trip dates:

saturday, august 23th through monday, september 1st (labor day)

NOTE: sorry, this trip is now FULL. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please contact Celeste at the email address/phone number below. Do not send money. Waiting list participants will be contacted if there are trip cancellations between now and trip departure.

Join the Austin Sierra Club for a trip to the magnificent Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.

• Camp in forest campgrounds
• Hike the mountain and beach trails
• Beach-comb some of the wild and isolated beaches of the Peninsula
• Bird-watch for sea birds and eagles
• Follow this link for more PHOTOS from previous trips

trip logistics

Dates: Saturday, August 23th through Monday, September 1st (Labor Day)

Cost: $675 per person ($710 for non-members). Note that this cost does not include air fare to SeaTac airport. You should also budget roughly $450 for round-trip air fare, although cheaper fares are available if you reserve soon enough in advance (see the Air Fare section below)

Trip leaders:

• Celeste Padilla ( ) or (512) 470-2201
• John Yarber ( ) or (512) 891-9643
• Dave Senecal ( )

Meet your trip leaders: Qualifications and Experience

This will be a combination basecamp and backpacking trip. A six-night backpack option is available for experienced backpackers (see BACKPACK below.) The rest of the group will be tent-camping at several basecamps on the Peninsula. If you are interested in the backpack option please contact Celeste or John immediately since spaces and permits are very limited.

calculating cost

Trip cost: $675 (members) $710 (non-members)

You must submit a $100 deposit per person to reserve a space on this trip. Deposits can be mailed immediately and will be accepted until the trip is filled. Deposits received after the trip has filled will be held uncashed and the sender will be placed on a waiting list against the likelihood of a cancellation.

The remainder of the trip fee will be due in full no later than August 6th.

Participants who must cancel prior to August 1st will receive a full refund of any monies received as long as their place on the trip can be filled from the waiting list. Cancellations after August 1st will be subject to charges based on any trip costs incurred on behalf of the individual up to that point with any remaining money returned to the participant who must cancel.

Trip cost covers:

• National and State park entrance and camping fees
• Camping fees in two commercial campgrounds
• All meals in camp
• Transportation by van
• Ferry fees
• Entrance fees to Olympic National Park

Cost DOES NOT cover:

• Personal expenses (souvenirs, snacks, etc.)
• Entrance to Dungeness Spit Wildlife Refuge (first day hiking/beachcombing option)
• Entrance to Sol Duc Hot Springs (optional alternative to hiking)
• Showers and/or laundry at campgrounds (if a fee is charged)
• Restaurant expenses (any meals on the road - probably no more than 3 meals)

RESERVATION: Payment of the trip deposit establishes your reservation. The trip is limited to 15 basecamp participants and 10 backpack participants.

Mail your DEPOSIT ($100) and/or trip fee, made out to THE AUSTIN SIERRA CLUB, to:

• Celeste Padilla
• 7122 Wood Hollow Dr., #74
• Austin, TX 78731

at the park

The Olympic National Park and the surrounding National Forest comprise one of the most beautiful and unique protected wilderness areas in the country. The park is truly a remote jewel in the National Park system. This trip will circle the peninsula from the northeast corner (starting in Seattle) around the north to the west coast, south to the Quinault Valley and finally back to SeaTac airport north of Tacoma.

Here is a link to the National Park Service website for Olympic National Park. Take some time and explore the website to get an idea of what a fantastic adventure this park has in store for you.

In case you are wondering, this is not our first rodeo. We have visited the Olympic Peninsula several times in the past and have alway had a fabulous trip. Check out the PHOTO GALLERY for highlights of some of the past trips.

daily schedule - basecamp

Participants will be met at SeaTac airport by the vans that will provide the transportation during the trip. From SeaTac, we will drive to Seattle to the ferry docks and get in line for the ferry crossing to Bainbridge Island. While waiting for the ferry, participants will get a chance to make a quick visit to the Pike Street Market, just up the hill from the ferry docks (this will only be possible if the wait for the ferry is an hour or more, which it frequently is on a weekend in the summer.)

