West Fork Dosewallips River Trail to Anderson Lake 7-26 to 7-30-2021
(photo album link at the bottom of email)
In late July 2021, we returned to the Olympic mountains, this time to the West Fork Dosewallips River trail.
Day #1: trailhead to Dose Forks
A forest service road used to go all the way to the Dosewallips Campgrounds, but it has washed out several times, and has been abandoned, as a road. So this hike now requires an additional 6.5 miles on the often broken up road to finally get to the original trailhead and begin the forest trail part. Some people choose to bike the road section, and then leave the bikes at the Dosewallips Campground to continue further on foot. Many bikes passed us by while we hoofed it.
We had many opportunities to look upon the Dosewallips River (including from a bridge to nowhere), enjoy several brooks and small waterfalls, greet a grouse and her babies, pass the boundary line into the Olympic National Park, pass the trailhead of the insanely steep Lake Constance trail, and stop at the overlook of the Dosewallips Waterfall (gigantic boulders included).
Once we passed the actual Dosewallips Campgrounds, we briefly took the rustic Terrace Nature Trail and could finally start enjoying the soft forest floor (for which our feet were grateful). Once back on the trail proper, we eventually arrived at the fork, where you can go right to the Main Fork Dosewallips Trail or left to the West Fork, which was our path. From there we hiked downhill to the Dose Forks campground. We explored the entire camp, and were grateful for the intel a friend had provided us. Past the 2nd bear wire and to the left, there is a fantastic site right on the river, with sparkling blue water, perfect for hammocks or multiple tents. We slept to the sound of the rushing river.
D#1: ~8.5 mi, 2000' elevation gain.
Night at Dose Forks, low 54F.
Day #2: Dose Forks to Honeymoon Meadows
Once we left Dose Forks camp and crossed the Dosewallips River on a bridge, we got to see our Dose Forks campsite from the other side of the river. Soon we crossed the river again on another bridge near the actual fork in the river.
Eventually, we arrived at Big Timber camp where we stopped for lunch. And it sure had big trees.
We saw many mycotrophic wildflowers: Coralroot Orchids (Corallorhiza), Ghost Plants or Indian Pipes (Monotropa uniflora), Gnome plants (Hermitomes congestum), and Pinesaps (Monotropa hypopitys). We saw areas of the forest that were completely covered in moss. And there was a stretch of forest which was totally silent - no sound of water, no sound of insects, absolutely nothing. It was eerily peaceful.
We paused at the Diamond Meadows camp and then crossed the West Fork of the Dosewallips River one more time on a footlog.
After that, the trail was at times quite brushy, at times quite narrow and sketchily close to a steep edge, which was surprising, considering how popular this trail is. There were plenty of opportunities to see how rock slides have wiped out entire areas of forest.
We finally arrived at Honeymoon Meadows camp (which is a forested area BEFORE the actual meadows) and set up our tarp and hammocks. The mosquitoes and flies were numerous there.
D#2: ~8 mi, 2575' elevation gain
Night at Honeymoon Meadows, low 50F
Day #3: Day hike, Honeymoon Meadows to Anderson Pass, then Anderson Lake/former Glacier
As always, to get the day off to the right start, we put our Nanopresso to work.
After a sweet, Asian-inspired stone-hop path across a creek, we encountered our first official ford. Let us say it was an invigorating start to the hike. We crossed the actual meadows, with small waterfalls in the distance and the beginning of mountain views. Along the way, we passed the LaCrosse Pass trail and continued on to Camp Siberia and shelter.
Our companions in this subalpine area were Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea), Western Columbines (Aquilegia formosa), Alpine Fawn Lily or Avalanche Lily (Erythronium montanum), Beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax), and other wildflowers.
We arrived at Anderson Pass and began our climb up to Anderson Lake. The mountain views became even more spectacular. And Anderson Lake is truly beautiful. We didn't go down to the lake from the trail on the left, but watched from a far distance a couple (also staying at Honeymoon Meadows) who had climbed up the (former) glacier to the top of Mount Anderson. After a while, we decided to explore the trail to the right, and after crossing a snowfield, we got a little closer to the lake.
It was mind-blowing to know that we were seeing the headwaters of the actual West Fork Dosewallips River (and parts of the Quinault River, too). The rivers start as lakes and trickles and tarns up here. Wow.
And since we climbed down to be closer to Anderson Lake... we had to climb back UP. Smart.
Starting our return to camp, we saw our first elk. You may have to squint when looking at the pictures, but really, it's a lone elk.
At Anderson Pass on the way back, we briefly explored the trail to East Fork Quinault, but once it started heading downhill, we decided it was getting late, and we really needed to get back to camp.
Since I love fungi, please enjoy the Dog Vomit Slime Mold (Fuligo septica). And we think a Cascades Frog (Rana cascadae).
Back in the actual Honeymoon Meadows, we stopped to look at the fields of False Hellebore (Veratrum viride). And now we had to face the ford back to camp, except it was in the afternoon, so the water level was a bit higher. Refreshing!
D#3: ~6 mi, 2275' elevation gain
Night at Honeymoon Meadows, low 50F
Day #4: Honeymoon Meadows to Big Timber
The next morning, a lovely and curious deer decided to visit our camp. It was very photogenic and unafraid. That's code for "Have humans fed you before?"
And speaking of fauna, near the Honeymoon Meadows, there was a bear sighted by a fellow backpacker, Jeff from Portland, Oregon, but we missed it.
On the way back we enjoyed some narly-looking bracket fungi and many other forest sights, and we again passed that eerily quiet section of forest.
We explored Diamond Meadows camp a bit more that day, and it seemed to be comprised of several connected but separate "islands" of camping area.
We decided to stay at Big Timber (instead of continuing to Dose Forks) so as to experience a different camp, even though it would mean a longer hike out on Day #5...
D#4: 5 mi, 370' elevation gain
Night at Big Timber, low 57F
Day #5: Big Timber to trailhead
Many things are the same on the way out, but it's interesting how different the perspective can be, going the other direction.
It was odd to see little sedums rising through a bed of moss.
We enjoyed the many different river views and creeks.
At the Dosewallips Campground, there were two enormous cedars growing right next to each other, like conjoined twins. The picture doesn't do justice to how big they were.
The grouse bade us farewell on our way out.
Gotta say, the 6.5 miles of road were a lot harder on Day #5. Our feet were screaming by the time we reached our car.
D#5: 10.5mi, 900' elevation gain
Total was 4 nights/5 days, ~38 miles and ~8000' elevation gain.
Enjoy the pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/b3CNvkTizZ6bbx3f6
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