I spent the long Veteran’s Day weekend at the Moclips beach cabin and while there I debated which nearby hikes to do. A repeat like Colonel Bob’s Peak or Irely Lake? Obviously there would be no shortage of beach rambles but with only one non-rainy day in the forecast it felt important to get out into the woods.
Although the weather was decent on Friday, the cloud level wasn’t ideal for summit views and Irely was not calling my name so I decided to check out a new one, the Queets River Trail, which is a bit north of the Quinault area.
When my husband proposed to me, he did it with a little REI flair. It included this collection along with a Green Trails map of the Queets. He said he picked it because he was looking for a long rambling river that might be a metaphor for our marriage-to-be.
We’ve talked more than a few times about taking a backpacking trip out there but the stars have not aligned yet, so the map sits rolled up with the water bottle on the shelf denied its potential adventure.
So, as a small way of moving closer to that adventure I decided to check out the trail area and the well known river ford that is needed to access most of the trail. I didn’t have intentions of crossing since I was solo and that seemed like a lot of effort for a day hike. This would be more of a scouting mission.
The beginning of the Queets River Trail starts with a significant river crossing where the Queets is met by the Sams River. I figured how bad could it be after all the fords I did on the Timberline Trail? I was going to find out.
The mostly paved access was nice and once I turned onto the gravel Queets River Road I stopped a few times to pick up 1-2″ diameter branches blocking the road but .4 miles from the campground I met a trunk that was just going to have to stay. It was about waist high on one end and knee high on the other, more of an axe or chainsaw job than my Big Boy. Even a shovel would have been better.
So, I opted to drive back to the “ranger station” and take the loop trail along the Queets to get to the confluence of Queets and Sams. I put that in quotation marks because although there is a sign, there is no building. Just a parking area, fence and meadow. My guess there used to be a temporary structure that went up in the summer.
This trail is labeled as the Sams Loop Trail by ONP (also on GAIA). I thought the section of trail I walked along the Queets River was lovely and does make for a great example of the rainforest, including the very infamous spiderwebs. The bonus was no crowds!
I also spotted evidence of the elk that are known to roam in the Olympics.
There were several viewpoints out to the river and it was hard to fathom there was a ford at some point.
Sections of the trail are precariously close to the river bank, I can imagine it won’t be long before they are sloughed off into the river.
There were also a few times the trail was but 30 feet or so from the road, this spot was just a bit before where the downed tree blocked my access to the trailhead.
The trail came out to the road just before the campground and I opted to go to the confluence first.
Reading a past trip report on Washington Trails Association that recommended turning onto the Sams Loop Trail at the trailhead and take a spur out to the rivers, I did that.
It was a bit of a walk out, GAIA had me already across the Sams by the time I reached the bank of the river proper. From here, it looked like a mix of fording and rock bars but I could see the flagging on the other side where one would be aiming for.
Of course as soon as I arrived, I needed to use the facilities. While back up on the Sams Loop Trail and then off trail a bit, a helicopter flew in and circled the confluence for a few minutes as if looking for something before flying off again downriver. My imagination had me hoping there wasn’t a fugitive on the loose like Tommy Lee Jones hunting for Harrison Ford.
Back at the river I had a snack and pondered how I was here at this particular confluence because of my husband’s thoughtful engagement gift metaphor. Then I began to think of the crossing as a new metaphor: was marriage a confluence? The whole two become one, creating something bigger and stronger than the two separate entities? The analogy wasn’t perfect, often it is a smaller river flowing into a large one, such as in the case of the Sams becoming a part of the Queets. And the Queets is not monogamous, it has other tributaries such as the Clearwater and Salmon Rivers. But the Queets is definitely a stronger river for the addition of the Sams.
Nonetheless, the metaphor had me wondering how were the hubs and I doing more than 6 years into our own confluence. Had my husband’s comparison of our marriage as a long rambling river been prophetic? Or was it still too early to tell? We humans and our desire to use nature as comparison for our own lives.
Afterwards, I walked along the bank pondering where I would cross if I was of the mind and decided the best crossing is close to where the trail is marked on the map. It would be the most direct and mostly rock bars.
It was clear there wasn’t a path back up to the trailhead from here due to past erosion so I continued downriver along the bank until I saw flagging on the left and a trail that took me up behind the kiosk at the trailhead.
Instead of finishing the Sams Loop, I opted to cruise through the campground for a looksee and take the road back. It was empty and quiet and I packed out someone’s beer cans and decomposing store bought flower bouquet. Queets is first come, first serve and while busy in the summer, would probably make for a great winter getaway as it is open year round (barring downed trees).
Strangely the privy door was just a bit ajar and a pair of large black slides (prison slippers?) sat abandoned. Fueling my imagination, I yelled out hello and thankfully there was no answer or noise so I continued on my way.
Passing the roadblock I could hear someone on the Sams Loop Trail to my right but other than that, I didn’t see anyone. Yes, I noticed that they were wearing a light blue puffy, definitely not escapee attire.
The meadow at the ranger station area was sun filled and I packed out the matching cardboard carton for the beer cans I had in my pack. I checked out a mesh that covered a section of the meadow, maybe this is where they would install the ranger station? A yurt maybe? Or is this a remnant of when the area was once a homestead?
All-in-all a interesting adventure and I could report back to the hubs that I thought the river ford was doable. Who would want to make plans and drive all the way out here only to be thwarted by a river crossing? Hopefully the he and I will be back someday with our “confluenced” butts to check out the trail together.
And what do you think? Is marriage a confluence?
You can find out more about the Queets area on the National Parks Service website, they have a detailed brochure. You can learn more about the Quinault Indian Nation who have been a part of this area for time immemorial. You can also read more about the Sams River Loop here or how the Sams is vital to the habitat of wild runs of salmon here.
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Not a totally insane idea, “We humans and our desire to use nature as comparison for our own lives.” Emerson wrote that nature is a metaphor for human life. I think he got it backwards.