Olympic National Park 2013

River in the Olympic National Park

 Thanks to Rob, this year we found a very low travelled hike in the southwest corner of the Olympic National park and tried on packrafting for the first time.  Packrafts are mini-rafts that weigh about 5 lbs and fit on, you guessed it, your pack!!  They are awesome, and packrafting will definitely be on the menu for future trips.  The trail is not well hiked because right at the beginning you have to either ford the river or float across.  Fording the river is nearly impossible until very late in the season when the water level lowers to a manageable flow rate.

This years group left to right James, Gary, Jared, Rob, Zachariah, Jeff, Mike, and Chris

Randy was the final group member, manning the camera for the above log shot

We started out with having to blow up and "test" our rafts right from the get go.  Money was on Gary washing out to sea or popping his raft in a snag before we had hiked anywhere, there was a moment of excitement but he made it, just barely.

Prepping the rafts for the first float

James making the initial crossing

After the initial crossing we wrapped up the rafts for the two day hike up the river.  The hike up river was about 17 miles on sometimes nonexistent trail.

Looking for any sign of the trail

No real elevation gains, but sometimes the "trail" was nearly impassable

James and Gary climbing over fallen logs

Silver back gorilla

Old ranger shack at the end of the trail, not much of a shelter

The first night we had to cross the river to a nice sandbar that was perfect for camp.  Since it was in the middle of the river there was a nice, constant breeze that kept the bugs away.  The sandbar was also at a point where another stream joined the river and made for a good fishing hole.  The Smith brothers have been dreaming of catching a real fish in the wild ever since they were wee lads.  They were cheated out of every good chance in Alaska two years back, so this year was going to be their chance to realize their dream.  Once we landed the sandbar they broke out their gear and went searching for the perfect spot.

Packrafts lined up on the sandbar

At the "fishing hole", we used a couple of sets of goggles to find the elusive fish

 Within a few minutes of fishing up the creek above the sandbar both Smith brothers hand some solid hits.  It wasn't until the next morning that they actually reeled one in, but the Smith's got their fish.  The first night while fishing nobody was watching the boats and a big gust of wind came and blew a couple into the river.  Luckily people were close by and heard the boats go, so we were able to save them from floating downstream.

Oooh, fire

The second day we hiked the rest of the way.  The trail became increasingly difficult to find until it completely disappeared altogether.  Luckily a ranger had been up there and had hung pink ribbons every so often to help the occasional backpacker stay on track.

Lost in a meadow

While eating dinner and starting the fire on the second night we spotted two big black bears in the meadow on the opposite side of the river.  Both lumbered through the clearing without noticing us and ate berries as they worked there way across and back into the trees.

Black bear #1 eating berries

The morning of the third day we blew up our packrafts and set out to make the 17-20 mile rafting trip back to the beginning.  The river took a somewhat winding route so we didn't have a perfect measurement for actual distance.  Total rafting time from our second camp to the take out point was about 8.5 - 9 hours.  Gary almost ended early about 5 minutes into the float.  There were a lot of dead snags and old growth trees laying across the river at some points.  Right after we put in there was a set of rough rapids and an old growth tree sticking out over the water about 3 feet above the water. Unfortunately for Gary there was also some white water peaking right under the log and he couldn't get to the left fast enough.  When Gary's raft popped up he leaned way back to not hit his head and the raft gave, dipping his head in the water and throwing his feet straight up.  His legs hit the log and as he came the down the other side of the wave he miraculously popped back into the raft.  Everybody thought he was going over, but his desperate, adrenaline fueled clinging to the boat pulled him through.

Blowing up the packrafts

Jared ready to go

Left to right, Rob, Zachariah, and Jared

Coming through some rapids

Amazingly they sell a "Sasquatch" size packraft that fit Rob

At some points we had to portage around dead fallen trees that blocked the river enough to make it impassible.  There were only a few spots, but there were enough to make you really appreciate how nice it was to just be able to ride the rapids in the rafts.  While floating we saw loads of huge elk along the riverbanks, culminating with a huge herd crossing the river right in front of us.

James pushed up against a nasty snag

Elk in the river

Portaging down a shallow tributary around a huge deadfall in the middle of the river

Gary pulling out to portage

Monster elk herd crossing the river in front of us

Below are two movies made from footage taken during the trip:

2013 Queets River from Fiona Rollins on Vimeo.

Queets 2013 from Rob Smith on Vimeo.