Miles: 43.3 miles
Elevation Gain/Highest: 15,000ft/6450ft
Maps: National Geographic Olympic National Park, Custom Correct Maiden Peak, Mt. Angeles, Grey Wolf-Dosewallips, Pacific Northwest Trail Section 9: 100d, 105 & 106
Favorite Eats After Hike: Butcher & Baker Provisions, Turnip The Beet, Nourish Sequim, Finn River, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
My hike:
7/27-30/2018 This was my annual hike with my good friend Elizabeth and an alternative to our original plan of heading over to the eastern part of the state. Too hot! So, we took our chances and drove over to the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles to see if we could score some walk-up permits for Olympic National Park. The trick to get there before the door opens at 8am and line up behind the main building.
We planned a four day trip averaging 10 miles a day in a loop from the Deer Park Campground (not to be confused with Deer Lake). I have been wanting to spend some time on the Pacific Northwest Trail that traverses the park and this was going to be the closest I would come this year. The PNT runs from Port Townsend to Cape Alava on the peninsula (starting in Glacier National Park) and once we dropped down from Grey Wolf and headed towards Dose Meadows we would be traveling on it. The main PNT trail goes over Hayden Pass but an alternate travels along Deer Ridge and the trip up to Cameron and Grand Pass would make it possible to experience that route, as well.
It did not disappoint! Although we both agreed it would be better with at least 5 days, our time was filled with astonishment at how diverse this hike was. I thought I knew the Olympic Peninsula but it still had more to teach me.
This was our itinerary and a little about each day.
Day 1: 10 miles (Deer Park to Falls Camp)
We parked our car and were hiking down towards Three Forks around 10:30am. The trail dropped down 3,100 ft in 4.3 miles to a spacious campground where the Grand Creek and Cameron Creek converge. Several foot bridges took us across both and it made for a shady spot to sit for lunch. From here, the trail soon crossed Grey Wolf and followed it for 5.7 miles, gradually gaining 2,000ft before we arrived at our first night’s stay, Falls Camp. A work party was out so the first few miles were clear but we had multiple trees to navigate the rest of the way to camp.
The site had seen some winter damage so there was no bear wire but a downed tree conveniently hung about 15 feet overhead so we could hang our food. The steep riverbank made accessing water a little tricky and the best spot was just a bit further up the trail at Cedar Creek.
Day 2: 11.4 miles (Falls Camp to Dose Meadows)
The trail continued along Grey Wolf and towards Grey Wolf Pass and 2,230ft in gain. We crossed the river multiple times on foot bridges and pushed our way through overgrown trail but it was all worth to hike through the Grey Wolf Basin with its cascading waterfalls and colorful wildflowers.
What we hadn’t anticipated was the exposure and loose rock that made up the final ascent. Luckily we made it the pass before 11am and the real heat of the day. There were a few snowfields to cross but nothing we hadn’t done before. So many peaks on the horizon: Mount Skokomish, Wellesley Peak, Sentinel Peak, Mount Christie, Mount Fromme, Mount Deception and Mount Mystery to just name a few.
Now it was down to the Dosewallips, dropping 2,660 ft on grassy switchbacks as we passed by Mount Deception and Mount Mystery towering overhead. There were multiple streams along the way. We were 7.5 miles into our day and here we would travel 3.9 miles more to Dose Meadows. The trail was overgrown, to say the least, and we stopped at Bear Camp for a snack. This would make a great camp if you wanted to add a day to this itinerary. It was full, though, at 3pm so I’m guessing it is a fairly popular spot. From here to our camp, the trail alternated between brushy and open meadow with Mount Fromme and Sentinel Peak anchoring the ridge of Hayden Pass out in front us.
We made it to camp by 5pm and settled in for the night. There were others campers at the site, the bear wire was in need of repair and the privy needed some serious maintenance. This site sits along the Dosewallips but there is only one spot with access to the water and if someone camps in it (as was the case with us), getting water means walking through someone else’s stuff (especially if they hang their laundry across the trail).