From the ferry dock on Bainbridge Island, we will drive to the Rainbow's End RV campground in Sequim, close to highway 101. We have reserved 10 of the 15 tent sites in this small RV park's tent camping area. Showers are free and there are coin-op laundry facilities on site. Because the campsite is so close to Sequim, there will be time to visit the Dungeness Spit Wildlife Refuge and explore the beach. The lighthouse, which looks close is actually 7 miles away, so don't plan on a 14-mile beach hike today. Here is another link to information about the Spit with emphasis on the birds to be found there: DUNGENESS . And here is a link from the Department of Ecology: ECOLOGY DUNGENESS . Note: Entrance fee is $3 per family daily, or admission with Federal duck stamp, golden eagle, golden age, or golden access passports. Entrance to the refuge gives you access to the wooded trail down to the spit and the beach trail.

After leaving Dungeness (original home of the world-famous Dungeness Crabs), we will visit one of several local restaurants in the Sequim area, the best-known of which is The Three Crabs, a great seafood restaurant with a terrific view of the lighthouse and Dungeness Spit (if the weather is clear). Other local options are available for folks who are not seafood fans or who want less expensive food. We will need to make reservations at the Three Crabs a few days before the trip, so make sure your look over the website, check out the MENU and prices and decide if you want to join the folks going there.

After dinner, we will return to camp and retire to get ready for a long and wonderful day of hiking the next day.

Sunday, August 24th - Day TWO - [CAMP: Rainbow's End RV site]

We will start with breakfast in camp and after clean-up and lunch preparation we will head up the mountain to the Hurricane Ridge visitor center, about 31 miles away. From the center, we will split up into groups based on the difficulty of hikes individuals desire. No matter which hike level you choose, you should consider making the Hurricane Hill hike part of your plans. If the day is clear, as it often is in late August, you can see the Olympic Mountains deep in the peninsula to the south and Canada and the Straits of Juan de Fuca to the north. Other hikes close to Hurricane Hill will include shorter hikes in the Hurricane Meadows area. We will pack lunches and can stop and eat at any of several picnic spots along the way. Bring your rain gear and jackets since it is frequently cold and wintry up on the Hill. Long-distance hikers may wish to take the mountain trail downhill to Heart o' the Hills campground, where the rest of the group will pick them up on their way back to camp.

Dinner in camp.

This will be a long hiking day. We will return to Hurricane Hill and the visitor center briefly before we take a long dirt road along knife-ridges out to Obstruction Point trailhead. From there we will take what for many will be the longest hike of the trip (for the basecamp campers anyway) in a long scenic loop which will take us into the edge of the interior of the Olympics. The route will be out Badger Valley to Grand Lake and back up across Lillian Ridge. Bring plenty of water and energy food. (see the hike description page for a more detailed description of this hike.) Hikers who opt for a less strenuous day will have the option of hiking out along Lillian Ridge to the overlook into the valley where Grand Lake is located. Rather than descending the mountain to the lake, they will return along Lillian Ridge to Obstruction Point, drive back to Hurricane Ridge and down to the Heart o' the Hills campground where they can hike the Heart o' the Hills Nature trail. This trail is an excellent introduction to the kind of lowland forests we will be hiking through later in the week except that it will be dryer since we will be in the 'rainshadow' of the Olympics at this point.

Dinner in camp.

[BACKPACKERS will pack up and leave this morning for the start of the backpack. Follow this link for more detail on the OLY PEN BACKPACK ]

follow this link for a detailed list of all the hikes

for this trip: hike details

Today we will break camp and after breakfast and clean-up, we will leave Rainbow's End campground and drive west. This will be a fun and travel day. Our ultimate destination for the day will be the Hard Rain Cafe campground, but we will not get there until late in the afternoon or early evening. Our first stop after leaving Sequim will be Marymere Falls, a beautiful falls and a really nice short hike near Storm King on Lake Crescent.
From there we will drive up the forested Sol Duc Valley to the end of the road where we will take the short hike to Sol Duc falls, one of the most picturesque waterfalls on the peninsula. Hikers who want a longer hike can follow the same trail that the backpackers used as they ascended out of the Sol Duc Valley. They can hike as far as they like before returning to the parking lot. Folks who want a more relaxed day after the short hike to Sol Duc Falls can join the group at the Sol Duc hot springs for a leisurely soak in one of the several pools at the springs. Bring your shower gear and clean clothes. The showers are basic but adequate and by this point on the trip you may be ready for a long shower and shampoo.
After the soak and shower, we will link up with the long-hikers and continue our journey to the Hard Rain Cafe, arriving there in the late afternoon or early evening.

Dinner in camp.

