This trail was hiked on 05/26/23 - 05/29/23.
Day 0 - Hoh River Visitor Center to Mt Tom Creek Campground
Day 0 of the backpacking trip included the drive from Seattle to the Hoh Rainforest and a short 2.9mi hike out to Mt Tom Creek.
As someone who identifies with being a night owl more than being an early bird, I prefer to do long drives to my destination the evening before a trip and camp nearby rather than wake up at an ungodly time in the morning the next day. We started off our long weekend by leaving work early and driving straight to the Hoh Rainforest.
Without traffic, the drive to the Hoh Rainforest from Seattle takes around 3-3.5hours. However, with the traffic we bumped into after work, it took us closer to 5 hours to reach our destination. The Hoh Rainforest reports that during peak times on the weekends, a line at the entrance may form, causing delays of a few hours, but when we arrived around 7pm on Friday night, there was no line and no one managing the booth.
The trailhead starts at the Visitor Center. If you have extra time before or after your trip, you can also enjoy a side quest on the Hall of Mosses trail.
Immediately, I entered a mystical wonderland of ancient trees and ferns, with moss draping the landscape like silk curtains.
The hike to Mt Tom Creek was entirely flat. At around the 1-1.5 mile mark, we encountered a branch-off that looked like a deprecated campground. This is not Mt Tom Creek; be sure to keep on hiking until you see an obvious trail sign.
As we were approaching Mt Tom Creek, a day hiker coming from the opposite direction had told us that he had encountered a heard of elk up ahead on the trail, but we unfortunately did not get to see the elk.
The Mt Tom Creek campground has its bear wire right by the group site. Most of the campsites were right along the Hoh River. The campsites were not demarked by site numbers, but were instead marked with fire pits. On a busy weekend, you may need to squeeze in with other groups.
Day 1 - Mt Tom Creek Campground to Lewis Meadow
On Day 1, we ventured from Mt Tom Creek campground to Lewis Meadow campground, which was another 7.6miles in. We had a slow start to our morning as we didn't have too much ground to cover and enjoyed a lazy stroll through the forest.
At roughly the 7.4 mile mark, after Happy Four but before Olympic Guard Station, we encountered 2 major creek crossings. Later in the season, we've heard that the waterflow of this creek can be as low as ankle deep, but at the time of writing, the creek was knee-deep for me (5'4" for reference).
There is an alternative trail that avoids BOTH creek crossings you can take if you feel the water levels are unsafe or if you want to keep your shoes dry. A downloadable version of this alternative route can be found on the Caltopo map I share in my blog.
Many taller, sturdier hikers than me had made it across the creek crossing with no issue, but I lost my footing on this creek crossing. Always be sure to use trekking poles and unclip your backpack straps when attempting risky, high-flow creek crossings. Luckily, my partner grabbed me in time, and we made it safely to shore with no casualties except for a few wet sleeping bags.
The second creek crossing is .25-.5miles after the first one, and we found the stream to be a little slower flowing than the first, but just as deep.
There was a 3rd creek crossing, shortly after the junction to Seven Lakes Basin. This one was no-where as deep as the first two creek crossings, but it would get your feet wet for sure. This was was roughly shin deep.
If you're sick of creek crossings by the time you get to Creek Crossing 3, there's a nice wide log that you can take to get across if you're an experienced hiker with sure footing.
We made it to camp pretty early in the day. Depending on your preferences, Lewis Meadow offers multiple campsites in the meadow, where deer often frequent; along the Hoh River, where we stayed; and on the gravel bar across a small section of the Hoh River for the adventurous.
Our early arrival at camp gave us plenty of time to dry out our gear before night fall.
Day 2 - Day Trip to Glacier Meadows
On Day 2, we left most of our backpacking equipment at camp and set off on a day trip to Glacier Meadows.
The first 1.5-2miles of the trail past Lewis Meadow were relatively flat, similar to what we had experienced the previous day. Once we hit our first switchback, the trail only ascended from there on out.
The first major landmark we hit was the Hoh River Bridge. It was a relatively mundane wooden bridge, but it crossed the Hoh River from hundreds of feet in the air. As you cross the bridge, you can see the strength and beauty of the Hoh River flowing down below you.
The next major landmark we hit was Elk Lake. The trail does not bring you straight to the lake, but you can follow a small primitive trail from the emergency shelter down to the lake. From Elk Lake, I was overwhelmed with a sense of smallness as I viewed the surrounding forest and snow-peaked mountains looming around me. Unfortunately, the area around the lake was very boggy and did not make for a good spot to sit and relax. We did a couple of stretches around Elk Lake, then returned to the emergency shelter for a snack break.
There is a 4th creek crossing not too long after we left Elk Lake. This one is along loose gravel. Be sure to follow cairns along the creek as they will guide you to the best location to rock-hop across.
The trail then took us back into the forest. As we continued to gain elevation, we started to see some of the best views of Mount Olympus and the Olympic Mountain Range poking out from behind the trees. This is where you'll find the best views of Mount Olympus, so be sure to soak it in.
Shortly after the first glimpses of the mountains, the trail had a couple of sections that are not recommended for beginner hikers. These featured loose gravel on narrow sections, not quite wide enough for both your feet to stand side-by-side, and a steep drop-off downhill.
If you've made it through 16 miles of hiking, 4000ft of elevation gain, 4 creek crossings, and several narrow landslide areas, you've finally made it to your final challenge -- the iconic rope ladder. This rope ladder is at least 100ft tall and situated at roughly a 50 degree angle. Light gloves are recommended to help prevent rope burn. A neck gaiter or buff is also recommended as loose gravel slides can kick dust up into your face. We went took our time to descend the ladder one at a time, and boy was my heart racing the whole time!
At the bottom of the ladder, we encountered the first bit of snow, which disappeared as we climbed back into the forest. The next trek through the forest was a short one before we made it to Glacier Meadows. The entire campground was covered with quickly melting snow at the time of writing. The snow near Glacier Meadow was crunchy, with a few spots where you might poke through. In another week or two, I would expect it to be fully melted out.
We did not make it to the Blue Glacier overlook as the snow levels made the creek crossing inopportune, but we did venture out into the backcountry to find a clearing with an epic view of the Olympic mountain range.
We saw a couple of excited ski mountaineers making their return to Glacier Meadow after a successful journey up to Mount Olympus -- one for the bucket list!
We ventured back to Lewis Meadow for our final night of the trip.
Day 3 - Lewis Meadow to Hoh River Visitor Center
We had a relaxing final day in camp, being one of the last ones to leave. The return trip to the visitor center was relatively uneventful compared to the previous days. We decided to explore the primitive trail rather than getting our feet wet again at the first two creek crossings.
Closing Remarks
This was such an incredible route to kickoff my first backpacking trip of the summer season. I had been eyeing this route on my paper copy of the NatGeo map for over a year now, and it ended up being much more adventurous than I could have imagined. The hike all the way to Glacier Meadow is not for the faint of heart: 17 miles of distance to cover, 4000ft of elevation gain, 4 major creek crossings, several narrow landslide areas, and the scariest rope ladder that I have ever climbed down. This is one of a few backpacking trips where I can firmly say that the journey was just as memorable as the final viewpoint. Highly recommend!
Comments
Thanks for adding photo of the rope ladder. I kept reading references in other reports but having trouble picturing obstacle.
Posted by:
WooHoo! on Jun 13, 2023 06:14 PM