Backpacking Hoh River, Blue Glacier

First posted: 2022-10-24
2022 Sept 13 - 2022 Sept 16

51 miles
7555 Feet Elevation Gain

Four days three nights backpacking trip at Olympic NPS: Day 1: Started at tourist infested Hoh River information center. Camped at Olympus Ranger Station Island.
Day 2: Left the river and started climbing towards Elk Lake camp.
Day 3: Elk Lake base camp, up and down to Blue Glacier.
Day 4: Return all the way to information center.

Day 1

The first day was interesting, just getting to the trailhead was a pain. Crossing the sound is beautiful, but driving along the Northern Olympic peninsula is just depressing. How could urban planners and the citizens have made such a beautiful landscape so dull and clear cut? What a shame. Perhaps if one left the highway and drove deeper towards the forest or towards the ocean it would be better, but the highway itself was sad.Reaching the Olympic NPS ranger HQ station, I got my permit. The ranger was very good, and I learned I could have actually just printed it out at home. Apparently Olympic NPS allows you to do this, some of the other parks do not. Huh. Guess this really shows the importance of calling every park to learn as much as possible. After reaching the entrance to Hoh River, I had to wait another hour for the long line of tourist cars, since there was literally no parking left. Even after I got in, I had to circle around for 15 minutes until I finally found a parking spot in the backpackers’ section. Too many tourists were parking in the backpacker designated sections. There were barely enough rangers to keep order. It was a mess. In total, it took me 6 hours to get from home to the trailhead.

For this trip, I overloaded my equipment. Around 41lb including full water and food. I had done some strength exercises, and I was feeling much more confident. I also studied the topo maps a lot more clearly, and I spaced out the mileage/elevation gain ratio a lot better. In general, I would not be doing more than 8 miles a day, and if I was, it would be on flat trail. The entire trip was planned around sitting at the final destination for a few hours. That’s why I didn’t decide to plan a rush trip. Everything was planned so I could see the beautiful glacier, because I knew there would be clouds. The forecast indicated that the view window time was only about 11am-3pm. I had to make it that Thursday.

The other reason I planned the trip here instead of at Glacier Peak Wilderness, which is where I had planned to go a month earlier, was due to the intense wildfire smoke that was wafting around Seattle. My prediction was that the smoke wouldn’t be able to get deep into the peninsula, as the Hoh River was on the ocean side of the peninsula.

So off I went. The first part of the trail was relatively flat, and the first two hours of hiking were filled with tourists. It was a Tuesday, yet still so many people. Past Five Mile Island campground, only backpackers remained. Throughout the entire trip, until the last day, Friday, I only saw 16 backpacking groups. The trees were huge, and there were so many. The forest was wet and teeming with twisting and bouncy plant life, but I didn’t feel oppressed or too humid. The trail was well maintained, and the river was usually within hearing.

Huge Trees!

Massive dead log in River:

At Olympus Station Island Campground, I set up camp with three other groups of campers. We camped on a sandy outcropping, right next to the river. The water was soothing and calm. My helinox zero chair was great comfort. I ate my hot food, and sat and watched the river flow under the shadow of the twilight clouds.

Olympus Station Island campground:

Day 2

The next day I headed out at 9am, quite late. I was going to take it slow, it was 3 miles flat, and then 3.5 miles up. The way up was well marked, and the trail was fine, but it was a steep up. The wetness of the forest started to thin out, and the ground of the forest sections became more sparse. The trees became smaller, but the beauty of the forest was still there, and it was still clearly the Olympics.

Last place where the trail meets the base river, and then turns up:

Bridge over chasm:

At the bridge, the sun shone through the sky. Far far away, I could see the high route Bailey Traverse going around the edge of the mountain ridge. Some day perhaps. I stayed on the bridge for 20 minutes. The water below was strong and deep, but the sound was faint. The sun was warm. The bridge wood smelled nice. My sweat was drying out. I was careful to not drop anything down. I was very scared to take photos on the bridge. At this point, two older hikers (50s) came up. I would be passing them, and they would be passing me for until we reached Elk Lake. They would be rushing the final destination by camping at the High Meadows.

Elk Lake is not pretty. The campground near it is also nasty. The camping area proper is tight, with lots of fallen or about to fall trees. This campground is also overcrowded. People also don’t know how to use a bear hang properly. (This is why I always use a bear can, even if not required, simply because it keeps the smell tightly hidden, and my Bearikade type can has never failed before over twenty years of production and use by other campers and professionals. Also it’s a nice stool/footrest).

