Big Creek

On a mostly cloudy day, I decided to hike the Big Creek Loop Trail in the southern Olympics (5.4 mile loop with about 1,000 ft of gain), I also added hiking up the Elinor Connector Trail to the junction with the Lower Mt Elinor Trailhead. Overall, 7.8 miles with 2,000 ft gain. In the winter, parking is outside the closed gate to the Big Creek Campground. 

I did the loop clockwise, which starts along the campground loop. A lovely forest.

From the Campground Loop, the Big Creek Loop takes off to the left, going over Big Creek on this bridge.

View upstream from the bridge with a distant Mount Washington.

zoom of Mount Washington

view downstream from the bridge

Looking across Big Creek to the Campground Loop Trail

This is a great trail with lots of benches along the way.

lots of lovely moss

View of the bridge over the North Branch of the Big Creek as I start up the Elinor Connector Trail.

North Branch of the Big Creek a short ways up the Elinor Connector Trail.

About a mile up the connector trail is a short spur trail to an overlook.

View from the Overlook. Clouds covered Lake cushion, but through the trees I could see Mt Adams and Mt Rainier in the distance.

zoom of Mt Adams

zoom of Mt Rainier

As it was only 0.2 miles to the junction with the Lower Mount Elinor trail, so I headed up there before turning back to rejoin the Big Creek Loop Trail.

A short ways down from the junction with the Lower Mount Elinort Trail junction, I had this view of the foothills to the north.

unnamed creek

Back on the Big Creek Loop Trail, the bridge over the North Branch of Big Creek

North Branch of Big Creek upstream from the bridge

Bridge over Big Creek

Big Creek upstream from the bridge

more streams

and bridges

I liked this bridge, wrapped around a huge boulder

I took this short spur down to another area along Big Creek

















There was a bench with this view of the confluence of the North Branch of Big Creek and Big Creek

Skinwood Creek

Bridge over Skinwwod Creek

more creeks

and bridges

Back down on the Campground Loop Trail

The sun lit up the dried ferns near the end of the loop.

some of the fungi along the trail

 

Koppen Mountain

A beautiful day today with the lots of snow melt in the Teanaways, so we drove up to hike up Koppen Mountain. (7.2 miles with 2,300 ft of elevation gain). We didn't see another hikers on the trail today.

Trail stars along the DeRoux Trail and crosses the North Fork of the Teanaway River 0.2 miles in. Esmeralda Peaks in the background.

There were several downed trees on the trail, but they weren't too difficult to go over, under or around.

DeRoux Creek

We saw what looked like cougar tracks and, 

wolf tracks in the snow.

animal tracks heading up the switchbacks

Fresh snow with no prints as we continue up the switchbacks.

View from the pass to the southwest

View of Hawkins Mountain, Esmerelda Peaks and Mount Stuart along the ridge.

Pano to the north of the ridge including the above peaks, and towards the east: Teanaway Peak and Iron Peak

Mount Stuart as seen through a snag

Deeper snow going up the north slope of Koppen Mountain

Happy hiker on top of Koppen Mountain

Mt Daniel and other peaks in the distance to the northwest

pano to the south from Koppen Mountain

Heading back down from Koppen Mountain

We enjoyed the views to the north as we continued down from Koppen Mountain

Fungi along the trail today: