I had some time this morning so I decided to go up to Kloshe Nanitch, aka The Snider Lookout. There is a road that takes you up to it, but I like walking more than driving so I took the trail. The road is about 7 miles of hard back-road driving, while the trail is just under 4 miles of nice smooth trail. It’s steep in places and a steady grind to the top, but it’s more than worth it. Also, in the fall, the trail is lined with chanterelle mushrooms. The last time I was here I came out of the woods with about 15 pounds of delicious gold.

Kloshe Nanitch Trail Head

The trail head is at the end of Snider Road past the work camp and there’s plenty of space to park on a normal day, (you’ll likely be the only one there), though occasionally you’ll have to share the parking lot with fishermen when the steelhead are running. This morning the temperature was in the mid 20′s and everything was frozen and crispy. I love it

The beginning of the 3.5 mile trail follows the old Snider Rd and the Sol Duc River for about a quarter mile before cutting up the hill for a steady climb of about 2300 feet to the top.  The trail itself is rather bland, without much to see besides the 2nd growth forests of Douglas Fir and Hemlock. It lies almost entirely within National Forest land and because of that you can bring your dog if you want to. Just keep it leashed because there’s lots of wildlife in the area.

About a third of a mile up the trail there’s a nice little log bridge crossing the stream and not far after that I was surprised by a Ruffed Grouse along the trail. I got within 15 feet of him before he decided to fly off.

Shortly up the trail, the snow began. It started out as a dusting here and there, but before long it covered everything completely. I love walking in the snow, everything feels so much softer, quieter and peaceful. It’s nice to check out the animal tracks as well. There was a rabbit that had recently used the trail before hopping off into the under brush.

Snow Trees

As I neared the top, the snow became deeper and deeper. The snow froze to the fir branches causing them to sag low over the trail and I frequently got a surprise down the back of my shirt.

Almost to the lookout and I came up to a stretch of trail below a rock face and for about 50 yards I was trudging through a waist deep slide and using my hiking stick to keep from sliding down the hill. It wasn’t really that bad, but it was interesting nonetheless seeing the chunks of the cliff above that had fallen recently, laying on top of the snow.

The Tower

Almost there. The trees gave way to an opening where you can look up at the lookout building. The snow was deep here but it was frozen enough that I only sunk into it every couple steps. The sun was shining and there was no wind, it was actually a pretty nice day.

The Lookout

Upon reaching the top my tracks were the only ones there. No vehicles had been here since it snowed.

I took in the view; From here you can see the Olympic Mountains and most impressively, Mt. Olympus.

Olympics Panoramic (Click for Full Size)

The sun was shining so brightly that despite the freezing temperatures, I was quite warm. I took off my sweatshirt and layed it on the back of the bench. I then took off my wet socks and hung them up. The sun felt so good I stretched out on the bench and dozed off for about an hour.

Waking up refreshed I gathered my gear together and prepared for the trip back down the hill. It took about 2 hours to make the 4 mile trek up the hill. The trip down I completed in about 50 minutes. I jogged a lot of it. The snow made it easy, the trail was softer and it added an element of fun to it.

Here’s a Google Earth file of the trail

Here’s my profile on Trimble Outdoors of the trail

Last year Terry and I went for a quick hike the morning before the Super Bowl. This year the weather was awesome so we did it again.

He wanted something short and strenuous so Storm King fit the bill perfectly. He had never been up this trail before so he was in for a treat.

We set off from the trail head at about 8:30. The air was cold and the sun wasn’t showing through the clouds yet. We prefer it cool like this for the tougher hikes; it’s easier to breathe and you don’t overheat as much. The only thing is that once you sweat, you chill so much colder.

The trail up to Storm King cuts off of the Marymere Falls trail and immediately starts at a heck of a grade. The 1st 1/3 of a mile or so always seems to be the worst. You aren’t properly warmed up yet, there are large root wads you must climb up and over. Soon, however, you warm up, your legs get into the swing of things and you settle in to the rhythm of the climb.

It’s a short climb but a steep one. We took our time, not wanting to burn out too quickly and before long we reached the warning sign:

Proceed at your own peril

We took a quick photo break and then pushed on.

A hundred yards past the sign is the first of the ropes. It’s not truly steep enough to really need them, but it’s  reassuring to have it with the sheer drop off to either side of you.

Hang on

There are a couple more short sections with ropes to assist you and then a final, longer rope ending in a fork in the trail. Here is where most people take a left, make their way over the little ridge and enjoy the spectacular view that awaits.

Lake Crescent

From here you can see Canada to the North, the parking lot 2000 feet below and Lake Crescent in its’ entirety. From the parking lot to this point is only around 2.25 miles, but because it’s so steep and all switchbacks, you don’t really travel that far from your starting point. From the parking lot if you scan to the left you can see Marymere Falls through a clearing in the trees. It’s a nice, short, mostly flat walk to the falls if you take a left once you reach the bottom of the Storm King Trail. It’s a nice cool down for your legs after making the 2 mile descent straight down the hill.

