Bailey Traverse? - Looking for information

[Kraken]

I did Mount Carrie last year from Sol Duc. We camped at Heart Lake and my buddy told me about the Bailey Traverse and how cool it would be to do a 7 day trek. I want to do it this summer but need more information. My Olympic Park book is down in Washington.

 

Who's done it or has any info.

 

Let me know what you thought of it, where you camped after Heart lake, etc.

 

thanks

[k.rose]

There is an outstanding tent site for two on the ridge crest about 50 feet south of the summit of Mt. Carrie, with an early start it is reachable from Solduc road in a long day. Way nicer than anything in the Solduc park Hart lake area.

[dkemp]

Did it a few years ago - great route. Camped first night at Heart Lake - had breakfast with bears. Camped second night on snow just, er, dont have my map with me... just east of Carrie summit I think. Camped next night at a lake below Stephen Peak - beautiful there. After that Ferry Lake area I think, then Dodwell-Rixon, then Low Devide.

 

We went in early September. We think we saw 13 different bears - cant say for sure as I'm a layperson about bears but we were trying and we think we saw 13 different individuals. Watched one bear climb the Fairchild Glacier, jumping little crevasses as he climbed.

 

Got mixed up in whiteout at Dodwell-Rixon Pass area. Be good with map & compass skills or dont go on Bailey Range traverse.

 

Coming down Elwha Snowfinger will get your full attention - all part of the fun. 'Nuff said about that.

 

Have fun, take pictures!

[Kraken]

Awesome! Thanks DKemp!

Yeah we did Carrie last summer and we saw SO much wildlife. I've never seen anything like it. We saw 3 bears, several goats and deer (they came right up to our tent), all kinds of birds, marmots, frogs, etc. It was incredible.

 

goat in camp at Heart Lake

http://image12.webshots.com/12/7/11/14/170371114fnLKRX_ph.jpg

 

Deer in camp

http://image14.webshots.com/15/7/13/57/170371357wjCBpo_ph.jpg

 

Mr Goat up close

http://image14.webshots.com/15/7/13/88/170371388OOvDuH_ph.jpg

Edited May 17, 2005 by Clintoris

[dkemp]

Links give:

 

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /12/7/11/14/170371114fnLKRX_ph.jpg on this server.

Apache/2.0.40 Server at image12.webshots.com Port 80

 

Bummer...

[graywolf]

Did the Bailey Range back in September 1976 before it became really popular. Went in via the Soleduc, down the range, traversed over Mt. Olympus, down the Hoh to the Olympus Guard Station, then up the Hoh Lake trail to the High Divide and down the Deer Lake trail back to the car. All in 6 & 1/2 days. First camp on the trail a couple of hours from the car. Second camp on the side of Cat Peak (I think it's called Bear Grass Meadow). Third camp at Cream Lake. Fourth

was a bivy at the foot of the Humes Glacier. Fifth at Glacier Meadows. Sixth at Olympus Guard Station. Still stands out as one of the best trips of my life.

[inslomo]

I don't have too much to add to what these other folks have already told you about the Bailey Range Traverse. I have done that trek a bunch of times in different variations since '69 (including a solo ski traverse in the spring of '92.) The usual camping spots on the full regular traverse (Soleduck to Elwha Basin, etc) might be Cat Basin, "Eleven Bull Basin," Cream Lake, upper Queets Basin, Elwha Basin, and anywhere down the Elwha valley trail. I guess it all depends on how fast the party hikes and what the weather is like. I second the advice on knowing your map-and-compass stuff well, in case you find yourself in the clouds. There are also fun peaks to scramble up along the way if there's time.

 

Hopefully, you'll get a chance to see some Olympic elk while backpacking through that high country. The high points of some of my trips in the Olympics have been seeing elk, occasionally in big herds and with some large bulls. Those bulls could be called the monarchs of the Olympics and if you're in the right place at the right time in the high country in late summer/early fall, you'll hear them "bugling" in the course of the mating season. Ages ago (mainly in the '40s,) a fellow named Herb Crisler and his wife Lois used to hike the Bailey Range, making films of the elk and other wildlife in the mountain splendor. A good book about their adventures is "Beyond the Trails: with Herb and Lois Crisler in Olympic National Park" by Francis E. Caldwell.

[DonnV]

I'll toss in one more suggestion. I also did the traverse back in the mid-70's, and finished by coming out the Dosewallips trail. Very memorable trip. Years later my wife and I did a loop from Lake Quinault, hiking the Skyline Trail to Low Divide, then down the river trail back to Lake Quinault. The Skyline Trail would be an outstanding way to finish the Bailey Traverse. Not an easy trail - lots of up and down - but incredibly scenic, with great campsites, and not heavily used. About the best way to stay up high for as long as possible while leaving the range.

 

Have a great trip! Well worth doing.

[Kraken]

Awesome! Thanks for the info so far guys! It is really helpful. It will help me plan my route/camp locations better.

 

Just so I know for sh!ts and giggles, how many miles does it average out to be? Not like it really matters. I'd assume it's 70-80 at least?

 

Ironically (but luckily) enough, there is hardly any info about this hike when I search for it in google.

[Kraken]

Hey guys, I still want to do this traverse, I'm thinking sometime around August 1st. Problem is I don't have a partner, is anyone down to do a Bailey Traverse Trek with me?

 

Let me know.

[tshimko]

I've done the Bailey range several times since the late 80's, last time 2 years ago. Favorite is Soleduc to Soleduc via Bailey to upper Queets basin, thence west to the Humes glacier, across the Hoh glacier, traverse all three peaks of Olympus, down Blue glacier, down to Hoh river, to Hoh lake, back to Soleduc.

 

Just one piece of advice. Avoid Cream lake (buggy, marshy) and instead cross ridge to pass by (and camp by) Stephen lake, a beautiful alpine lake. Saw a herd of 75+ elk there once while camping. Traverse north then east of Stephen pk (short romp up that peak along the way) then drop into Ferry basin.

 

PM me if you want to discuss more. It's my favorite place.

[WhiteHatHIker]

I put together a Herb and Lois Crisler web site that has a page dedicated to Herb's shelters along the Bailey Range. If you have any photos of his shelters that you would be willing to share please contact me. Thank You.

 

 

Go to this link and click on "Shelters"

http://www.waltjames.freeservers.com/Crislers/CrislerIndex.htm