I was distraught at having to camp with a bunch of frat bros who kept yelling and partying. So I decided to look around. Luckily I found a spot along the side of a ridge, enough for one small tent. A mom and son were camped there, and they offered the spot to me, as they had just come back from the Glacier, and were leaving. They said to me, are you going up now? It was 3pm. I said no, why rush? They smiled and said, yes, you are totally right, those frat bros who just went up are crazy, what’s the point of going up if you don’t sit and enjoy it?

I sat around and read The Grand Sophy. Then dinner, then sleep. During the night I heard some stomping, it was a bear. But it sniffed my tent and then left.

Elk Lake:

Day 3

This was the day. The entire trip planned around this goal. I left at 8, leaving my tent, sleeping bag, bearcan, book, behind. I brought a lot of clothes, some snacks, and the chair. Elk Lake didn’t have good water (the lake is nasty) so I started up with only 1 liter. Luckily, just 20 minutes into the climb, there was a clean stream. I filled up to my max 4 liter capacity. The rest of the way up was just a slog. The first section along the various stream gullies and exposed areas were somewhat annoying: the ferns were overgrown and some of the gully crossings were washed out. But nothing dangerous. At one point I heard a bear, but it ran away in the ferns. Finally, I arrived at the ridgeline, which was very sketch. The trail was only two feet wide, and the drop was steep and long. Along the ridge I met an old lady (60s?) who was zooming! There were also some incredible views here. Then came the big danger: the ladder of doom.

From the sketch ridge, looking towards Mt Tom and White Glacier:

Ladder of Doom:

This was the ladder that the ranger warned about. I had brought tactical gloves specifically for it. It was a very steep, 45 degree, maybe more, descent down a dirt gully, 100 feet. The area had washed out in a massive flood/mudslide more than 15 years ago. I slid down the gully, while keeping my left hand on the ladder wire. My pants got very dirty and so did my bag. But I made it. My body took no damage. It was quite dangerous, but also very exciting. I felt like my skill and mental steadfastness were paying off. My planning was working. And in any case, I knew I had to make it. There was no turning back. If I turned back, how could I live up to myself? If two old men could make it, if an old lady could make it, then I had to make it. I had already come 20 miles deep into the forest, I had to go to the end. So I did. As I climbed back up the other side, the two old men who I was thinking of as encouragement suddenly appeared! They said, you made it across! Yes I did.

The section through the Meadows campground was quick. I reached the exposed rock line. This was the final trail up to the glacier moraine ridge. It was tough. An hour of up. But my body wasn’t in pain. I made it up quickly. It got windier and windier. It got colder and colder. Then I crested the final ridge. No, it couldn’t be. It was there. It was beautiful. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. I was in tears, cried like I don’t know since when. But it was tears of joy; and now the Emptiness gone. My first multi day long backpacking trip, and all alone! All alone, all alone! No one to cover for me, no one to boost my morale, no one else to talk to. I was alone on the ridge. How can I describe that feeling, the feeling of having made it to such a terrific and beautiful and alien place, yet also a place that was home beyond home? So echoingly alone, yet finally one? So desolately dead rock, yet with a pulse of living water? All the strands of myself were now in one place, wound together in that very place, in that very present. There, the Olympic Mountains, and Blue Glacier, snow and clouds, in front of me.

Blue Glacier:

Snow Dome:

Towards the Blue Valley:

I walked to the end of the ridge, and set up my viewing outpost. The clouds darted in and out, and from 11:45am-2pm I had beautiful shifting views of the namesake of the Olympics. The wind was cold cold cold, so I put on all my layers. And it was still cold. I took so many photos, too many haha. I peeked around at everything with my 8*25 Steiner compact binoculars. The time passed and passed, but there was no time for me. Only now.

Finally the clouds rolled in and at 2:15pm two mountaineers, Brian of Mt Baker and Chabert? of Moab appeared. They said to me, oh, we thought we were alone. I said, well you are not now. They asked me how long I had been there. Since 11am. Wow. Do you have photos of the glacier? Yea, here. They took photos of my photos, and then thanked me. They descended down the ridge into the deep scree and glacial rock, using my photos as routefinding. At this point, around 3:00pm, Cameron and his dad Bob, and another person whose name I forget, came by. Have you just been sitting here all day? Pointing at my chair. Since 11. Oh man you’ve been here a while huh, Was it this cloudy all day? No, it was clear for about 2 and a half hours. Oh man we missed it huh? Yes, but I have photos. Wow.

So the four of us sat and watched Brian and Chabert clamber over the glacier, trying to guess what route they would take. Bob predicted the routes accurately, and he joked that he should go take a mountaineering class. He really wanted to do it. I didn’t think they would actually go on the glacier, given that it was already in mid afternoon, and also the clouds had rolled in fully, and that just before they went on the glacier there was a massive 15 second long thundering of falling rock and ice. But Brian and Chabert did it.

