Hoh River Backpack trip

 We went on a 5 day backpacking trip along the Hoh River Trail, with side trips up to the Blue Glacier on Mt Olympus and up to Hoh Lake and Bogachiel Peak on the High Divide above 7 Lake Basin. About 55 miles and 9,000+ ft of elevation gain. We had great weather, saw lots of wildflowers, waterfalls and wildlife along with gorgeous scenery.

 Day 1: we started at the beginning of the Hoh River Trail and hiked out to Lewis Meadow 10.5 miles with 420 ft of elevation gain.












Part of the trail was close to the Hoh River















There were lots of gorgeous trees.

 There were lots of ferns and moss seemed to be everywhere.

 There were a few snakes underfoot.

 we saw some waterfalls up the side creeks

 At 5 miles, we took the short side track to 5 mile island

 Here there were beautiful views of the river and mountains.

 And an opportunity to soak our feet in the cold water.

 Back on the trail, we had several stream crossings.

We set up camp at Lewis Meadows, a beautiful spot along the Hoh River.

 Day 2: We packed up camp and headed out to set up camp at Elk Lake, then continue up to the Blue Glacier and return to Elk Lake for the night. This would be 12.5 miles and 4,120 ft of elevation gain.  The hike to Elk Lake continued along the Hoh River Trail for 4.5 miles, the first 2 miles nice and flat, before gaining 1,520 ft to Elk Lake

 We hiked over the High Hoh Bridge,

 crossing over the Hoh River far below,

 where it joins Glacier Creek down stream.

 After the High Hoh Bridge, the trail begins it climb in the forest to Elk Lake.

 We set up camp at Elk Lake and took a lunch break, before taking lighter packs up to the Blue Glacier (another 4 miles and 2,600 ft of elevation gain)

 We crossed a few creeks with some nice cascades


















As the trail climbed, we began to get views of the snow capped peaks along Glacier Creek

 Lots of recent snow melt filling the creeks


















The trail became steep and crossed some scree fields

 We began to see part of Mt Olympus

 When we reached the avalanche chute, there was a 65 foot hanging ladder to descend (the trail has been washed away)

We took our time going down, one at a time

 We then went up the ravine in the avalanche chute to reconnect with the trail

 We took a break in the emergency shelter at the Glacier Meadow Camp, a nice cool forest.

 We headed up to the Lateral Moraine trail

 There were lots of avalanche lilies and other wildflowers in bloom at

 Glacier Meadows

 We found fresh snow melt water at the bottom of a snow field.

 We used our microspikes to climb up the snow field

 all that was left was to climb up the lateral moraine













for a gorgeous view of Mt Olympus and the Blue Glacier

Pano at the Blue Glacier: Mount Mathias; East Peak, Middle Peak and West Peak of Mount Olympus

 After enjoying the views, it was time to head back to camp at Elk Lake (4 miles), but first we had to climb up the loose ladder at the avalanche chute

Day 3: a light day. We slept in, packed up camp and hiked back down to Lewis Meadows to set up camp for 2 nights. 4.5 miles with 1,520 ft of descent!!!

















 There were some ripe huckleberries to enjoy along the trail.

We did some camp chores and spent a nice relaxing afternoon.

Day 4: a day hike up to Hoh Lake and Bogachiel Peak and back 7.5 miles up 4,434 ft of elevation gain, and then the 7.5 miles back down to camp. We hiked 0.8 mile along the Hoh River Trail to reach the Hoh Lake Trail. The first part of the Hoh Lake Trail was a nice, easy flat walk in the rain forest.

 But we were soon hiking up switchbacks in the foggy forest.

 We would cross about 30+ downed trees on this trail. Besides wildflowers and butterflies, we saw a couple of bunnies cross the trail.

 As we climbed up the ridge, we had nice views of the Hoh River down below with a snowy ridge line in the distance. The trail then had a nice flat section along the ridge in the forest for a mile, before climbing up to

 CB Flats, where the meadow was filled with wildflowers in bloom.

 We crossed Hoh Creek, with a waterfall up stream to reach Hoh Lake in 0.75 mile

 Outlet of Hoh Lake near the campsites


















Pano of Hoh Lake from the shore looking north. We had a nice relaxing lunch break here. Cooled our feet in the lake and watched the fish jump.

 From here, we took the High Divide junction trail that climbs up the ridge behind the lake, gorgeous!

 Stunning views on the connector trail to the High Divide Trail. The Hoh River is seen 4,000 ft below.

 There were a couple of short steep snow fields to cross to get to the catwalk before the High Divide Trail.











Pano from the catwalk looking northwest

 Pano from the catwalk looking southeast

 We headed east on the High Divide Trail for a very short distance for the spur trail up

 to Bogachiel Peak

 Bogachiel Peak is 5,474 ft tall and overlooks the 7 Lake Basin to the north.

We encountered a one horned mountain goat near the summit. A fabulous day, well worth the climb!!!












We hiked the 7.5 miles back down to Lewis Meadows. There were lots of frogs on the trail today.

We returned down to the rain forest, were the evening light was enchanting.

 Day 5: we packed up camp for the last time and hiked the mostly easy downhill 10.5 miles back to the trailhead in the morning. We saw a grouse and a couple of deer as we were hiking out.

 The Hoh River looked a little different under the gray skies.

 Still smiling after our wonderful 5 day trip!
















Some of the wildflowers and other flora we saw along our trip this week: