Marmot Pass — Saturday, Jul. 23, 2016

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

Did an over night up to Marmot Pass. Many books says this is a must do hike and it definitely offers amazing views. Sometimes you have to work a little harder to get them On the Saturday we started on it was cloudy/foggy and even misting some. The trail itself is in good conditions no blowdowns worth mentioning. Sure it climbs in elevation but the grade is not too bad considering the elevation that you are climbing. Took a little over two hours to get to camp Mystery. After setting up camp we hiked up to the pass. Except it was still cloudy and you really couldn't see more than 75ft. I was thinking these were low clouds and that I might be able to get above them by taking the boot path up Mt. Buckhorn (climbs about 1000ft in about a 1/2 mile). This boot path is steep and has lots of little rocks which makes it slippery. I would highly recommend taking hiking poles to help on the way down. After climbing up about 700 feet the clouds gave way. Looking around and seeing the clouds below and the mount peaks rising above I was amazed. I had been here before but something about feeling like you are on an island in a sea of clouds is really magical. The next morning I got up to try to get some sunrise pictures. Complete opposite of the day before---not a cloud in the sky. If you really want to see the actual sun coming up at this time of year, I would recommend going back up Buckhorn. From Marmot Pass I turned left this time to explore. Again there is a boot path that runs along the ridgeline. There were some patches of snow but nothing to worry about as they were not blocking the trail. Other notes: This is a popular place. While there are many camping spots, they do fill up fast and if Camp Mystery is filled one can find additional spots further on. If you decide to camp closer to Marmot Pass, there is no water beyond Camp Mystery. Bugs were around but were not bad. And the dirt parts of the road has pot holes. Smaller cars can weave around them but if you don't see them it could jolt your car pretty good. Also along the trail Salmon Berries were ripe in many places.