HONEYBUCKET, WASHINGTON

That night, Jill grilled steaks for us for dinner. After our feast, we spent a couple of hours playing Spades with their daughter, Kaitlyn. During the game, we discussed our plans for Sunday. Brian’s hiking friends, Russ and Kristi, were planning on joining us for a hike. They were coming over from Seattle on an early ferry, so we would actually have to get up at a reasonable hour.

That morning, Jill cooked us another great breakfast. Brian picked Russ and Kristi up at the dock, and brought them back to the house. There we discussed our plans for the day. Once again we flirted with visiting the Hoh rainforest, but we decided that we really needed an earlier start for that. Instead, we decided to stick with my original plan. Since the forecast called for nice weather, I wanted to do something more scenic. In March, high-elevation hikes are limited, due to lingering snow. My research led me to one possibility that sounded appealing though.

Mount Walker stands just over 2800’ high, which doesn’t sound very impressive. However, it rises steeply from the Hood Canal, which is at sea-level. In winter, the highest trailhead is only at 800’. From there, a steep trail climbs to the summit in only 2 miles. Although short, the hike promised a good workout due to the elevation gain. From the same trailhead, it’s also possible to hike up a road 4 miles to the top. Since the road is gated in the winter, the off-season is the most popular time to do this hike.

We drove out through Quilcene again, and followed highway 101 to a low pass just west of Mount Walker. We pulled off the highway there, and parked near the gate. There were several other cars already there, so we knew we’d have some company on the mountain. We gathered our gear and bundled up a bit to ward off the chill. It was a sunny morning, but the sun seemed to have little effect on us down in the woods.

We hiked up the road past the gate a short distance to the actual trailhead. There we left the road, to climb up the much steeper trail. The path was a bit of a grunt, but it wasn’t brutal. For the most part, the ascent was on switchbacks, which kept the grades reasonable. On the climb, we paused briefly several times, but nobody wanted to take a lengthy break. Stopping for more than a minute, even in the sun, only left us chilled.

We climbed higher and higher, but saw no hint of snow. Where was it? One day earlier, we had hiked nearby, in the Big Quilcene River Valley. On that hike, we found a considerable amount of snow below 2000’. On Mount Walker though, we had clearly climbed beyond that level, without seeing a single patch. It wasn’t until just before the summit that we saw the first snow. Even there, it wasn’t much. My only theory is that the Big Quilcene River valley receives less sun than Mount Walker, causing the snow to linger longer.

We reached the north summit around 12:30, which was a little more than an hour after leaving the trailhead. There we found several people and some aggressive Gray Jays. I spent a couple of minutes photographing the birds, while everyone enjoyed the vista. We had a great view out over the Hood Canal and Puget Sound. Far in the distance, we could just make out the Seattle skyline. Unfortunately, the Olympic Mountains were still hidden behind a wall of clouds.

We had a quick lunch and walked the road to the south overlook. Here we had an even better view of the Hood Canal and Puget Sound. After taking it in, we began the long walk down. Hiking the road was a bit of a trudge, but it did provide a couple of bonus views. There were also some snow-covered sections, around the east and north sides of the mountain. We returned to the car by mid-afternoon, but decided against finding another short hike to do. The rental car was almost out of gas, and Kristi expressed some interest in finding a real toilet.

We headed back to Quilcene, which seemed like the best place to begin Kristi’s search. Unfortunately, the ranger station there was closed. We stopped at the gas station, but all they had in the way of facilities was a Honeybucket out back. Next we tried a convenience store, which was also equipped only with Honeybuckets. Our search ended in disappointment, mainly for Kristi, who somehow made it all the way back to Bainbridge Island. On our way there, I suggested that the town of Quilcene change their name to “Honeybucket”, to commemorate their lack of indoor plumbing.

Mount Walker provided a nice hike, and a hearty workout. I’m glad we visited in the winter, as the summit is probably overrun with tourists when the road is open. It was a pretty good hike, but probably not one I’d do again. Although it has some nice views, I find that I actually enjoy the river walks in the Olympics more. We’ll probably focus on those hikes the next time I’m in the area during the off-season.

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