Last August I was quite  fortunate to be able to team up with a few friends from work and do the Obstruction Point trail. This is a great trail that starts right above the treeline and follows a ridge for a couple miles, then drops down into a valley containing some wonderful lakes and several forks leading to other parts of the park and several choices for your return trip.

To get to the trailhead from Port Angeles follow the signs to Hurricane Ridge.  The National Park charges an entry fee per vehicle: $15 daily or $30 yearly.  The yearly pass is well worth it for what you can access with it. The entry station is located about 5 miles from Port Angeles up the Hurricane Ridge Parkway, and from there it’s another 12 or so miles to the Hurricane Ridge Park. We’re not going there though. Right before the main park, (you can see the visitors center), theres a little, treacherous looking dirt road that takes off to the south of the main road. Follow this road several miles until you reach the trail-head. Drive carefully; the road is narrow and negotiating with oncoming traffic can be exciting at times.

There’s no water that I can remember at the trail-head, so be sure to come prepared. There are two apparent routes from the parking lot, but the north trail splits into two more just out of view of the parking lot; one dropping into Badger Valley and the other makes its’ way to Deer Park. We set off on the south trail and the sun was already beaming.  It was perfect.

Once we worked our way over  the first rise, we saw a grouse just off the trail watching us. Grouse are funny birds in that they will let you get incredibly close to them before they realize “Oh crap, I better get outta here”, and even then, they may only fly 50 feet away and watch you some more. They can be incredibly easy to hunt because of this. Driving down the old logging roads where I grew up, most grouse I saw would see you coming and if they didn’t play ostrich and sit there, hoping you wouldn’t see them, they would fly to the nearest tree beside the road, just waiting to become dinner.

This grouse wasn’t much different. He may be accustomed to humans passing by, but for whatever reason, he let us get to within 10 feet of him before skittering away.

The first couple miles of this trail are quite mild and scenic. Occasionally, off to the south, across the Lillian Valley you can see Lillian Lake. Lillian Lake is a perfect little silver dollar shaped, crystal blue lake nestled into a bowl at the top of a mountain ridge. I decided then and there that one day I will make it up to that lake, and upon further research, I discovered that I can. And will. This summer, I’m taking a couple days and going to get there no matter what.

About 2 miles from the parking lot, we split from the “tourist” route and crossed the forbidden “Do Not Cross” sign to trek on the old, mostly forgotten trail. The “proper” trail continues on and then drops steeply into the Grand Valley and the lakes held within. The spur that we took picks its’ way up over a rugged outcropping of rocks, across a rock field and then you have to pick your way over a jagged ridge with a dizzying drop to either side of you. I make i sound worse than it was, but only to make it sink in that this is no place for the kids. One mis-step could really ruin your day. I took a video of us having some fun on the ridge: Rock & Roll (39Mb).

After picking your way over about half the ridge, it becomes impassable and you must drop down onto the hillside. A trekking pole is strongly recommended for this hike. The rocks are very loose and the ground is extremely steep and uneven. When you do have decent footing, the rocks are quite jagged and really do a number on your boots.

The descent onto the hillside is interesting to say the least:

Once back on the trail below that ridge, you must grind your way back up to the peak of Moose Mt. Between the loose rock and insane grade, you wonder how on earth you can manage. You can: Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Here’s where staying well hydrated and fed pays off. Nothing makes you more miserable and shaky-legged than being hungry. Also, I’ve found that bringing along a bag of hard candy to suck on, such as Werthers or LifeSavers, does wonders at keeping your mouth wet and your energy level high enough to make it through the next push, wherever that may be.

Moose Mt. is a knob in the middle of this area, upon which you can see where you’ve been, where you’re going and where you wish you could go. Another feature off Moose Mt. is its’ nondescript little glacier. Nothing special, but even in the hottest part of summer it never totally disappears. It’s a steep little scramble to get to it, but it’s rewarding none-the-less.

After a quick break on the mountain, make your way down the north slope onto low pass. In the loose shale, there isn’t much of a trail, but you can tell where you are supposed to go: Downhill. Now you can look down into the valley on your left and see Moose Lake and the smaller Gladys Lake, and before you know it, you are standing on the ridge overlooking the “proper” trail once again. The switchbacks leading to the valley wind through a massive network of marmot dens. You are pretty much guaranteed to see more than one of those massive rodents on your way down.

