Duckabush River: Backpacking Season Has Begun

I have been watching the weather and reading trail reports for weeks, hoping to plan a spring backpacking trip. Because Washington has many areas with low elevation, snow-free trips are possible in April. March is a little early though, but I was determined to find somewhere to go. After combing through the Washington Trail Association and All Trails, I finally found a good option: Duckabush River Trail. 

This trail follows the Duckabush River on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula and has a number of backcountry campsites along the way. I set my sights on Five Mile Camp, which is about 5 miles from the trailhead. The latest trip reports confirmed that the trail was snow-free until some distance after Five Mile Camp. Last weekend, a favorable weather window opened up: cloudy with a chance of rain on the last day of the trip. While I didn’t want to hike in rain for the entire trip, I decided hiking out in the rain wouldn’t be so bad. So, I talked to a few friends, and we decided to go for it.

Moss covered trees and ferns, typical but beautiful PNW

My friends and I arrived at the trailhead after enduring a Forest Service road littered with potholes. It is not the worst dirt road I’ve driven on, but I did have to pay attention to avoid the largest holes. After changing into our hiking shoes and strapping on our packs, we set out through the lush, green Olympic National Forest. It is a typical but gorgeous PNW trail: lots of ferns on the forest floor and moss covering almost every surface. The first mile of the trail has a slight uphill grade as we climbed a small mountain called Little Hump (elevation 978 feet). At the summit of the mountain, we crossed into the Brothers Wilderness and began to descend towards the river.

First glimpse of the Duckabush River

Hiking along the river was so beautiful and peaceful. Rocks covered with vibrant moss flank the teal water and makes for a very scenic trip. We also crossed through several dried up riverbeds that I’m sure will be flowing in a month or two once the snow in the mountains really starts to melt.

After hiking for about 2.5 miles, we reached Two Mile Camp. It looked like a beautiful place to relax by the river, but we were only halfway to our destination of Five Mile Camp. At this point, the trail leaves the river behind for a while and begins to climb the next mountain, Big Hump. Appropriately named, Big Hump is almost twice as high as Little Hump at 1,781 feet! And since we had descended after summiting Little Hump, we had to gain almost 1,000 feet of elevation in one mile.

Debris and burned trees are evidence of a forest fire years ago

Thankfully there were switchbacks but it was still hard work. This section of trail was also interesting for another reason: there was a forest fire in this area a few years ago so many of the trees are burned and dead and there is lots of debris on the forest floor. While it is not the prettiest place to hike through, it is really cool to see all the young trees and plants that are growing, evidence that the forest is healing itself. 

There are three small viewpoints on the climb up Big Hump, each offering an expansive view of the river valley below and the surrounding mountains above. Even though it was cloudy when we were there, the view was still amazing. Unfortunately, at one of the viewpoints, I had to climb over a log and while doing so got a million splinters in the back of my legs. Thankfully, my leggings stopped them from embedding into my skin, but I couldn’t get the splinters out of my leggings. It made for an uncomfortable hike, but I was able to change into my sleeping leggings when we got to camp.

View of valley from Big Hump

Speaking of logs, because it is still very early in the season, many trail maintenance crews have not been out to clear the trails and take care of any damage that may have happened over winter. Because of this, there were quite a few downed trees on the trail. Most of them we were able to step over, but there were a few that required a little creativity to navigate. 

We finally summited Big Hump and began to descend towards the river once more. After hiking for a little over a mile, I spotted tents through the trees and knew we were approaching Five Mile Camp. A short trail led us down to the camp on the banks of the river. There was already a group set up when we arrived, but we had no trouble finding space for four tents. We quickly set up camp and had lunch. After hiking 5.4 miles, I was very hungry.

My tent and sleeping quilt set up at camp

Five Mile Camp is a beautiful place to camp. There are huge trees and moss grows on many of the rocks. The river is right next to camp and the water is pristine. It also has a lovely teal color with which I am absolutely obsessed. I had so much fun just relaxing by the river and taking photos, trying to capture its beauty.

River view near camp

After lunch, my friends and I decided to continue along the trail. The boundary of Olympic National Park was supposedly only 1.25 miles beyond our campsite, so we thought about trying to hike out to it. On our way, I noticed a few more campsites along the water. These sites would be great for someone who arrived later in the day and couldn’t find a spot in the main campsite or someone who wants more privacy. 

We hiked for about a quarter of a mile and came upon an area of the river that was a deep turquoise color. It was incredibly beautiful and part of me wanted to jump in for a swim even though the water was very cold. I’ve never seen water that color in Washington and I was completely mesmerized by it. As we admired the water, we realized we didn’t want to hike any further, so we decided to head back to camp.

Beautiful turquoise water

We had a great evening hanging out at camp, and we went to bed soon after sunset. Rain was forecast to start by 9am the next morning, so we wanted to get up and hopefully start hiking before the rain arrived in full force. 

When I woke up the next morning, I was worried that it would already be raining, but thankfully it was not! There was also very little condensation on the inside of my tent. I really don’t like having to pack up wet gear, so I was really happy that everything was pretty dry. I am a morning person and was awake before my friends, so I had a relaxing time making breakfast and eating it while still wrapped in my sleeping quilt (similar to a sleeping bag). Once they were all awake, we packed everything up and began to hike out just as it started to sprinkle.

Forest flora

Thankfully it wasn’t raining hard enough to need a rain jacket yet, which was good since we had to climb back up Big Hump. I dislike wearing my rain jacket while hiking uphill since rain jackets don’t vent very well and I usually get really hot. By the time we reached the top of Big Hump, it was raining harder and I decided to put on my rain jacket. Thankfully, the trail was mostly downhill from there, so it wasn’t a big deal. I don’t mind wearing a rain jacket while hiking downhill.

At the summit of Big Hump

The rain grew heavier as we continued hiking, so I was happy to see my car when we finally arrived back at the trailhead. I was so ready to get out of the rain, that I accidentally forgot to put my trekking poles in my car and I drove away without them! I’m a little bummed about it, but other than that, the trip went really well. I am so happy that I was able to get out and spend a night in the backcountry with friends. I am even more excited for summer and all the backpacking trips I have planned!