I believe the Duckabush is currently closed (at least from the park boundary westward), but on Monday, the Bear Gulch fire was mostly subdued. Our group of four, plus the dog, had sunny, mild, smoke-free weather for our outing. We made it to about Five Mile Camp, took a dip in the river, then came back to the car. According to my watch, it was about a 12.5-mile day with six-and-a-half hours of moving time (plus our break by the river).
We definitely got our money's worth, even though the Duckabush does not boast the most aggressive elevation profile compared to other Hood Canal hikes. I only wish the rainy season would begin, so some of these trails could be saved by the looming fire.
Last note: we saw someone's backpacking pack propped against a tree on the switchbacks below Little Hump. We did not see or hear the hiker, and another group we passed said the same. There was no social trail or climber's path that I could see, so it seemed like a weird place to ditch a pack. Hopefully the owner was just planning to double back for it after they took a pack-free jaunt someplace else!
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