We had our last summer outing on Aug. 25th. My husband and I hiked up to a Mountain in the Olympics known as Colonel Bob. There are two routes up: One side known as Pete's Creek, which is about 4 miles virtually straight up. The other route is known as the "Quinault side" which is 7 miles from the summit. I need to give some background info before you get the real story--I'll make a long story short.
I grew up in Quinault, yet I had never hiked up to Col Bob. Dan and I did a basic hike through the long switch backs of the Quinault side when we were first married, but we stopped at the creek. In 2007, the area experienced a horrible storm, and it destroyed the trail. Due to government red tape and lack of common sense, the trail could only be cleared with hand tools--no power machinery, including chain saws. Finally in 2011, a crew went up and began the job of clearing the trail. But we heard there was another blow down, but it was passable. My original plan was to hike up and back on the Quinault side since that was where I grew up and originally was my first partial hike in the wilderness area. I remembered those switch backs, but hey, I'm in shape now, right? I'll be OK!
But then we realized that we had a unique opportunity. Because my parents live in the area, my dad could drive us the 20-30 miles to the Pete's Creek trail, drop us off, then my parents could leave our truck on the Quinault side. We could experience the ENTIRE trail! So that's what we did, and here we are, getting ready for our adventure.
When we waved good bye to my dad, this feeling of, "OMGosh, we are in the middle of no where...we are really doing this!" set in...So with our packs packed with food, 6 water bottles each, and emergency supplies, At 6:50AM away we went, and up, and up, and up. The only thing we forgot was our camera. We each had our iPhones, so at least we got some pictures.
Going up was great, but I realized I made three rookie-hiker mistakes. Mistake #1: I was getting a blister on my left foot around mile 2, which without realizing it meant that I was putting more force on my right leg...so soon my right knee started giving me fits. I was so worried about keeping my feet dry that I wore running socks instead of hiking socks--Mistake #2. Luckily I brought an extra pair of socks, so that seemed to help. But Mistake #3 was we forgot our trekking poles. UGH! That would prove to be one of the biggest mistakes of the day. And the last mistake, which isn't really a mistake, is that I wore my old running shoes, not hiking shoes. I don't own hiking shoes! But you'd better believe I will next time!
And at 10:30, we made it to the top of Col Bob. 4 miles, just over 3.5 hours. We sat and had lunch on top of the world, 360 degree views including Mt. Olympus, Lake Quinault, Mt. Rainier, and if you looked hard...the Pacific Ocean! Not to mention the amazing Mountains of the Olympics.
So after a nice lunch and signing the book at the top, we started our decent, and here's where my exhilarating experience becomes something out of a Good-Hike-Gone-Bad story. First, going down is TOUGH! It doesn't matter how many miles you can run, you are in for a tough downhill hike. My husband had to hold my hand several times, and once I fell on a rock hard, and I just missed my tailbone, but I did manage to mess up my wrist a little bit.
When we finally got to Moonshine flats, we breathed a sigh of relief. We knew the terrain would get better and softer on the Quinault side (or so we "thought" we knew) because Dan had done the hike from that side several times many years ago. At Moonshine Flats we met up with a family who had come up the Quinault side, and they said it was brutal, and at points you have follow ribbon to find the trail. We sort of played it off, and off we went...but once again, we were going UP another mountain to get to the Quinault side. Should have seen it coming...
We had to climb a few logs, no big deal, and we thought, "Is this the blow down those kids were talking about? This is NOTHING!" We rested at Mulkey shelter, thinking we had about 3.5 miles to go. We'd be done in a few hours. My knees and toes were aching. And at this point, our iPhones died, so no more pics. Little did I know...
We got to the blow down area. We were walking along the side of the mountain, and at first I said, "Well, this is so pretty! This blow down area makes for a nice view." Such a tourist remark, I'm embarrassed to say. Like those people who think Wild Olympics is a good idea...but I digress. Anyway, there were places were logs were cut, and then there could be a 3-4 foot drop, which doesn't sound like much, but do this times 15, and add in dirt, no place to hold on, brush, logs etc...and we'd get out of one area and think we were through it...then there'd be another one! I wondered if I was being secretly taped for survivor. I would have failed.
Finally we knew we were off the side of the mountain when we got to the creek that we had turned around at many years before. We had no idea how much farther, but soon we hit the switch backs, but our pace had slowed considerably. I had lost my footing several times, and I stepped in a hole and rolled my ankle. But I'm tough and got back up.
Finally, at 5pm, we walked off the mountain. 3.5 hours up, .5 hour up there, 6 brutal hours down. I would NEVER tell anyone to hike the Quinault side until it is cleaned up, unless you enjoy that kind of thing. I couldn't walk right for 6 days, and it took a full week until I could run again. I lost a lot of progress in my running. But once again, I did something I never could have done one year ago.
I need to make one more rant about Wild Olympics: Wild Olympics is a plan for the Park Service to take more control of wild land. While the Col Bob area is not Park area, it is government owned. I experienced that blow-down area and thought, "THIS is how the government takes care of wilderness areas--they don't!" People enjoy spending time in the outdoors, and trails are a great way to do that. That means less people out getting lost, creating their own trails, camping in areas they shouldn't be, etc...It is important for people to experience nature so that the next generation will respect it. Yet I saw first hand how the government manages and takes care of wilderness areas. THEY DON'T! Please, please, if you are a Washingtonian, do not support this plan! Wild Olympics is a wolf in sheep's clothing. I love nature as much as the next person. I grew up fishing, camping, hiking, and experiencing the outdoors. I want it protected more than anyone else. But I need to see that the government can manage what it has, and it is obvious that they can't. If it's lack of resources, then fine...but why give them more land? It makes no sense to me!
Overall, it was a great experience. But next year, I'll stick to the Pete's Creek side!
Excellent Post Jolene!
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