Olympic N.F. hike, first week of Decembe r

“I'm heading to the Olympic National Forest during the first week of December. Anyone wanna join me? If so write me an email at steve.conley@att.net.

My plan is to do two separate hikes, in the rain forest and along the beach.

The rain forest hike will be on the Hoh or Bogacheil river trails, through the rain forest and up to the snow line. Three days and nights, roughly.

The other segment will be to hike the coast for a couple of days. Not sure which part of the coast trail, my main concern is being able to find some trees nearby to set up a tarp/tent and get out of the blowing rain.

In the middle I'm gonna take one day at motel to dry my bones and gear (TT heresy, for sure!!!). When I'll do either segment is flexible. I'll arrive in Seattle on Sat. Dec. 1 and will start hiking Sunday the 2nd, with my last hiking day being Sat. Dec. 8. So I can do the rain forest and coast segments at either end of that week.”

“Go for it dude. I'll be there later next year!!”

“trees are certainly not a problem on th beach hike. if that is the most of your worries, man, smooooth sailing! now the weather is another story. come prepared.”

“I plan to wear a Marmot Precip jacket and Precip pants, with long gaiters and probably a wide-brim waterproof hat. Capeline and polypro layering underneath, and perhaps a fleece or light wool vest. Sound good for the rain?”

“steve, what you wear also depends on how warm you feel on chilly days. I would go for all wicking shirts, like the plypro you mentioned and the fleece shirt. One reason being, that when you have your rain jacket, it maybe warm under there at times. You'll want to wick. I'd wear the hood that comes with the jacket to keep your neck from getting rain on it.

The olympic coast beaches have raised sand banks with trees in some parts, and there you will find many campsites along the way. Don't camp on the beach near any logs. Logs kill. Beware of the tides, get a tide chart. Tides are higher in the winter.”

“Dude, if it's a bad storm and the rain is flying sideways on the Olympic Coast it will completely over power any kind of so called breathable, waterproof material, including gore-tex or the Marmot equivalent.

My advice is to go down to your local store and buy one of them waterproof rain suits (like the fishermen on the Olympic Coast wear) and put up with the sweat. You can change into dry clothes at camp where sweat will no longer be a problem as you lounge around in the pouring rain and your rain suit will still be sheding water.

Good luck, the storms are awesome and great fun to be in.”

“ALSO, the Olympics coast requires that you bring a covered bucket to hang food and deodorants, toothpaste in. The racoons can be relentless in places, and will run off with your bucket if not hung properly, and there's always the bears, though I haven't seen one on the coast yet.”

“I hear that ONP ranger stations near popular trails will supply Garcia bear cannisters for a small deposit around $10.”

“I'll be keeping a close eye on the forecast as the trip approaches. Will rent a bear can from the ranger station.”

“Steve,

If you worry about the weather forecasts, you won't go to the beach. Plan for wet, windy, and cold, and go for it. If the Raingods are kind, so be it. Take GOOD fire starter - 10 kiloton or more, if you can get it.

Best scenery (IMHO) will be found South of LaPush, entry via Third Beach trailhead. 3 hour hiketime over Taylor Point to Scotts Creek, 2 more hours to Toleak Point, add any stop time along the way to those estimates. These hike times also presume that you will be hiking at low tide (and therefore won't be delayed waiting for tide to recede off of beaches.

DO worry (a LOT) about the tides, and plan your departure time accordingly. Good tide info is available at:

http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow.cgi?site=La+Push%2C+Quillayute+River%2C+Washington

You will find low tides at 1028AM Wed, 1136 Thu, which are VERY convenient. It's best to pick days with low tides mid-day, these times are about perfect. So, do the valley first, then go for the beach.

Problem - these aren't very low tides - 3.37 and 3.19, respectively. To hit these tides on Wed and round the tuff spots, you would need to be walking away from the car at the Third Beach trailhead right after first light, which is about 700AM in December.

Another advantage of Third Beach, the trailhead is close to both Hoh and Bogachiel valleys. It takes a couple hours to drive from the valleys out to the Alava trailheads. If you have one shot at the beach, do this route. It's far and away the most scenic stretch of the beach.

There is an emergency shelter at Scott's Creek (or was last year, I assume the ocean hasn't washed it away yet), and another on the South side of Toleak Point. If you went in mid-week, odds are very good the shelters will be unoccupied. Don't plan to get them, though. Take tarpage.

Call the Oly NP Ranger Station to check on renting bearcans (360) 452-4501. I don't think the RS at Mora rents them. Would be cheaper to buy a 5 gallon bucket at Home Depot - they're about seven bucks, with lid. Ask about reservations and permits as well, the park has changed the process for permits, you can no longer get permints at trailheads.

Last item I can think of.... you said you were planning to get a room for a night and dry out between hikes. The only place you will find motels is in Forks, and this is prime time for steelhead fishing. The motels in Forks often are often booked full by fishermen this time of year. You probably should work on a reservation as soon as possible.

Dam, I wish I could play....”

“Thanks for the info Strider. Gonna look at the tide tables real close and nail down the route. Got the Custom Correct maps for the beaches. Let me know if by chance you can get away during that week.”