javman

There's a lot of good, flat, mossy places to setup camp between Slate Creek and the next creek. If you go that far, head into the woods off the south side of the river around Slate Creek, and follow the elk trails. It's rutting season though, so watch out for the big boys. Oh and if you do follow the river past the end of the trail, there's one place (probably about a mile past trail's end) where the river punched through a large chunk of old growth two years ago.. It's easier to stay on the now dry river bed and make the large corner than it is to deal with the downed trees where the river currently flows. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

Thanks Fairweather! Nope, I haven't been to the top of Hoh Peak yet. I took the following pic in July of the south face, at which point I determined that I don't have the skills to make it. I don't have any climbing experience whatsoever, so that dip in the rock is what deters me right now I'm hoping to sign up with the tacoma mountaineers this year to take the basic climbing course.. That seems to be the most recommended way to start? I don't know what the pace of the course is, but I really want to take on Olympus/etc. sometime in the next few years..

Hey Shroom. The S. Fork Hoh trail is one of my favorites, and I do it a couple times a year normally. I've never heard it called the trail that time forgot, but it's fitting so maybe it's referred to as that in a book somewhere. It's a prime example of a coastal rainforest, and there's towering trees along the length of the trail once you pass the park boundary at 0.4 miles in. The trail is easy goin all the way to the end, and very few people go further than that. If the weather is nice and it doesn't rain, the river is fairly easy to cross beyond the trail's end. I've been about 7 miles beyond it. If you want to venture beyond trail's end, I always take my amphibious shoes and hike up the river, crossing as necessary. It seems easier to do this than to venture through the woods... It gets hard climbing over downed trees that have 4+ foot diameters when you're packing a heavy load. Past the trail's end, it's easy going up the river for about 3.5-4 miles, at which point the river takes a bend to the south. At the bend is a pretty nasty box canyon, and you have to find the elk trails in the woods to get around it. But it's a beautiful place. I've been there probably 7-8 times and only seen people past the end of the trail on one occasion, and they said they were headed to the Valhallas.. If you want any more info, let me know. Here's a pic I took of the box canyon about 8 miles in.

hey bremerton john, looks like you guys had an awesome trip.. I've gone up the South Fork many times, and I've seen the Valhallas looming.. I hope someday to have the technical climbing experience necessary for such peaks. Until then I'll stick to the river valleys.. Just out of curiosity, which creek is Valkyrie creek? Is it the one that hits the south fork at about 2100' in elevation, or the one that hits the south fork at about 2700'? Just curious how the terrain on the river is between those points. I've been to about 2000' on the river (10-11 miles in, I believe) and might go further than that someday soon..