For more information about the hot springs visit the GORP HOT SPRINGS site

Wednesday, August 27th - Day FIVE - [Camp: Hard Rain Cafe campground]

This will be a day to relax after yesterday’s long drive and activity. Folks who need to do laundry can do so at the Laundromat in Forks. Around noon we will take the short drive to Rialto Beach and spend the entire afternoon wandering the beach, hiking out to hole-in-the-rock and beyond, as the spirit moves you. Around sundown, we will gather back near the parking lot at Rialto Beach for what we hope will be a spectacular Pacific Coast sunset on one of the most desolate and interesting beaches on the coast. After dark, we will return to the Hard Rain campground for a late dinner in camp.

In the morning, after breakfast and clean-up, the group will drive to the famous Hoh Rainforest center, a short drive away and inside the Olympic National Park. We will have most of the day here, so we can explore as much of the area as possible. We will stop at the Visitor Center and participants will have an opportunity to check out the exhibits and purchase postcards, maps, books, posters and other souvenirs if they desire. Two very nice Nature trails start from the back of the visitor center and offer the best example of the nature of a temperate rainforest to be found on the peninsula. (See the Hike description page for details).
We will eat lunch at one of the picnic areas near the visitor center and explore the area. Hikers who would like to do so can hike down the Hoh River Trail as far as they like. The trail actually goes all the way to the Blue Glacier and Mount Olympus, but don't plan on going that far in one afternoon (it is 17.5 miles, one-way).

In the afternoon, we will return to camp in time to prepare and eat an early dinner in camp.

Friday, August 29th - Day SEVEN - Kalaloch Campground

After breakfast and clean-up, we will break camp and leave the Hard Rain campground for Kalaloch Beach. After we arrive at Kalaloch and set up camp (the drive is not long, about 25 miles), we will continue the drive on Highway 101 to Quinault Lake and out to Graves Creek where we will park in the campground and take one of several hikes in that area. Participants who do not want to hike far at Graves Creek have the option of driving along the south shore of the lake. On the way back, some of the group may wish to stop by the Quinault Lake Lodge, a beautiful restored forest lodge where Franklin Roosevelt once stayed, to get a late lunch at the excellent restaurant in the historic lodge. There is also a short Nature walk along lake shore to the lodge from the parking area (about .5 miles) which features lovely lake views and a small waterfall. The vans will rendezvous back at camp that evening. There will be other hiking options for folks who don't want to drive deep into the forest at Graves Creek but are more interested in challenging hikes in wilderness areas around Lake Quinault.

Dinner in camp.

Saturday, August 30th - Day EIGHT - Kalaloch Campground

Beach hiking day. Kalaloch Beach campsite is a perfect place to start a day of beach hiking. Hikers can choose to hike a long distance along a single beach or drive from beach to beach and hike as many as possible during the day. There are a number of excellent beaches to choose from: Kalaloch Beach, Ruby Beach, and the numbered beaches (#1, 2, 3, 4 and 6). The Big Cedar Tree, a great giant of the old forests, is just across Highway 101 between beaches #6 and #4 and is well worth the half-hour stop. The backpackers will join us this evening from the Hoh.

Dinner in camp.

[BACKPACKERS will exit the interior of the Olympic National Park today via the Hoh River Trail. They will pick up the minivan left for them at the visitor center and join the basecamp group at Kalaloch for dinner and an exchange of rowdy and possibly believable adventure tales. Follow this link for more detail on the OLY PEN BACKPACK ]

After breakfast and clean-up, we will go for a few last farewell hikes in the Kalaloch area before we break camp (a little before noon) and make the long drive to Dash Point State Park (near SeaTac airport). After setting up camp at Dash Point, we can explore the local beach or local trails. Dinner at a local restaurant or a drive into Seattle for the nightlife are all possibilities for our last night in Washington. Because Dash Point is only about ten miles from SeaTac Airport, we will not have to rush to get everyone to the airport in time for their flights Monday morning.

backpack..