Fully clouded:

Brian and Chabert on Blue Glacier:

As Brian and Chabert dissappeared into the fog, we decided it was about time to head back down. It was 4pm. I had stayed up there for five hours! An experience I will not soon forget. My main regret was not getting Brian or Chabert’s number, so I could send them the binocular photos of them hopping on the glacier. The memory of my time up there is as vivid and alive as ever.

We descended, and at Meadows Camp junction, Cameron and his dad went on the other viewpoint trail, which was shorter, and at the base of the glacier. I tried to follow them, but realized that it would take another hour to do it. I was too tired. Also it was getting very dark, and I knew my speed would not be adequate, whereas Cameron and Bob were extremely fast hikers. So I turned around and headed back. Back at the ladder of doom, I was very scared. The ascent would be a climb up the ladder, and boy did it seem a lot steeper now. Luckily, a mom (50s) and her two kids (20s) just made it to the top. I yelled at them to watch for me, and they were nice enough to do so. I took very slow and deliberate steps, my pace was very slow. I was hugging the ladder extremely close. My gloves and arms were tight around the bars. A few times, my calves were cramping, and my thighs were tight from the very steep lunges upwards I had to make. Near the top, the ladder started losing tension against the ground, due to the anchor location. The final few feet required me to hop off and establish a foothold in the dirt. That was the scariest part. At this point I was nearly crawling. The family was giving me advice, telling me to be careful, telling me where to step. Finally, I made it. They patted me on my back and led me to a flat rock. I sat down, half panicking.

The way back to Elk Lake was uneventful. I often stopped to look again at the big trees that I would probably not see again for many decades. Our life, a long time to us, but passing by them, but a blip of a percentage of a shadow of their exsistence, those big trees, looking down at me, wondering why I was there, what I was doing, why I lived so rushedly (relatively speaking). I got some water at the stream before returning to my tent. I had a big dinner. Then Cameron and Bob, as they were coming back down, happened upon my hidden spot! We had a nice chat, I got their numbers.

Cameron and Bob, with two big rocks they carried from the top, because they love to bring back a big rock from every trip:

Then I went to sleep. Around midnight, there was loud pots clanging and yelling, I learned later that there was two black bears maurading the main camp. But I never felt them come near me. Another score for the Bearikade type canister. Much better. However, the night was very cold, it was getting colder, and my 45F North Face Sleeping bag wasn’t doing it anymore. I spent the night shivering, and only got 4 hours of sleep. Luckily, The Grand Sophy kept me company, and I finished the book at 4am.

Day 4

I had planned to stay another night, but I knew it would only get colder. So I left early, at 6am, and made it my plan to rush back to the car. It would be a 16 mile day. I was very fast going down, I did the 3.5 miles in less than two hours. My body was sore, but I just kept going. I only stopped at Olympus Station to get more water from the river where I camped on the first night. While I was there, I saw a rainbow. I was all alone.

Olympus Station:

Rainbow at Olympus Campground!

I sat around in the small drizzle, and refreshed myself. I washed my feet in the cold water. Then I kept going.
Eventually, I made it to Five Mile Island Campground. There was a bunch of people here, and the sun was shining brightly, finally. The river here was very shallow, and I set up a small outpost and went walking in the river. It was very very cold. Afterwards, I came back up to my outpost and lay on the ground, and took a two hour nap under the sun. I needed this rest badly. This was a beautiful spot. I wonder what Olympus Station would have been like if there had been sun.

At Five Mile Island:

Finally, I walked the last five miles back to the car. By this point I was very very sore. I met many many backpackers along the way , who were going in. This was a lesson learned again: beware of weekends, there are way too many people. Fridays and Saturdays are the worst.

Going home:

I breathed relief as I finally got to the visitor center. I sat on a bench thinking what I had just done! When suddenly, Cameron and Bob appeared! It turns out they had just made it half an hour ago, and were buying stickers from the visitor center! They were very delighted to see me, and so I them. We chatted again a bit, and I told them of my sleeping bag plight. It was good fun. Going back to the car I saw a big elk. It looked at me, and then ran away. I commenced the drive home. On the way, I listened to the album, Long Time Coming. The song, I think, that exmplified the trip, was At the End of the Rainbow.

Since I had gotten out late, I didn’t stop anywhere to get snacks or gas. I rushed to the ferry, passing all the beautiful places like Lake Crescent, places that I knew I had to come back to see. I got to the ferry at 9:30pm, in time to catch the second last ferry, which was quite empty. Very lucky. And to my surprise, I saw Cameron and Bob again!! From Kingston I made it back to Edmonds.

Second deck of the nearly empty ferry:

I arrived home at 11pm. What an adventure!