I was in the mood for some redemption from a previous trip that didn't go as planned. So I asked a old hiking partner if he would like some time on his legs. Being that he was looking for some training as well. He agreed to join me on an adventure that would be full of weather changes, critters and seclusion. All ingredients for an epic weekend.
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| Elwha River under fresh snow |
The
weather forecast called for rain the first part of the day. Then a cold front was to move in turning over to three days of snow. So armed with ponchos and cold weather gear. We were departed the trailhead by late morning. With minimal cars in the parking lot. We knew we would have the whole valley to ourselves and we were right. Complete solitude for hundreds of square miles.
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| Poncho hiking |
Shortly after we departed. Heavy rains began to drop down through the trees. Having a
trusty poncho in these conditions I feel is a must. The trail was completely saturated with Mud and Water the first 14 miles. Reminded me of walking on a wet sponge.
After arriving at our camp destination. We went out for a bit of exploring. It was impressive to see all the water moving through the area and Olympic Elk sign.
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| Elkhorn |
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| Into the Elwha |
I slept like a baby on my new
Exped UL 7 sleeping pad. I woke up around a hour before sun up to use the bathroom to sound of raindrops. By the time I woke up just after sunrise, I opened my eyes to baby powder like snow all over the forest. Watching the soft stuff fall was very peaceful.
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| Elkhorn's blessing |
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| Peaking to the river |
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| Photo by R. Merf |
After a hot meal in the belly. We continued to hike upriver. The trail would lead us deeper into the Olympic National Park. Snow depths in all the mountain passes keep backpackers out of the surrounding trails. This is one of the benefits of hiking in river valley's when snow is still falling.
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| Many streams to cross |
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| Heading up the Elwha |
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| Remanns Cabin |
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| Elwha river under winter |
A few miles up river we ended up coming across bobcat tracks that were a few hours old. We ended up tracking the little guy all the way to our campsite for the night. In fact I put down my sleeping bag over the very spot.
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| Few hour old Bobcat prints |
Originally we planned to hike five miles more upriver for the night. With the current amount of fresh snow falling and knee deep old stuff, we decided that it would be best if we called it a day. I am confident that it was the right thing to do. I was just happy to be so far up the Elwha valley.
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| The deserted Hayes River RS |
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| Photo by R. Merf
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Shortly after we started pulling shelters out of our backpacks. The weather started to turn. As it warmed up all the snow begun to to fall out of the trees in the form of shush-bombs. Once the shelters were up it turned to heavy rains. We ended my huddled up under a tarp shelter until dark.
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| Tarp refuge |
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| My view for the next 5 hours |
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| Warming up the Cat Stove |
The next morning as the rains have tapered down I unzipped my bag; just as daylight peeked into the forest. I saw it as the best opportunity to break camp before breakfast. I was in need of a hot meal after a night of very heavy rains. Nothing like the deafening sound of water pounding on the tarp to help you sleep.
As I fired up my camp stove. I looked up and what did i see?
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| More Big Flakes ! |
After shaking out our gear best we could. Not wanting to take home extra water weight. We departed our upriver camp and headed back down stream. Just as the flakes turned back to rain. Slushfest number two started, but this time not as bad.
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| Happy Tree |
After a few hours of rain. We were finally blessed with some sun; which made it a real nice hike out.
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| Peaceful trail |
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| Natures transition |
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| Spring fights off winter |
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| Warm my soul |
On the way out we had another trail friend; this time the biggest Mountain Lion print I've ever seen in the Park. As we went down the trail the tracks got more fresh. I figured taking its time marking the trail every mile or so; Judging by the scratch marks seen. Something like that is better than coffee. Watching the Forest for any type of movement.
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| Big Mountain Lion print |
We made good time coming out. Which is usually the case the last day when the packs are at there lightest. So we held a good pace all afternoon. The sun really recharged our mental battery's.
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| Photo by R. Merf
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| Vibram Five Finger Seeya's are tired |
Featured:
Vibram Seeya; which I wore on this Elwha Valley trip.
Overview: If you couldn't tell by now. I have an Elwha obsession. It holds a place in my heart. Especially the last 15 miles of the valley. Any time I can get in there in the winter; I feel very blessed. Overall it was a good trip. Practice pitching an ultralight tarp in falling snow and heavy rains. Got lots of fresh air. Seen some kitty and Olympic Elk prints. Sadly all of them managed to escape our cameras.
Disclaimer: Train your feet to be strong and for Winter Conditions before attempting this. Do all of these things listed above at your own risk. It takes years of properly conditioning your feet to Barefoot Backpacking in winter.
Updated in 2025 by
Barefoot Jake