Lower Big Quilcene
Today the infant (almost toddler) and I did the Little Big Quilcene trail up to the bridge, a really nice hike that is relatively flat.
This was good—my body is not feeling a long burdensome hike—because raising a child is hard and I’m tired.
He really loved this one and so did I.
There’s a lot of blooming wildflowers right now and the thimbleberry is in bloom, making me excited because it’s my favorite berry. Salmonberry are well underway, just eat them on a sunny day because they taste like gasoline otherwise. There is also self heal on the trail and false solomon’s seal is starting to berry. Rhododendron is in bloom but at the end of its season.
A lot of flowers right now and there are two waterfalls on your way to the bridge, which is a mile in. The trail drops down a little bit at the start then slowly starts to pick itself back up and rise up towards the bridge. The Lower Big Quilcene is adjacent to the trail but not really visible—there’s a place to fill up water a short distance into the trail, though, right at the start at the first lovely waterfall.
There’s also a road that runs along the trail—this was disconcerting because it’s not often you hear car engines in the backcountry! It leaves as you get further up, though.
The trail is very old by my standards—there was evidence of two other spots the trail used to go, maybe a former road? Since this is a logging area. And the trees are very small comparatively but the regeneration is going nicely. There are a lot of vine maples and other more first succession (or second succession I guess more properly) plants that have taken over the area. They’re really beautiful.
Access is pretty easy—from Quilcene it’s a right turn on Penny Creek road then there’s a up and down residential road that goes by farms and homesteads (I would go slow here—it’s very wavy and if you have an infant asleep in the back you don’t want to go fast) then it’s a gravel road then—pavement. What a treat. It eventually turns back into gravel before the trailhead. The potholes are not bad and need minimal attention, I don’t think any vehicle type would have trouble here. I even saw a motorcycle which are less common on forest service roads.
This is a multi-use trail: there were bike tire tracks and signs of horses. I would think it would be good for all of them. There is a pit toilet at the trailhead—it is old so does have that “smell” but was stocked with toilet paper and even had a trash can—and a picnic table far, far away from the toilet. There is a fee to be here— $5 or a NW forest pass or a National Park Pass. I didn’t have much service at the TH—one bar—so I wouldn’t rely on that to pay the fee.
The trail was a little narrow at the start with brush coming in when you drop down into a valley area and go over a short stream crossing (not bad—I did it in tennis shoes) but it opens up really quick after that. Very nice day to do it—it had just rained so everything was cool but not wet but not actively raining which is nice. I would imagine this is good to do in the height of summer—it has pretty good shade and isn’t right on top of a ridge or anything. Like most river hikes in the Olympics this seems to be on an upward trajectory as it climbs further into the backcountry towards its watershed. First mile to the bridge is pretty mellow, though. There were three other cars when I got there and an additional car when I left. Popular trail, and it’s a nice one.
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