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Since area regulations can change, it is always helpful to check for updates before heading out. See Appendix 2 for contact information and online links to the Olympic National Park area regulations and the park’s road and weather hotline.

Fees: One last matter before we go into the realm of the trail descriptions, which are designed, admittedly, to lure you into the sanctuary of the inner Olympics. Both Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest require user fees. The purpose of these fees is to obtain funds to enable crews to restore eroded trails, rebuild bridges, and remove fallen trees, following years of neglect because of budget cuts. The fees charged by the National Park Service and the US Forest Service are basically the same.

In Olympic National Park, new fees include those for backpacking permits and for parking at most trailheads. The fees for the Olympic National Forest are a set rate to park in the national forest, plus an additional charge if one backpacks into the neighboring national park, which also charges an additional fee per person.

The backcountry fees vary considerably, depending upon the age of the participants, the length of time they intend to spend in the wilderness, and the size of the party, et cetera. For current fees, hikers should contact the national park’s Wilderness Information Center (see Appendix 2).

Participating in one volunteer work party on national forest lands earns a free one-day Northwest Forest Pass. Participating on two work projects earns a second one-day pass. A volunteer can exchange two of these for an annual Northwest Forest Pass, which covers parking on National Forest Service land. Volunteers who accumulate 250 hours in work projects on federal land—national forest and national park—can earn one annual America the Beautiful pass, which covers, among other things, entrance fees at national parks. The Washington Trails Association (WTA) is one of several groups that coordinate volunteer trail maintenance projects within the state. For information on volunteering with the WTA or within Olympic National Park, see Appendix 2.

Food Storage Regulations: Olympic National Park is home to an active black bear population, and secure food storage is the best way to reduce the chances of human-bear conflicts. So be aware: For overnight backcountry trips, the park requires that all food, garbage, and scented items (including toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, lip balm, and toiletries) must be secured from wildlife twenty-four hours a day. These items must be either 1) stored in bear canisters, 2) hung from park “bear wires,” or 3) hung at least 12 feet high and 10 feet out from the nearest tree trunk.

MEASURING MILEAGE

The reader may note that road and trail distances given in this book do not always agree with the official figures adopted by the National Park Service and the US Forest Service. In fact, both agencies revise their official figures from time to time. In addition, the official figures are not always in agreement with the ones posted at trailheads and route intersections, and the trail signs themselves at times conflict with one another. Where the figures in this book differ from the official ones currently in use, it is because I am convinced that the latter are erroneous. I have therefore stated distances that I feel are most reasonable, based not only upon the official figures but also the time required to hike the trails under varying conditions. I have not attempted to run an engineer’s measuring wheel over the trails because I believe the results of wheel measurement— while perhaps of value as a confirmatory aid—are not as accurate as one might suppose, considering all the little ups and downs and other imperfections in the mountain paths, as well as their general roughness, which tend to magnify mechanical errors. A mountain trail is, of course, considerably different from a level, smoothly paved sidewalk in the city.

Use of bear canisters is mandatory in certain areas: the Wilderness Coast, in the Royal Basin/ Royal Lake area, Enchanted Valley area, and the Sol Duc River/High Divide Loop (including Mink Lake) area, Cat Basin, and all other backcountry areas in the Main Fork Sol Duc River drainage. Bear canisters are also required in areas where it is not possible to hang food at the prescribed height. That likely could involve just about any trip that includes a high-elevation campsite (loosely defined as any site higher than 4500 ft/1371 m).

Bear wires, which use a simple pulley system to hoist food bags up to a secure height, are found in some of the park’s most popular backcountry campsites (check with a Wilderness Information Center for a current list). They’re a wonderful creation. Claim a hook early in the day on busy weekends.

If you don’t own a canister, the park has a limited supply available for loan at the Wilderness Information Centers, located in Port Angeles, Hoodsport, and the South Shore of Lake Quinault. Keep in mind that on busy weekends they may run out of canisters. The park website has a list of area locations where canisters can be rented or purchased (see Appendix 2).

Overnight Use of Shelters: Olympic National Park prohibits the use of these backcountry shelters except in the case of an emergency:

•Lyre (Lake Crescent): Spotters Cabin on Pyramid Peak

•Elwha: Michael’s Cabin, Humes Cabin, and Remanns Cabin

•Quinault: Trapper, 12 Mile, and Low Divide Shelters, and Enchanted Valley Chalet

•Hoh: Happy Four, Olympus Guard, Elk Lake, and Glacier Meadows Shelters

•Sol Duc: Sol Duc Falls Shelter

•Coast: Toleak Shelter at Toleak Point

Wilderness Backpacking Reservations and Quotas: A wilderness camping permit is required for all overnight stays in undeveloped (backcountry) areas of the park. Within Olympic National Park, many camp areas are reservable year-round, but reservations for high-elevation areas are typically in effect only from mid-July until mid-October; these high-elevation areas may be available on a walk-up basis outside of that season. Wilderness permit reservations can be made up to six months to the day in advance on a rolling basis. Reservations are accepted online at www.recreation.gov or in person at a park Wilderness Information Center (see Appendix 2 for contact information).

Some wilderness camp areas within the park limit the number of reservations available to help minimize human impacts and preserve a quality wilderness experience. Quota areas, subject to change, are Flapjack Lakes, Grand and Badger Valleys, Hoh Lake and C.B. Flats, Hoh River Trail, Lake Constance, Ozette Coast, Royal Basin/Royal Lake, Sol Duc/Seven Lakes Basin/Mink Lake area, and Upper Lena Lake. Some of these quota areas allow 100 percent of the quota to be reserved in advance, while others allow 50 percent to be reserved in advance, with the remainder of reservations available on a first-come, first-served basis at a WIC during business hours up to 24 hours in advance. Within quota areas, camping is permitted only in designated sites. Campsites at larger camps are not individually assigned; they are available to permit holders on a first-come, first-served basis. Deviating from a permit’s itinerary within a quota area is not allowed, except in an emergency.

Outside of quota areas, permits are not limited and can be picked up at a permit office the day of or day before your hike, and all campsites in these areas are first-come, first-served. Refer to the Olympic National Park website for more information about reservations and quota areas. If you have questions about trails, permits, reservations, quotas, food storage requirements, weather, or other wilderness-related questions, contact a park ranger or one of the Wilderness Information Centers.