DUCKABUSH

Brian and I decided to get an early start and go for a hike on Friday. Before leaving the island, we stopped at a grocery store, where we picked up a sub to share. I was concerned, as the sub was made using an entire loaf of French bread. Needless to say, we looked a little silly carrying that thing up to the cash registers.

This time, we chose a destination closer to home. We crossed the Hood Canal to the Olympic Peninsula, but headed south on highway 101. Our destination was the Duckabush River, which runs east out of the Olympic Mountains.

Our first stop was the Fallsview Campground. The campground was closed for the season, so we parked near the gate and walked from there. Our destination was the waterfall that the campground is named for. The campground seemed pretty nice, but its location near the highway resulted in more traffic noise than would be considered ideal for a camping experience.

A short walk brought us to an overlook and a view of the falls. The waterfall is nice, but the viewpoint is from above, looking down on the falls. We spent only a few minutes there before heading on.

We drove past a ranger’s station, and continued on to a bridge over the Duckabush River. Just before the bridge, we turned onto Duckabush River Road and headed upstream. Before long, the pavement ended, and the rest of the drive was a fun game of dodging potholes. A few miles later, we turned right at a fork and arrived at the trailhead for the Duckabush River Trail. At the trailhead, we discovered that we needed a Northwest Forest Pass to park there. We were in Olympic National Forest, as the Duckabush River Trail doesn’t enter the National Park until several miles upstream. You can’t purchase a pass at the trailhead, so I left my National Park’s Pass (which isn’t really applicable) on the dashboard. We decided we’d purchase the appropriate pass at the ranger’s station on the way home after the hike.

We headed up the trail, and immediately began a gentle climb to Little Hump. Initially the forest was pleasant, if a bit disappointing, by Olympic standards. Near the crest of Little Hump, we crossed into the Brothers Wilderness, and were immediately greeted by larger trees. Many were covered in moss, and ferns were abundant. The Olympic rain forest is on the other side of the peninsula, but even here, on the “dry” side, the woods have the appearance of a rain forest.

We descended quickly, and found ourselves on the bank of the river. The Duckabush is a beautiful river, and we enjoyed a lovely walk upstream, passing dozens of rapids. We spotted a nice campsite tucked among large fir trees, and abruptly left the river for the biggest climb of the day. Ahead of us was an elevation gain of almost 1000’, most of it on tight switchbacks. We headed uphill, bound for the summit of Big Hump and the views the peak promised.

The climb was steady, but not too steep. Near the top, we passed an immense spring above a rock face. The rock is covered by moss that is an outlandish shade of neon green. For Brian and I, the rock face and spring was a highlight of the hike. Another highlight was the large trees. Most of the biggest ones were firs, but Brian noted a couple of sizeable cedars as well.

Near the top of the climb we passed close to a waterfall before arriving at a series of rock outcrops. The cliffs provide nice views of the Duckabush River Valley, as well as snow-covered peaks towering high above. Although it was a cloudy day, the clouds were high, allowing for unobstructed views of the peaks. We were standing at 2000’, and the first snow began not far above us. We followed the trail beyond the viewpoint, hiking through more appealing forest, before we began to head down. We decided that the 4 miles we’d hiked was far enough, and returned to the overlook for an early lunch.

Afterwards, we headed down quickly. We had seen only one person that morning, but the hike out was practically crowded. We passed several groups heading in, including one group of six women and 5 young children. We returned to the car by early afternoon, and headed for home. On the way, we stopped at the ranger’s station and Brian purchased a season pass good in all of the National Parks and forests.

After three relatively nice days, the weather finally returned to normal on Saturday. That morning, I endured a chilly run on the muddy trails of Manzanita Park on Bainbridge Island. That afternoon, I joined the family for a visit to Seattle. We took the ferry over, but stayed inside to avoid the rain. Personally, I was glad that it was raining. Somehow, a visit to Seattle wouldn’t have seemed right without it. Once in Seattle, we toured downtown, passing numerous Starbucks on the way. You might say that Starbucks is to Seattle as Waffle House is to South Carolina.

Late that afternoon, we took the official tour of the Seattle underground. It turns out that Seattle was originally built on a tide plain that flooded twice a day at high tide. This caused many problems, not the least of which involved difficulties with the local sewer system. Some years later, Seattle burned. The town was rebuilt in the same place, but the streets were raised by approximately one story. This left the newly rebuilt businesses in town one story below street level. The underground was born, and it lasted for years before being condemned. These days, the underground is pretty much a tourist attraction, although some businesses in the area still operate out of their basements.

Highlights of the tour included the history of early Seattle. Much of this history, regrettably, revolves around plumbing problems and overflowing toilets. If you want to learn more about that, I suggest you take the tour!

That evening, we returned to the island where we feasted on some fantastic pizza from a local restaurant. We also enjoyed some local beer. Perhaps I enjoyed too much local beer, because later that night I ignored Brian’s warning not to use the bathroom in hall. Apparently, the toilet in that bathroom leans a bit to the left. Fortunately, I was also leaning a bit to the left at that point, so it all worked out. Luckily, I wasn’t leaning to the right on this particular evening. If I had been, who knows how that would’ve turned out. At least the cat’s litter box is located just to the right off the toilet. If there had been an accident, nobody would’ve known. Well, nobody except the cat.

I went to bed early that night, as I had to get up early in the morning. I was working in Eugene, Oregon the next week, and my plan was to head that way early on Sunday. On the way, I’d stop and hike in the Columbia River Gorge east of Portland.

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