KRAUSE BOTTOM TRAIL

Length 1.3-mi/2.1 km 
Access Elwha Trail; Long Ridge Trail 
USGS Map Hurricane Hill 
Agency Olympic National Park

The Krause Bottom Trail begins 1.5-mi/2.4 km south of Whiskey Bend, on 
the Elwha Trail, and crosses Geyser Valley, going by Humes Ranch.

The trail descends steeply through the forest to a small clearing, where 
gnarled fruit trees, struggling to exist, are the sole reminders that this 
was once a pioneer homestead. The trail forks (0.4 mi/0.6 km) on a bench 
just below the clearing. The right branch is the Geyser Valley Trail, which 
leads to Goblin Gates; the left one, a continuation of the Krause Bottom 
Trail, which descends to Krause Bottom (0.7 mi/ 1.1 km), on the floor of 
Geyser Valley, where it forks. The right branch leads to a campsite by the 
Elwha River, but the Krause Bottom Trail turns left, or south, and traverses 
the river flats, which are noted for a splendid grove of huge vine maples. 
This area is well worth a visit in the spring, when the leaves are just 
emerging on the maples.

The trail then climbs to a bench, the site of the Humes Ranch (1.1 mi/1.8 km). 
Excellent campsites, reached by a side path, are located below the cabin, 
by the river. Will Humes homesteaded the ranch about the turn of the century, 
but his brother, Grant, joined him later. Together, the men-who were from New 
York-planted an orchard and cultivated crops. They also guided hunters and 
alpinists, including summer outings of The Mountaineers. Will Humes returned 
to the East Coast in 1914, but Grant continued to reside on the Elwha until 
his death in 1934. The cabin is the only structure still standing on the 
ranch, and the National Park Service has restored and preserved it as an 
example of pioneer settlement. Aged fruit trees accent the isolation and make 
one wonder what living was like here in the early 1900s.

Beyond the cabin the trail climbs to a junction with the Long Ridge Trail 
(1.3 mi/ 2.1 km) west of Michaels Ranch. An alternate route from the cabin-really 
a way path-crosses the old hayfield, and then reenters the forest. Beyond Idaho 
Creek, this path goes by a campsite-possibly the best one in Geyser Valley-and 
ascends to an intersection with the Long Ridge Trail near the bridge over the 
Elwha.