Upper Quilcene Trail to Marmot Pass

location: Olympic National Forest
distance: approx. 13 miles
elevation gain: 3,500 feet

description: early in our relationship, Andy came to San Diego with me to attend my friends' wedding. naturally, I took the opportunity to introduce him to one of my favorite places in San Diego - the tide pools and Point Loma Lighthouse at Cabrillo National Monument. a couple of months later, we visited Acadia National Park while in Maine over the Fourth of July. the following February, we escaped the midwestern winter for the Florida Keys and visited Dry Tortugas National Park, three hours into the sea by boat. we've visited quite a few more National Park Service-administered places in the intervening years (too many to list, really - that's what labels and tags are for, right?) but especially wanted to get to Olympic National Park to complete our "four corners" (but not the Four Corners) tour of the continental U.S.

to that end we headed up to Seattle last weekend to visit Andy's sister and brother-in-law and to squeeze in an ambitious hike at Oympic. the Washington Trail Association website praised the hike we chose thusly:

"If for some terrible reason you are only allowed one hike in the Olympics in your lifetime, this should be it. The trail to Marmot Pass captures the very essence of what makes the Olympics so special, and so darned pretty. Towering old growth, a tumbling pristine river, resplendent alpine meadows, and horizon-spanning views that include majestic snow-clad craggy spires-they're all part of this amazing hike."

hard to say no to something described like that, even if it would mean more than 10 miles of hiking and a gain in elevation of 3,500 feet over five miles.

we set out early with hearty lunches, snacks, and most of the 10 hiking essentials, but despite our preparation, the trail still challenged us soundly. I had the fortune of not carrying a pack - we only brought one hiking pack (since we needed a suitcase for our remaining luggage) - and set a more blistering pace than I might have if porting extra weight.

the trail starts out in old growth forest, filled with hemlocks, firs, and cedars hundreds of years old. for several miles, the sound of the Big Quilcene river accompanies you, giving a small sense of what makes the rest of Olympic a rainforest. once it splits from the river, the trail begins climbing sharply out of the forest through avalanche zones and mountain meadows. and keeps climbing. close(ish) to the top we came across one of the cooler backcountry camping sites I've seen - along a stream under pine trees at the edge of a meadow. beyond the campsite, however, we could see a sheer granite rock face - a rock face that deep in our bones we knew the trail wanted us to ascend after we'd worn out or legs climbing up the last 3,000 feet. at one point, one of our party may have exclaimed "oh, hell no. f*ck this s*it." two of the remainder of the party may have agreed.

but we sat for a spell on some shady rocks to refuel and recover before the final ascent. and, not only were the switchbacks easier than the rest of the ascent, but the summit was absolutely worth the climb. views of the Dungness Valley and some of the highest peaks in the Olympic range off to the west, and of the Hood Canal and Puget Sound down the valley to the east - breathtaking.

the hike back down also proved challenging. we started off pretty enthusiastic - much easier to enjoy the view with rested legs and full bellies, but eventually we fell to silence as the trail kept. on. going. it was pretty impressive to recognize landmarks on the way down and think "oh, wow, we thought we were so much closer to the end when we passed this in the other direction." but we made it, clocking in at just over five and a half hours and somewhere between 10 (according to the WTA site) and 14 miles (according to my pedometer). on balance, I have to agree with the WTA assessment - if you can only do one hike in Olympic, this is a great one. that said, I hope we'll make it back to explore more of Olympic and its rainforests in the future!