We took our time coming down. When you tear your eyes away from the amazing views you can discover an amazing little world in the details just off the trail.

Snow and plants

Thorny Stem

Album of the Trip

Map Of Storm King showing elevation and other stats

The end of August is normally a great time to do The High Divide, but this year, our winter was so late, (we had snow in May), that it made for a really interesting trip.

We started out at about 9:00 and decided to go up the Heart Lake side first, knocking out the 5 mile section following the river. It was just a routine hike, gradually working our way up through the old growth fir and blueberry patches which were just about prime for the picking. There wasn’t much wildlife to be seen, but there were plenty of other hikers coming down from up above.

At the Sol Duc Campground we came across 4 mountain goats grazing near a group of tent that were set up. They let us get within 20 feet of them before strolling off. We walked a short ways away to refuel ourselves with some carbs before tackling the rocky stair case up to Heart Lake.

Shortly after the Sol Duc River campground we came across a marshy pond with some nearby peaks in the back ground. Gene wanted a picture so we stopped. Upon stepping off the trail we saw about 5 frogs jumping out of our way and into the pond. They were all over the place, probably a couple hundred lined the pool and everywhere you stepped they scramble to get out of the way. I believe that they were Cascades Frogs. Gene said that this is just a great big orgy pool for them.

Checking out the frogs

The approach to Heart Lake is a killer. If you aren’t used to it or aren’t prepared, it can really take you by surprise. Large rocky steps prevent you from half-stepping, forcing you to step all the way up or not at all. It’s something else.

Heart Lake outlet

Before long, though, you come up over a rise and there lies the lake, snow-fed and ice cold. Step over to the stream and splash your face, it feels awesome. From this level you cant see what gives the lake its name, but continue up the trail and looking down from above it’s obvious: It’s shaped like a heart.

It was above the lake that we  got the first taste of snow. climbing hils in the snow is bad enough, but this snow was melting just enough to make the first inch on the top soft and almost slushy. The going was slow and aggravating and we had at least 2 miles of this to look forward to.

Snow going

The divide itself is the apex of this hike. Running east-west it divides the Hoh and Sol Duc watersheds. Looking south you see Mt. Olympus and the mighty Blue Glacier. It’s truly amazing.

Mt Olympus

Finally after trudging through the snow we reached the top of the divide; It was all downhill from here. Past the spur to the top of Bogachiel Peak and past the junction to Hoh Lake you come to one heck of a series of switchbacks. There’s only about 3 of them but it’s steep as heck. Today it was covered with snow as well. Jerry, being the lightweight agile fellow that he is took off across the snow field and was at the first switchback when suddenly we heard a couple choice words from Gene along with the sound of canvas sliding on snow. I looked up and there he was, sliding down the hill, snow was flying to the sides of him like a Bayliner plowing through the water.

There was a moment of  ”Oh shit!”, but I quickly realized that he would reach the trail below if he kept going. He kept going. Jerry shouted out, “That’s one way to cut out the switchbacks”. I couldn’t think of anything funny to say, so I just watched helplessly, wishing I could have gotten this on film.

Here's the snow bank gene slid down

Well, he finally caught a tree and was hanging there about 3 or 4 feet over the trail below. We heard a whimper come from somewhere down below. Gene said it was a marmot, but we couldn’t be certain.

Once he regained his composure, took a mental inventory of his limbs and other assorted body parts that he might have left behind, we continued.  The only casualty was his sunglasses. There was no finding them in the thick brush and he decided to leave them behind.

Most of the remainder of the trail was clear. There were patches of snow above Deer Lake, however. Going downhill on the snow is MUCH more enjoyable than climbing it. We were running and sliding and having a good ol’ time when suddenly, we rounded a corner and there was a shapely young lady in a bikini up in the snow getting some sun. Naturally, when faced with the unexpected up in the mountains, all trace of suaveness escapes you and the best you can do is “Uh, hi.” Gene managed to get out a “Just do your thing…” and we continued on hurriedly.

The remainder of the trip was uneventful. We stopped at Deer Lake to refill some water bottles and then tackled the final stretch: about 3 miles down a rocky trail, picking our way over rocks and boulder that look like they’d be more at home on a river bottom. Gene, not used to this sort of thing was getting angry at the rocks. I could see it in his face, he HATED them. He swore that a few of them reached up through his boot and punctured the soles of his feet. We had to stop occasionally to let him calm himself.

Before long, though, we reached the falls and the throng of tourists ever present there, and quickly covered the last mile to the truck. Those beers tasted wonderful.

Full Album of the trip