Day 3: 10.9 miles (Dose Meadows to Grand Lake)
The BIG day. There are 3 passes to make it to the camp at Grand Lake. Lost Pass was 958ft of gain in .88 miles on zigzagging switchbacks. Next, Cameron Pass. First it dropped down a couple hundred feet in elevation into the cirque below Lost Peak and come around through the meadow draped slope of Mount Cameron. Then, back up towards Cameron Pass on a trail that didn’t bother with switchbacks as it contoured around to a gain of 1,000ft in about 1 mile to rest at 6,395ft. If you have ever hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and come over Red Pass with Glacier Peak in the background, it was like that. Spectacular! From this viewpoint, I could look across and see the ridge and Grand Pass we still had to go before tonight.
With 2 passes down, we made our way over a few more snowfields and down into the Upper Cameron Basin. If you have hiked the Knife’s Edge in the Goat Rocks, it is similar. There were washouts on this section but nothing too sketchy. This would, also, make a great campsite for an extended version of this trip but, alas, not for us. Cameron Creek snaked through the lush, marshy basin. The trail, then, connected Cameron Creek and a sparkling waterfall before crossing back again. The trail was overgrown and has some blocking debris so look for cairns. If you think you have to walk basically in the creek for a bit, you are correct. Eventually it took up on the left side as we continued along the creek. The trail was so overgrown at times it felt like we were swimming in foliage, it was hard to believe anyone had been through recently.
At 6.3 miles into the day, we came to the junction with Grand Pass at 4,116ft around 2pm. Now we would gain 1,180ft in 1 mile on tight switchbacks but with the hot sun and buzzing black flies. Lovely. By the time we reached the top of the switchbacks and come out into the gorgeous basin below Grand Pass, we still had another 1,087ft to go to reach the pass at 6,383ft for a total gain of 2,267ft.
Up and over and down into Grand Valley we go to camp at Grand Lake. All the lakes in the valley were full with campers and it was easy to see why permits here are harder to get. We intentionally hiked with this being our last night so it would fall on a Sunday and make it easier to get our walk-up permit. We didn’t roll into camp until 7pm so most sites were taken but we weren’t picky and camped in site #1 by the creek. If you stay here, don’t forget to walk past the privy area to a delightful waterfall tucked back in the woods.
Day 4: 11 miles (Grand Lake to Deer Park)
Our last day. The most important thing to know about this day is that the LAST source of water before you get to your car at Deer Park is just a short distance up from Grand Lake. Basically, the last 10.5 miles ARE DRY. So, camel up at the stream before you get up on Lillian Ridge, especially if it is going to be a warm day like it was for us.
The trail left Grand Lake and climbed up out of the valley on more switchbacks along a stream to bring us out on top of the ridge that runs to Obstruction Point. The views went on for miles and this is where for the first time we actually passed more than one person on the trail, including day hikers. In 3.6 miles from Grand Lake we were at the Obstruction Point parking lot and roughly another 1,200ft of gain at 10:45am. 7.4 miles to go.
From here the trail traveled out in the open gaining elevation as it makes its way below Elk Mountain, dropping down and then back up for Maiden Peak before dipping down into a meadow and trees for Green Mountain. At Elk Mountain, we could see back into the Grand Valley where we had started in the morning. I want to mention that there were some sections where the trail was nothing but a thin dent through loose scree on the slope, so stopping to take in the views was imperative!
After rounding Maiden Peak and coming into a meadow area, we could see Hurricane and Klahhane Ridge, as well as the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the distance. The rest of the trail past Green Mountain seemed to take forever and there was one more climb up to the road and trailhead near the ranger station. If I had known better, I would have parked my car here at the beginning and walked to the other side of the campground to avoid the final road walk of about 1 mile. Uphill.
Directions: From HWY 101 west toward Pt. Angeles, follow signs for Deer Park Road (you have to exit right although the road is on the left). If coming from the Wildernesss Information Center in Pt. Angeles after getting permits, you will be heading east and turn right onto Deer Park Road. The road travels 8.7 miles and then 7.1 miles more on a windy gravel road (quite narrow in places but lots of pullouts) to the Deer Park Campground. There is a summer only ranger station located on a side road 1 mile before. There are several places to park (if you are making a loop): at the entrance to the campground, at the Three Forks trailhead by the walk-in campsites or next to the ranger station and the trailhead for Obstruction Point. It just depends on if you want to do a small amount of road walking at the beginning or the end. Overnight permits required and available at the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles.
Click here for more hikes on the Olympic Peninsula. For a post I write about a morning of our hike, read Where Morning Breaks.
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