The cool valley, beside Gladys lake is a nice spot for lunch. Now, from here you have a couple choices. Turn north towards Moose and Grand Lakes or south up a 2 mile network of switchbacks to Grand Pass. The views from Grand pass are spectacular, and we were feeling pretty fresh yet, despite the roller coaster ride we’ve just been on to get to where we were, so we opted to check that out. The ascent was fairly unremarkable, but the reward was worth it. It was here we decided to take our group picture:

Once back down in the valley, Craig and I started pulling away from the rest of the group. Not because they were getting tired or anything, they were just enjoying the scenery. We were trying to get to the fishing. Moose lake looked promising, but we knew Grand lake was twice as big and for sure had better fish.  However, between Moose and Grand Lake lies a junction in the trail: Back up the hill to where we left the trail earlier, or north to Badger Valley and eventually the parking lot. Unfortunately, no one had ever taken the Badger Valley route before and didn’t know what the trail was like. We knew what the trail was like the other way: Switchbacks straight up the hill. We opted for Badger Valley and stopped at Grand lake for some R&R. There was a beautiful deep pool right off the trail with tons of trout just waiting to be caught.

Grand Lake

After our little respite at the lake we set off again. By now we were well below the treeline and still descending. I was getting uneasy at this and Craig also made a comment: “We sure are dropping a lot here… We’re going to have to make this up later.” By this time we were getting pretty tired from the days adventures, and by the time we reached the bottom and started back up again, we were well into the trees and I wasn’t looking forward at all to climbing back out of them. Oh well, we were committed.

The remaining few miles were a lot slower going than before, when were fresh. I kept looking up ahead, trying to discern any familiar landmark from the parking lot area. I swore we would never get there.  By this time, the sun had fallen behind the peaks and some low clouds came in, dropping the temperature considerably; It was welcome, but due to my fatigue, I could keep moving quickly enough to stay warm and loose.  Coming to another shale, switchbacked hill, I was beat. I saw nothing that led me to believe that we were nearing the end. I’d make my way up to one end of a switchback, rest. Up the the next corner. Rest.  Finally coming over the last rise, onto the trail above, I realized that this was the other fork, just out of view of the parking lot. Needless to say, my spirits rose and I strode around the corner to salvation.

We left a note on the other vehicle that we were headed home to fire up the grill and pop the tops off some beers. The rest of the group made it to the house about 45 minutes after we got there, and soon we were chowing down on great grub with our families in the back yard. It was wonderful.

Now, I’m not the fittest of people, but I keep trucking. What I tell the kids is this: “You don’t have to move fast. You just have to keep moving.” Many of the hikes I go on are ass kickers, and when I get home I crash. But I will never stop moving forward. This hike here is one of those. I’m sure if we hadn’t gone up to Grand Pass, the climb out of Badger Valley would have been much more tolerable, but if I had to do it again, I’d do it the same way. Never take the easy way out.

Here’s a gallery of the entire trail: http://olympicwanderer.com/Obstruction%20Point/ Enjoy.

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Scenery: 

The High Divide hike is probably the most awe inspiring trail you can hike in the northern Olympics. Probably the entire park. You pass alpine lakes, breathtaking views of Mt. Olympus, thigh burning grades, Sol Duc Falls and a 5 mile stretch along the Sol Duc river itself. If you time it right, you trek through miles of wild blueberries; more than you can ever eat. Deer Lake holds lots of little trout and up near the top of the divide is the aptly named Heart Lake, a cool, shallow pool, perfect for cooling off midway through the hike. To do the entire loop in a day is not to be taken lightly. Most people camp around the midway mark, somewhere in the Seven Lakes Basin; most notably, Lunch Lake or Heart Lake.

Map taken from here: Olympic Wilderness Campsite Map

The trailhead is 2 miles past the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort. To get there from Port Angeles, go west, past Lake Crescent about 2 miles and follow the signs to the left. Fourteen miles up that winding road, following the Sol Duc River, you will arrive at the trail head.

Departing from there, you will reach the falls in about a mile. This is one of the most visited landmarks in the area, and for good reason. The combination of the mist from the falls and the sun peeking through the forest canopy makes for some spectacular pictures, despite its’ relatively small size, compared to most frequently visited waterfalls.

Emerging from the rocky evergreen forest trail, Deer Lake is a welcome sight. Not the largest of lakes, it’s still plenty big for catching some trout or just relaxing, dipping your feet in the water.

Shortly after the Lunch Lake junction is Bogachiel Peak. At 5474 feet it is the highest point on this trip. It is at this point you get your first view of Mt. Olympus and the massive Blue Glacier to the south. For the next 2 or so miles, the view to the south continues opening up to reveal more of the glacier. On a clear day, this presents some of the most spectacular photo opportunities. Off to your left, the north, is Seven Lakes basin with a multitude of alpine lakes and more “potholes” to be seen. This is truly the apex of this hike.

The remaining 6 or so miles is a leisurely stroll following the Sol Duc through the old growth. After the roller coaster ride you just endured, this final stretch is just what you need to stretch out and cool down before hitting the road and maybe picking up a cold 6 pack of your favorite beverage at the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort.