HEATHER CREEK TRAIL

Way trail, not maintained 
Length 4.0 mi/6.4 km 
Access Upper Dungeness Trail 
USGS Map Mount Deception Agency Olympic National Forest

This route is not marked with a sign, and the Forest Service does not list it in its 
literature. Nevertheless, it is a fairly good trail, and with limited maintenance 
could be made into a first-class one. The path ends near the national park boundary 
on the upper reaches of Heather Creek.

The trail begins as a log-blocked side path (3175 ft/968 m) on the Upper Dungeness 
Trail, 0.3 mi/0.5 km beyond Camp Handy. The path leads downhill, to the right, 
descending toward the Dungcncss River through scrubby forest having the characteristic 
understory of salal and rhododendron found in the northeastern Olympics. After 
crossing a small stream, the trail approaches the Dungeness at an old camp where a 
cabin stood close to the river. The structure was destroyed in 1981, and nothing 
remains but a pile of logs.

At this point the trail goes upstream through the conifer forest, paralleling the 
Dungeness but avoiding its willow-choked banks. The route alternately traverses 
stands of old fir and grassy glades. Two camps are located in this area—the first 
in a grove of firs, the second (Grindstone Camp) in a meadow opposite Milk Creek, 
which flows down the slope to the west to join Heather Creek, thus forming the 
Dungeness River. The path meanders as it detours around windfalls and washouts. 
The flat bottomland disappears, and the trail climbs a little ridge before descending 
to Heather Creek (2.0 mi/3.2 km; 3260 ft/994 m). The stream is not bridged; one
 must either wade or look around for a log spanning the creek.

The trail then follows a rounded ridge, and one can hear the booming of Heather 
Creek below. As the path climbs through the forest, where the ground is covered 
with boulders and moss, the hiker is surprised to come upon an old hunters' camp 
(2.9 mi/4.7 km; 3475 ft/1059 m) littered with heaps of debris. The piles include 
broken glass, whiskey and beer bottles, assorted jars, gasoline cans, and rusted 
tableware. Burned timbers denote the site where a cabin once stood.

At this point the trail jogs to the right and climbs steadily through scrubby little 
firs and hemlocks. At times one can look across the Dungeness Valley and see the rock 
tower that marks the end of the Charlia Lakes Way Trail. The trail then enters the 
first of two areas where avalanches have destroyed the limber. Here one can see 
rocky, forested peaks and ridges, with some meadowland at the higher elevations.

The character of the forest changes, with willow and slide alder mixed among the 
conifers. Many of the latter are covered with burls. The country becomes increasingly 
rough; big rocks lie scattered among the trees, and the slope drops steeply to a canyon 
on the left. The trail then enters a big basin overgrown with impenetrable thickets 
of slide alder and willow, where a good deal of debris has been left by avalanches. 
The basin is encircled by rocky mountains, with two peaks forming a wall at its head. 
The higher one is Little Mystery.

The trail descends along the basins edge to Heather Creek. A cabin, identified by a 
sign as Heather Creek Camp, once stood on a knoll on the stream's far side, almost 
hidden by brush and stunted evergreens covered with burls.

This cabin was located in the vicinity of the national park boundary, which has 
not been marked in diis area. The trail ends here (ca. 4.0 mi/6.4 km; ca. 4000 ft/1219 m).