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8.4.2009 | Skyline Trail, Quinault
Day 1: QuinaultWest ForkElip Creek Camp Let's keep a list:
Tom bought a Platypus water filterno moving parts. Warm80s, clear skies. Hot in the sun but the shade is cool. Still warm tonight. We've pulled part of the rainfly off for ventilation. Bought a mirror at Bartells but forgot it in the car, apparently. Low forest river valley with tall ferns. This is the trail I hiked to meet Gator so long ago. I forgot it was 16 miles. A lot of washouts, more than I remember. But it's been 21 years.
Day 2: Three Prunes Camp Hot early. No clouds. Route: straight up the ridge alongside Elip creek. About one-quarter to one-third of the way up, I was attacked by bees. Three stings on my lower legs, two through socks and onethe worston the bare calf. I was afraid afterward for a few hours. Bugs are everywhere! Mostly flies but mosquitos too. And bees. I never imagined so many different types of flies! Some big as quarters. Way was a long haul through forest and then subalpine forest, where the trees weren't tall enough to create shade. HOT! We ran out of water and were worried because we hadn't seen any streams. So when we finally found a little rivulet we dug out the filter and filled up all the way. We saw Mt. Seattle in the distance and a forest fire burning behind it. Hikers we saw at Elip Creek who had come from Low Divide said lightning touched it off. We decided to go to Three Prunes even though another hiker said that Reflection Lake was way better. Three Prunes is in the direction we're headed, so we took a chance. Better not to have to backtrack. At the camp, we found two guys resting in the only camp spot. They saw us and set up tents. We settled on a clearing nearby that is comfy but lacks logs for seating. You have to be in the tent to escape the bugs. It's the only way. We've totally abandoned the rainfly. I can't remember a time I slept in a tent without the rainfly! List:
Day 3: Three Lakes Today's list:
We woke in the sunshine and bugs. Hauled the kitchen into the shade, made breakfast. I pulled apart my pack to make a day pack and we left at 9:15 for the Skyline, giving ourselves four hours out and back. It was up, buggy, and hot, and when the trail finally veered to the north side of the ridge we basked in the coolness. We didn't make it to Mt. Kimta, and thus views of Mt. Olympus eluded us another year. But we did find a comfortable, breezy place on the rocky shoulder of one of the peaks south of Kimta where we sat for a long time eating lunch and enjoying the view. Then a hot descent to camp. We were weary from the distance and the heat when we returned. And we were out of waternot a drop of water along the ridge. Our camp was entirely exposed in the noon sunshine and bugs swarmed. We dragged our Thermarests into the only camp spot, where there was some shade, and snacked and rested. At 3:30 we packed up everything and left. A hot walk, 4.5 miles to Three Lakes. We traveled back the way we came the day before, and at the junction with the Elip Creek Trail, we turned to go up. A saddle at 4000 feet held a fantastic view of the entire ridgeline, all the length we'd walked that morning and the meadow where we had camped. We could see the range of peaks that flank Olympus, still dappled with snow. We descended into beautiful lake-filled meadows, first one that dropped to another. Then we descended again to a low forest and into the shade. We became weary and impatient and had to stop to sit once. My half-marathon trainings and regular walking to work are really paying off. I'm tired, but not overexerted. We found camp in a clearinga shelfholding three small lakes. Frogs abound among the beautiful grasses and flowers. The outlets from the lakes funnel into shoots that become narrow and tall waterfalls that drop into the unseeable valley below. Gorgeous! Tomorrow, we hike seven miles out.
Day 4: Out Bright and sunny morning. We saw our first plane in days and it was leaving contrails across our unbroken sky. We packed up in the dew, refreshed, and started down. Just below the shelf, the forest cover started, followed soon by a descent into low cloud cover. Things cooled considerably. The trail was steep and going down was careful and slow. The trail switchbacked. At a bridge across a small but vigorous river, we stopped for snacks. We estimated it was about halfway. Everything was damp. We walked and tired and continued to descend. When at last the ground evened out, we began to encounter day hikers, eager for news of what lie ahead. We didn't disappoint, in our conversation or appearance. I felt like we were part of the wildlife they'd come to see, sweaty panting beings emerging from heights and depths they wouldn't see. "You did the loop!" they said.
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