In Bogachiel River Trailhead, out Sol Duc by the resort via Mink Lake

Day one- We hiked from the Bogachiel Trailhead to Flapjack Shelter, 10-11 miles in. The first mile and some is in the national forest, then you cross into the national park. The trail was in decent condition most of this part. There are two places along the way where there are washouts. The first has a couple ropes that can help you navigate it. The second is a short patch where you traipse through some brush and downed trees, follow the river and you'll easily pick the trail back up after a couple minutes. Getting nearer to Flapjack, the trail starts to be a little overgrown but not hard to navigate, a few down trees. Flapjack campground itself was nice. Beautiful forest and good river access with lots of swimming spots the whole way.

Day two- We hiked from Flapjack to Twenty One Mile camp, about 11 miles. Parts of this trail were very overgrown, sometimes with brush in our faces and over our heads. We did not find it too difficult to navigate though we did have to pay attention. It rained on us the whole day and the overgrown vegetation dumped water on us the whole time so we were completely soaked. Also some downed trees. The forest is beautiful the whole way. Blueberries, salmon berries, some thimble berries. Before Fifteen Mile Shelter, the river forks and the trail carries on along the north fork. Fifteen Mile shelter is nice but we did not look at the campsites. Shortly after, you cross the river for the first time, lovely views, then 3 miles later arrive at Hyak shelter. Hyak camp site is nice but the trail coming up to it is very overgrown. We had lunch here. We carried on another 3 miles to Twenty One Mile camp which no longer has a shelter, only a pile of old wood with a campsite nearby and easy access to the river. We'd heard it was not as nice as Fifteen or Hyak which is true, but the forest is beautiful and we were happy with the spot.

Day three - We hiked from Twenty One Mile to Mink Lake and the parking lot at Sol Duc, about 8.5 miles. This is when the climb starts. Twenty One Mile camp is at 2214 and the trail.climbs up to 4130 over 4 miles. The switch backs are fairly gentle, beautiful forest with blueberries and salmon berries. There are some downed trees to get over. At the top, everything was in bloom, loads of colorful wildflowers, heather, bear grass, enchanting! A little over 4 miles and the trail forks with one side going towards the High Divide and the other going into the Sol Duc. The moment you cross into the Sol Duc, the forest changes. The descent all the way down is rockier and steeper, big steps. Mink Lake is beautiful, well worth the visit, lots of fish. The last miles from the lake to the parking lot have nice views of the river. 

Note: there are several unmarked side trails throughout the Bogachiel section of the trail. Most of them lead off to campsites but a few lead to lesser used trails to the Hoh and Indian Pass. We did not find it difficult to navigate since the main trail always follows the river so it's not a big deal, but I do recommend having a good map and paying attention- especially given the overgrown state of parts of the trail. It felt really wild out there. After the first mile from the parking lot, we did not see another person until we got to Mink Lake.

Also... I left my Katadyn Hiker Pro filter at Twenty One mile, and Im really bummed about it. I won't have time to go back for it for a while. So if you want to play scavenger hunt and do a stranger a big favor, you could pick it up and drop it off at the visitor's center in Port Angeles. 

A friend and I went on a nice overnight backpacking trip along the Bogachiel over memorial day weekend. We ended up doing 10 miles each day, out and back, spending the night at Flapjack camp.

The trail was fairly muddy, especially the two to three miles after the fork with the South Bank Trail, which is almost entirely missing. There's two sections with EXTREMELY slippery rocks with moss again towards the end of the trail. I believe there was one to two blow downs, which is to be expected this early in the season. Nothing insurmountable. There's one bushwack section towards the middle of the trail marked by ribbons. Keep in mind later in the year when Devils Club starts sprouting!

GNATS! GNATS! GNATS! tons of them at Flapjack campground. 

For wildlife, we saw plenty of beetles, some snakes, lizards, a single salamander and a herd of elf (they seem to love the river! keep an eye whenever the trail passes by it).

Hike was beautiful. We took the Ira Wetland Loop on the way back. Road has a couple pit holes so beware coming in. One log bridge broke a little and there is a warning before starting the trail. Bridge was not soggy and passable like normal.

overnight to Bogachiel. weather was excellent with a little bit of rain overnight. bugs weren't too bad mostly just bothersome gnats. a good number of fallen trees and a section of washed out cliffside.

The Bogachiel River is one of the few rivers in the Olympics I’ve never hiked before, so we set out to change that.

The trail along the Bogachiel River is incredibly muddy—I'm talking extreme mud. I typically wear trail runners, but this trail is definitely more suited for boots.

For our return, we looped back onto the Ira Spring Wetland Trail. This section is much more enjoyable, as it's slightly uphill, which helps with drainage. Plus, there are some newly installed boardwalks along the way.

Overall, it was a stunning hike with beautiful views of Western Hemlock and Sitka Spruce. Just be prepared for wet and muddy conditions!