We got another early start and were gone from our site before the Rangers were up. Our goal today was to take it easy. After talking to the park service folks, we learned that there was a good campsite along White Creek. We were pretty interested in occupying that. Until then, the hike took us uphill once again to our second pass of the trip, Anderson Pass. Both Dad and I had been to Anderson Pass before. Actually Dad had been on every trail in the Olympics so it was more like revisiting his old haunts rather than something entirely new. I was getting excited though, because it was bringing back a bunch of fond memories for me of my November trip into Enchanted Valley way back in 2001. My friend Larson and I had made it all the way to Anderson Pass, battling snowy conditions on a nice November day. On this day we were approaching it from the other side, going up the Dose until we hit the headwaters of the Quinault. We passed a ranger cabin along the way, ran into some other hikers, and saw the first bear of the trip. I was the only one who saw him as he quickly hopped behind a bush after I spotted him. We lost the people here as they stayed to try to track him down again. W
e topped out at the pass and began our descent down the Quinault. I kept trying to spot the trail on the south side of the cliffs. I remembered pieces of the trail we were now on, but most of it looked different nine years later without snow on it. The views were awesome as we could s
ee down into Enchanted Valley and could see all the peaks rising up above the valley. One of these included West Peak, where my dad broke his neck back in 1980 when his climbing partner whom he was roped to fell and pulled him off the mountain. There were others also with Mt. Anderson highlighting some gorgeous massifs. Chimney peak was a local favorite with its almost reddish appearance. It just showed that we had to come back some time when we did not have to make such a rushed trip out of it. Eventually we hit the trail junction that would take us up towar
d O'neil Pass. White Creek was a short uphill climb from here, but we were unfortunately dismayed to find out when we got there that there was but two campsites and they were both occupied by most likely the same group. It was still only 11:30am, though, so it was not like we were burning daylight to find a campsite. Dad just wanted to have a da
y to recharge and the longer that we drug that out, the less chance that that would actually happen. So we sat down and ate some lunch while we looked at the map. It did not seem like there was going to be much opportunity on the trail ahead as it slowly climbed on one side of the mountainside. I was a little bummed because from White Creek, there seemed to be quite a bit of exploring
opportunity if we continued to follow the creek upstream. Where we would end up would probably not have much hope for side trips. We continued hiking and after less than an hour, we found ourselves a little nook off the trail behind some big trees with a large flat space between two snowfields with an ample water source. All this added up to a good campsite where we could chill out and enjoy the rest of the day. We had still put in six miles and gained 2200 feet in elevation. We played some cards, listened to some podcasts, but mostly spent a lot of time reading our books. I was sucked in to the life of a 19th century prisoner in Van Diemen's Land living in Macquerie Harbor. Let me tell you, I am glad that I was not born in England in the late 18th, early 19th century and then shipped to Australia because from all the stories of the penal colony, it was not much fun. I could have picked something more upbeat like Neand
erthals, but I am a nonfiction kind of guy. In the evening, the light got very good and we were able to snap some great photos looking back toward Mt. Anderson. The people who were camping at White Creek wandered by also, I believe completely oblivious to our presence on the other side of the trail. We had a good evening and I think we were able to get recharged for the next day.
e topped out at the pass and began our descent down the Quinault. I kept trying to spot the trail on the south side of the cliffs. I remembered pieces of the trail we were now on, but most of it looked different nine years later without snow on it. The views were awesome as we could s
ee down into Enchanted Valley and could see all the peaks rising up above the valley. One of these included West Peak, where my dad broke his neck back in 1980 when his climbing partner whom he was roped to fell and pulled him off the mountain. There were others also with Mt. Anderson highlighting some gorgeous massifs. Chimney peak was a local favorite with its almost reddish appearance. It just showed that we had to come back some time when we did not have to make such a rushed trip out of it. Eventually we hit the trail junction that would take us up towar
d O'neil Pass. White Creek was a short uphill climb from here, but we were unfortunately dismayed to find out when we got there that there was but two campsites and they were both occupied by most likely the same group. It was still only 11:30am, though, so it was not like we were burning daylight to find a campsite. Dad just wanted to have a da
y to recharge and the longer that we drug that out, the less chance that that would actually happen. So we sat down and ate some lunch while we looked at the map. It did not seem like there was going to be much opportunity on the trail ahead as it slowly climbed on one side of the mountainside. I was a little bummed because from White Creek, there seemed to be quite a bit of exploring 
opportunity if we continued to follow the creek upstream. Where we would end up would probably not have much hope for side trips. We continued hiking and after less than an hour, we found ourselves a little nook off the trail behind some big trees with a large flat space between two snowfields with an ample water source. All this added up to a good campsite where we could chill out and enjoy the rest of the day. We had still put in six miles and gained 2200 feet in elevation. We played some cards, listened to some podcasts, but mostly spent a lot of time reading our books. I was sucked in to the life of a 19th century prisoner in Van Diemen's Land living in Macquerie Harbor. Let me tell you, I am glad that I was not born in England in the late 18th, early 19th century and then shipped to Australia because from all the stories of the penal colony, it was not much fun. I could have picked something more upbeat like Neand
erthals, but I am a nonfiction kind of guy. In the evening, the light got very good and we were able to snap some great photos looking back toward Mt. Anderson. The people who were camping at White Creek wandered by also, I believe completely oblivious to our presence on the other side of the trail. We had a good evening and I think we were able to get recharged for the next day.
1 comment:
Looks like an increadible hike! I like the new site layout, too!
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