DUCKABUSH Heading into the southeastern Olympics, the narrow Duckabush Valley forms a long arc from O'Neil Pass to Hood Canal. The forest growth on the valley's lower slopes is luxuriant, the dense stands of conifers masking the rough terrain, although cliffs at times break the green cloak, and avalanche paths scar many mountainsides. Because the mountains are lower here than they are to the north, the alpland is not extensive, but none of the meadows elsewhere is more beautiful than LaCrosse Basin at the head of the Duckabush River or Elk Basin on the First Divide. Steep ridges and snow-capped peaks parallel the Duckabush. The ridge to the north, lying between the Duckabush and Dosewallips, reaches its maximum elevation in several peaks—Jupiter, Elklick, LaCrosse, and White Mountain; the one to the south, isolating the Duckabush from the Hamma Hamma and Skokomish Rivers, culminates in The Brothers, Lena, Hopper, Steel, and Duckabush. O'Neil Pass, at the head of the Duckabush, provides access to the Quinault. Many short, swift tributaries flow into the Duckabush, adding to its volume. The largest ones are One Too Many Creek and Crazy Creek. The latter tumbles down from Elk Basin and the snowfields on Mount Stone. The river has its source in the stagnant Twin Glaciers on the north face of Mount Duckabush. Next to The Brothers, this is the most prominent peak in this area, and it has had five names- Susan, Skookum, Arline, Steel, and Duckabush. The first three have gone the way of the great auk, but the name Mount Steel was later given to a nearby peak. The name honors Will G. Steel, who helped Lieutenant Joseph P. O'Neil organize the 1890 U.S. Army-Oregon Alpine Club joint expedition. The Duckabush is a swift river, and its waters are clear despite the fact that the Twin Glaciers help sustain the stream. Numerous cascades and rapids characterize the stream, where the current swirls over and among large boulders. The blue green water, shaded by the overhanging maples and alders, flashes white whenever it breaks over moss-covered rocks and reflects innumerable glints from vagrant shafts of sunlight. The wilderness of the upper Duckabush is adequately protected because it lies within Olympic National Park, and since 1984 the 6-mile segment between Little Hump and the park boundary has been part of The Brothers Wilderness and thus equally well protected. However, the last few miles between Little Hump and Hood Canal flow through lands subject to commercial activity. The Duckabush in its entirety should be declared a "wild river" in order to keep it free from development. The upper Duckabush was first explored in the summer of 1890 by the O'Neil expedition and by a party led by Judge James Wickersham of Tacoma. ROADS Duckabush River Road (FS Road 2510). This road leaves US 101, the Olympic Highway, 3.5-mi/5.6 km south of Brinnon on the Hood Canal and goes by woodland homes and through stands of large second-growth Douglas fir. The road enters the Olympic National Forest at the old Interrorem Guard Station (3.6 mi/ 5.8 km). The rustic cabin, built in 1906, was the first government building constructed on the Olympic Forest Reserve (before it was renamed Olympic National Forest). The road then penetrates wild, rugged country. Camp Collins (5.0 mi/8.1 km) is an automobile campground on the north bank of the Duckabush. At 6.0- mi/9.7 km, FS Road 2510-060 branches to the right and provides access to the Duckabush Trail. The river road continues up the valley a short distance, and then crosses the Duckabush to the south side and heads back toward Hood Canal. At 6.4-mi/10.3 km the road forks into two branches. FS Road 2510 continues as the left branch and the right brand becomes FS Road 2530. The Murhut Falls Trail begins on FS Road 2530 one mile beyond the junction of that road with FS Road 2510. FS Road 2510-060. This stub road, on the eastern slopes of Little Hump, at the foot of Mount Jupiter, is slightly more than one-tenth of a mile in length and begins 6.0 mi/9.7 km from US 101 on FS Road 2510. The road leads to the registration station for the Duckabush Trail, adjacent to a commodious parking area that will accommodate at least twenty vehicles. Hikers should not leave valuables in cars parked here because serious vandalism has occurred at this trailhead. Mount Jupiter Road (Cormorant Way). Access to the Mount Jupiter Trail is provided by the Mount Jupiter Road, which is signed Cormorant Way at its Junction with US 101 just south of Black Point. The junction, 0.9 mi/1.4 km north of the Duckabush River Road (FS Road 2510) and 3.0 mi/4.8 km south of the Dosewallips River Road (FS Road 2610), can be spotted easily because a small bulldozer sits perched atop a huge stump some 12 to 15 feet high on the east side of US 101. To reach the trailhead, drive west on Cormorant Way 5.9 mi/9.5km. The road meanders through clearcuts and stands of second-growth fir where logging is actively occurring. One should be alert for logging trucks and also watch for guidance signs at intersections with other roads. Parking at the trailhead (ca. 2100 ft/640 m) is limited, and drivers should use spots that will not interfere with the movements of the logging trucks.