Ranch area.
I parked along with quite a few folks where the gate is closed across the road. There's a decent amount of parking, but it was getting full when I arrived. I got one of the few remaining spots around 11 on a sunny weekend day.
After heading out, you will very soon come to a bypass trail, clearly marked, that will take you around the washout. For those biking, this bypass trail is probably going to be a bit of a challenge. But I saw several folks who had clearly made it around.
There is a scenic overlook on the bypass trail (It's marked and it's on the Green Trails map) that is worth a detour on a clear day. Note that the overlook area is tiny — it's a spot to head up and come back down. There's not really room for more than one group at a time.
Once you make it back to the main road, the turnoff of Whiskey Bend is soon after. From there, it's 5 miles to the actual trailhead. This section of road is gravel, which is a bit gentler on the feet so it's nice.
Be sure to take the quick detour to look at the old dam site when you get to it. It's impressive to see how the area is recovering. There's also a trail that leads down into the former reservoir bed, but I didn't take it. I'd like to go back to see it though.
Once I reached the actual trailhead, I took the upper trail to Humes Ranch. The trail is in good condition, just one downed tree that is easy to get over.
The camping area has a bear wire in the northwest corner of the meadow and a privy in the southeast corner. The bear wire is hard to see until you're quite close, but it's there.
I had a cozy overnight and then headed out the next morning, in the rain. I decided to take the lower section of trail nearer the river. I had been warned by the ranger to expect downed trees. And there were a LOT of downed trees. Many of which were too high to get over and pretty challenging to get under with a loaded pack. The full lower section has intermittent downed trees and muddy areas.
I made the short side trip to Goblins Gate, which is definitely worth it. The trail from Goblins Gate to the main trail also has a few challenging downed trees to navigate.
The hike out was fast — it was rainy and cold and I didn't linger!
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That's it for trip report! Carry on if you want to hear about my backpacking goal for the year.
This year, I set a goal to backpack once a month, all in my own county. (Clallam County.) I went backpacking in January and it was lovely.
In February, however, my father was diagnosed with cancer and within a few weeks, had passed away. My month was taken up with being with him and my family. It was hard, and I'm still grieving. I will be for a long time. There's never enough time with the people we love.
So, March ended up being my second trip of the year. I choose this trail because I'd been there once before and had enjoyed it. I wanted to go somewhere familiar. I also was looking forward to the road walk. I wanted something simple and straightforward. I needed time to think and just let my feet move.
My dad loved being outdoors, and I got a lot of my own joy in being outside from him. I spent a lot of this trip thinking about him — and wishing he'd had more time. I miss him so much.
I spent some time just sitting along the trail, watching the trees and soaking in the sun and thinking of all the he and I had spent outside together.
The pandemic has complicated grieving. I'm missing being with people and missing the power of having all the people you love around you. But I'm so grateful that I have the health to go hiking and to have a different way to grieve and honor my father.
I think that all of my trips this year will be shaped by his loss.
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