Olympic Mountains Trail Guide. Robert Wood
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trail climbs up and down as it follows Happy Lake Ridge, either traversing along the crest or on one side or the other. Here it alternates between forest and meadowland. The trees consist of subalpine fir, mountain hemlock, and silver fir; the wildflowers include lupines, gentians, mountain azalea, daisies, and thistles. Hikers should keep alert because the tread deteriorates and often disappears in the meadows. One should watch for signs of the trail or note on the tree trunks bits of orange-colored tape which indicate the way.
On this exposed divide, one can hear the wind in the trees—murmuring softly on quiet summer days, howling during wild autumn storms. At one point the trail dips a bit, and one can see, to the left, the steep pyramid of Lizard Head Peak (5370 ft/1637 m). The trail then enters a dense stand of subalpine fir. The tall trunks rise to a considerable height without limbs, and the crowns are festooned with lichens.
Eventually the trail comes out onto a slope where the sound of a stream—a tributary of the North Fork Sol Duc—rises faintly from below. The path continues down the ridge, and one can look to the right into the headwaters of the North Fork Sol Duc or to the left across the Barnes Creek watershed and the valley of Lizard Head Creek. During late September, Boletus edulis, the king bolete, a prized mushroom, can sometimes be gathered here.
Again the trail follows the narrow spine, at times through stands of subalpine fir and mountain hemlock, where gentians bloom beneath the contorted trees. Then, coming out into another meadow, the trail ends at a junction with the Happy Lake Ridge Trail (5.4 mi/8.7 km; 5020 ft/1530 m), where the latter departs its namesake ridge to follow an unnamed divide to Boulder Lake. This is not only confusing but also illogical, but the trails in the Olympics do not always follow a logical course.
9AURORA CREEK TRAIL
Length: 3.4 mi/5.5 km
Access: US 101
Custom Correct Map: Lake Crescent / Happy Lake Ridge, Washington
Green Trails Map: Lake Crescent, Wa. No. 101
Agency: Olympic National Park
One of the steepest paths in the Olympics, this trail begins on US 101 on the south side of Lake Crescent, 2.8 mi/4.5 km west of the Storm King Ranger Station. Although parking space has not been provided at the trailhead, one can use the nearby turnouts along the highway.
The trail ascends the spur between Aurora Creek and Smith Creek, climbing above the lake through Douglas-fir forest. At first the noise of traffic is pronounced, but with increasing elevation the sound diminishes. Occasionally, the hiker can glimpse Lake Crescent through the trees.
The path climbs unrelentingly along the narrow spine. The trees gradually become smaller, and western hemlock is dominant at the higher altitudes. One can hear Aurora Creek flowing in a deep draw to the right, and a branch trail (1.7 mi/2.7 km) indicates water is available. The side path drops to the creek—the only place on this route where water can be obtained.
Beyond this point silver fir gradually replaces Douglas-fir, and the hemlocks stand so thick on the mountainside that little direct sunlight penetrates the forest canopy; consequently, undergrowth is sparse, in many places nonexistent. The gloom is unrelieved, even on the brightest days, and the darkness is depressing.
Higher up, the trail goes through dense stands of mountain hemlock and silver fir as it more or less follows the narrow ridge, shifting back and forth from one side to the other, like a lost dog looking for its master, and occasionally going along the crest. Here the mountain hemlocks often form clusters of six to ten trees.
After skirting a rock outcrop, the trail crosses Aurora Ridge, than descends slightly on the south side to a junction with the Aurora Ridge Trail (3.4 mi/5.5 km; 4100 ft/1250 m).
10AURORA RIDGE TRAIL
Length: 15.1 mi/24.3 km
Access: US 101
Custom Correct Map: Lake Crescent / Happy Lake Ridge, Washington
Green Trails Map: Lake Crescent, Wa. No. 101
Agency: Olympic National Park
This trail follows the divide between the Sol Duc and Lyre Rivers. Although it begins on the Sol Duc, it is more closely allied to the Lyre and therefore has been included in this section.
Beginning 2.5 mi/4.0 km south of US 101 on the Sol Duc Hot Springs Road (see Sol Duc chapter for road description), the trail climbs to Aurora Ridge, then follows the watershed until the path merges with the Aurora Divide Trail, where Aurora Ridge becomes Happy Lake Ridge. (The change in terminology is arbitrary because the ridge is unbroken; thus it reflects man’s penchant for classifying geographic features into ever smaller units.) The ridge does not rise above timberline, but the route crosses meadows that provide excellent views. Because this trail is not one of the popular “beaten paths,” the hiker is more apt to find solitude here than on most trails that are close to roads.
Beyond the parking area (1260 ft/384 m), the trail follows an abandoned logging road bordered by colonnades of tall alders. This area, logged before the national park was created, is now covered with second-growth forest. The trail crosses several brooks, then leaves the logging road and enters virgin forest, consisting mostly of Douglas-fir. When the ridge crest is attained, one can see, through the trees, sky below on either side. The trail now follows the rounded crest of Aurora Ridge, through dense stands of western hemlock and silver fir, to a junction (5.5 mi/8.9 km; 3700 ft/1128 m) with a path that leads left to the Eagle Lakes, the source of Eagle Creek.
The spur trail climbs a bit, then drops sharply, ending at the largest lake (0.6 mi/1.0 km; 3075 ft/ 937 m). Bordered by tall conifers, it lies on a bench, and a stream flows into it from the south. The second lake, slightly lower in elevation and to the north, is little more than a long, narrow pothole half-filled with silt and aquatic plants. The third and smallest lake is located still farther down the slope.
Beyond the Eagle Lakes, the Aurora Ridge Trail meanders through stands of silver fir, western hemlock, and Douglas-fir, then makes a gradual ascent, no longer on the ridgetop but traversing the steep south side. The trail then returns to the ridge, where one can look to either side. Here the forest consists mostly of true firs, and the undergrowth is sparse. On the south slope of Sourdough Mountain, the trail crosses a big meadow overgrown with juniper, ferns, lupine, huckleberry, and wild strawberry. The beautiful view here includes Mount Olympus, Mount Tom, and intervening forested ridges, as well as the vista up the North Fork Sol Duc.
Sourdough Camp (8.5 mi/13.7 km; 4550 ft/1387 m) is located north of the trail in a little meadow just beyond the big one. The shelter that once stood here is nothing but a heap of ruins today. This camp is not inviting because the terrain is not level and water is scarce, although a nearby path leads to a ravine where it can be found in early summer.
The trail now begins a long, ascending traverse of a steep sidehill, then switchbacks down to a brackish pond and a meadow marked by snags with bleached trunks. A tiny stream crosses the trail here.
Beyond the junction with Aurora Creek Trail (10.4 mi/16.7 km; 4100 ft/ 1250 m), located in a thick stand of silver fir, the trail descends a bit, crosses a little meadow, where Mount Olympus is once again visible, then climbs toward Aurora Peak. Skirting just below the summit, the trail contours to Aurora Spring (12.0 mi/19.3 km; 4450 ft/1357 m). The tiny rivulet emerges from the bottom of a slope covered by meadowland and subalpine firs. The spot is too swampy for camping, but tents can be pitched on the ridge above.
East of Aurora Spring, patches of forest, which extend to the ridge crest, alternate with a succession of ever larger meadows, from where one can see for miles. Most of the time the trail traverses the south slope of Aurora Ridge, but now and then it follows the narrow divide or drops into the mountain hemlock forest on the north slope. At various points one can look up and down the North Fork Sol Duc and glimpse, beyond intervening timbered ridges, the snowy peaks