John Yarber will lead the backpack this year into the heart of the Olympic Mountain Range. The backpack will be a six day trip through the high country of the Olympic Peninsula, starting at Sol Duc Falls and leaving through the Hoh rain forest. In between, the days will be spent in the Seven Lakes Basin, on the High Divide, and hiking up to the spectacular Blue Glacier. This is one of the best backpacks in the country and the trip plan means we will be able to see the best of the Olympics without returning to our starting point. It is a moderately strenuous trip, so you should be in good shape and you should plan on consulting with your backpack leader, John Yarber , before sending in your deposit. There will be a separate pre-trip meeting for the backpackers before the trip.
Backpackers will fly into and out of SeaTac along with the rest of the group and will camp with the basecamp group at the beginning and the end of the trip. On Monday, Aug. 25th, they will leave the basecamp and drive to the Sol Duc trailhead where they will begin their backpack. The basecamp group will pick up the backpackers' minivan and will use it until they leave it in the parking lot of the Hoh visitor center for the returning backpackers to use. The backpackers will then re-join the basecamp group at Kalaloch Beach for the two days that everyone camps there and will return with them to Dash Point State Park on August 31st in preparation for flying back to Austin from SeaTac the next day.

Backpackers should begin coordinating the details of their trip with John Yarber ( or (512) 891-9643 ) as soon as possible to insure that all details are clear and all special requirements are met.

This is the proposed schedule for the backpack. Most of the time will be spent in the high country.


Day 1: We start at Sol Duc (elevation 2000 feet) and hike 6 miles up to Deer Lake campground at 3500 feet, passing Sol Duc Falls on the way.

Day 2: We leave Deer Lake campground and hike up over the High Divide, at Bogachiel Pass (5100') down to Hoh Lake at 4500', covering 5.5 miles. We could decide to take a side trip, or camp in the Seven Lakes region, but it would involve a steep one mile hike and less free time for day 3.

Day 3: Is a day to dayhike the High Divide, look for bears, blueberries, and huckleberries; in other words, a day off. Hoh Lake has great a view of Mount Olympus, and the High Divide has great views of most of the park.

Day 4: We descend six miles, from Hoh Lake campground at 4500 feet to the Hoh River at 1000 feet, with time for fishing and relaxing.

Day 5: This is our chance to hike up to the Blue Glacier without backpacks; its 8 miles up with a gain of 3300'; its a lot of mileage, but the Blue Glacier, at the base of Mount Olympus, is truly magnificent.

[for a larger view of the Blue Glacier, click on the photo on the left]

Day 6: Is the last day of the backpack and we will be spend it hiking out through the Hoh rainforest; its 9 miles out with a barely noticeable 300' descent. So we'll also see the Hoh rainforest on the last day.

This is all subject to available reservations, which cannot be made until 30 days before our first camping night. I've never had a problem getting campsites, but we may have to alter our route a bit if we run into a problem.

equipment

[Plates, cooking gear and eating utensils as well as food will be provided by the Club for all meals in camp. You do not need to bring your own cooking/eating gear.]

A note on CAMERA EQUIPMENT:

The Olympic Peninsula is notoriously hard on cameras. It is extremely wet on the West Coast and the abrupt changes from sea level to mountain elevations combined with cold, windy, rainy weather are a challenge for any delicate electronic equipment, including regular and digital cameras. On the other hand, you don't want to leave your good camera behind and miss shots of some of the most beautiful scenery in the US. Here is my advice: leave the really expensive large-format camera at home and bring disposables for snapshots. I have drowned two nice auto-format cameras on the Peninsula and I now take only my Minolta APS underwater camera. It takes great photos and takes shots under water. It has survived three trips and the only problem is that the battery is slow to function in the mountains when it is cold. If you cannot bear to leave your good camera at home, bring along a large ziploc bag or a kayak dry bag for storage. Collect the packets or cylinders of silica gel (the ones that come in vitamin bottles or packed with new cameras for shipping and which say "do not eat") and pack them in the bag to absorb humidity. Keep your camera equipment in the closed bag when you are not using it and check the inside of the bag frequently for water vapor.

weather

The end of August and the beginning of September are right in the middle of the 'dry season' on the Olympic Peninsula, but given the fact that this is a rainforest (at least on the west coast), that is a relative term. You should plan on at least a few days of rainy weather but hopefully no more than that. We will be in the mountains part of the time and may actually encounter late (or early) snow, especially on Hurricane Ridge. In general, dress for cool and windy days with cold (but not freezing) nights.

Here are links to current weather conditions in three cities:

(use the BACK button on your browser to return to this page after viewing the weather)

Weather in SEATTLE

Weather in PORT ANGELES (NORTH COAST)

Weather in FORKS (WEST COAST)

Check the weather and the forecast regularly beginning about a week before the trip and keep checking for unusual weather trends in the predictions. BE PREPARED.

map