Church Creek — Sunday, Sep. 1, 2013

Olympic Peninsula > Olympia

Wow, this trail isn't the easiest to find, even using the guidelines above. Used a WA Gazetteer to trace our steps through forest service roads. Luckily we got there on our first try, but the last spur off the main road twists for a while and the trailhead is actually at the very end of the spur, not at a hairpin. The first 1.5 miles are awesome - a steady climb through some fantastic 2nd-growth forest (there's really no such thing as 'old growth' these days, but these trees are impressive). Winding up the ridge through very large cedar, doug fir and hemlock and some really awesome snags was a lot of fun. Passed some folks picking berries, and they were abundant. Then passed some more folks with a dog. Neither group bothered to mention the swarm of horseflies that was waiting up in the meadow above. We didn't make it to the lakes that are about 2.5 miles in b/c the flies were too thick. We had to turn back and had the flies trailing us for almost the whole way back down, during which we actually passed both other groups heading back home themselves. Going to have to try this one again in either very early season or in the fall after the bugs back off a bit. The forest is beautiful, there are some views to be had here and there, and the trail is enough of a workout to make it worth the drive. Actually kind of surprised this isn't a designated wilderness area given the environs we encountered, but it is good as any of the wilderness areas we've been into this season.