Backpacking/scrambling trip suggestions

[Alpinfox]

I'm looking for a backpacking and/or scramble trip. Two days, one night. Doesn't have to be to the top of a mountain, but should be fun, scenic, enjoyable, etc.

 

I've been considering the loop from lake Ozette to the beach (anybody know about camping options there?) or maybe some mellow peak like Mt. Stone. Doesn't have to be in the Olympics, but I'm kinda leaning that way.

 

"Snow camping" is not an option.

[whirlwind]

7lakes baisin loop is pretty sweet, not sure how much snow there is on it though probly will need ax and crampons for the high divide, but i think u can camp low enough as too stay out of the snow

[Alpinfox]

MMMmmm.... Hot springs.....

 

Sounds great, but maybe a little snowy.

 

WTA link

[olyclimber]

The Soleduck hot springs are closed, so the only other hotsprings I believe you have been to. I think you should join me in attempting to complete the Bailey Range traverse in three days.

 

The snow conditions (as you know) are quite thin. Mt. Stone is good for a little scramble...stay up at the Lake of the Angeles it is a cool vantage point up on top if the weater is good.

 

I also think you ought to know about Mike the Headless Chicken.

[Dru]

Are there headless otters?

[mattp]

For backpacking with someone who may not be into mountain climbing and stuff like that, I think the coastal hikes out on the penninsula are very hard to beat. They get popular in the summer, so I wouldn't expect to find privacy out there over, say, July 4 weekend, but in the Spring or Fall you'll be on your own. It is damn nice kayaking out there, too.

 

See if you can hike it opposite another party who does one of the two major hikes (Ozette-Rialto or LaPush-Hoh) from the other direction and trade car keys in the middle somewhere.

 

Both make a great two-day trip, with lots of seafood to be harvested from the tidepools. (The Gooseneck Barnacles, considered a delicacy in Portugal, are my favorite.)

 

You'll want to drive out there the night before, 'cause it is a fairly long drive.

 

The northern strip is rockier and a little tougher overall, while the southern has a couple of creek crossings that can be troublesome in rainy weather.

 

For a single overnight, without the car-shuttle, I'd just go to Rialto and hike north.

[rock-ice]

The most common loop, which I think your refering to fox goes ozette to sandpoint to cape alava to ozette, little less than 10 miles. Senic but it will be crowded on the weekends and you have to carry a bear bucket. You can camp at Sandpoint or Alava. I recommend somewhere in between (fewer crowds), which the forest service doesn't.

 

If your going on a weekend I would recommend one of Matt's suggestions to the south.

[Rad]

Ozette is gorgeous, but a long drive. You can camp out by the coast, or camp at the lake and then hike the loop w/o packs in a leisurely day.

 

The best beach IMHO is N of where the N trail meets the coast.

 

Here are shots from that area to inspire...

 

Olympic dewdrops

 

Ozette from Garden island tree

 

Light in the forest

[nolanr]

Bear buckets nothing, it's the raccoons ya gotta watch out for out there.

[Alpinfox]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

We ended up getting a late start out of Seattle on Saturday morning and my partner had to be back Sunday night, so we just went to the Elwha. We hiked up to Hurricane Ridge (6mi each way) and only saw one other group (they had come up a different way and were hiking down to the Elwha). I was surprised how little traffic there was on Memorial Day weekend.

 

We saw lots of wildflowers, interesting plants, and fungi including some ladyslipper orchids, avalanche lillies, morel mushrooms, and lots and lots of stuff that I didn't know. We ate some miner's lettuce - tasty stuff! One of the more interesting things we saw was this white asparagus-lookin' stuff that had red/pink lines in it. Anybody have any idea what that might be? Some kind of saprophyte I think. I've got a picture of it at home. My housemate said it might be "candy stick" or something like that, but that is a colloquialism.

 

It's a nice hike for plant enthusiasts because you start out in a very lush, wet, mossy, ferny forest and climb up to a drier forest and then finally the meadows up on Hurricane Ridge. Lots of different ecosystems.

[kenp]

I did the Ozette loop a couple of years ago, on a recommendation ...I thought it was a very disgusting, filthy hike. I was amazed at the amount of garbage all along the coast. I've never seen a mountain lake or scramble so gross. Sure, the scenery was nice, lots of interesting animals...raccoons, deer, otter and lots of birds. beware of piles of fishing nets/ropes and general garbage. Don't forget the bucket and cord. there are lots of high lines with pulleys set up at every camp spot I saw

[thelawgoddess]

sounds like a nice mellow trip, alpinfox!