NORTH FORK SOLEDUCK TRAIL Last 4 miles not maintained Length 10.0 mi/16.1 km Access Soleduck River Road USGS Maps Mount Muller: Lake Crescent: Bogachiel Peak Agency Olympic National Park The trailhead (1450 ft/442 m) is located on the Soleduck River Road, 8.1-mi/13.0 km from US 101. The route follows the North Fork Soleduck River almost to its headwaters, and then climbs toward Happy Lake Ridge. Although the route was surveyed to the ridge more than forty years ago, the trail was never completed to link up with the Happy Lake Ridge Trail, but ends about 1.5-mi/2.4 km northwest of Boulder Lake. Numerous brooks cross the trail; thus the hiker need not carry water. Because the route traverses a primitive forest where elk are likely to be observed, one should keep alert, because viewing the animals adds still another dimension to the splendors of this path. The trail first climbs over a low ridge (1750 ft/533 m) through large second- growth western hemlock and Douglas fir. The trees are perhaps 150 years old. Apparently, fire swept these slopes about the time the pioneers were arriving in the Pacific Northwest. On the North Slope, survivors of an old stand of fir are scattered through the forest. The towering, fire-scarred giants make the hemlocks look like pygmies. Here the trail descends to the North Fork Soleduck, where a ford is required (1.0 mi/1.6 km; 1500 ft/457 m). Meandering through bottomland, the route comes out to the riverbank, where it follows ledges in the rock. The stream is beautiful-perfectly clear, cascading over stone barriers that create deep pools in the river. The trail then returns to the bottomland. Although generally climbing, the trail goes up and down; at times penetrating stands of Douglas fir, on other occasions crossing flats overgrown with salmonberry bushes, where the trail is just a narrow, obscure lane. Riverside Camp (2.9 mi/4.7 km) is located just beyond a large boulder about 4 feet high that stands beside the trail. A beautiful place by the North Fork, this camp has room for several tents. Beyond Frying pan Camp (3.0 mi/4.8 km), a smaller but comfortable spot, the trail switchbacks up through stands of western hemlock, and the river roars madly in its canyon. The forest here appears to be in transition from Douglas fir to hemlock. After crossing two large creeks, the path goes through an almost pure stand of virgin Douglas fir. The trees are not unusually large, generally 4 to 5 feet in diameter and perhaps 250 feet tall, but the forest is nonetheless impressive-one big fir after another, to the almost total exclusion of other species. One who hikes through this stand can readily understand why the timber men would like to turn their loggers loose in Olympic National Park. The trail then leaves the North Fork Soleduck (ca. 5.5 mi/8.9 km) and follows a major tributary. The route climbs a bit, and this branch of the river can be heard surging through its canyon. The path descends to the stream and crosses to the south side (6.0 mi/9.7 km; 2100 ft/640 m). Here the river is a combination of deep pools and rapids. This is the first of ten crossings where one must wade, step from boulder to boulder, or search for a tree that has fallen across the river. The forest changes-the Douglas firs disappear, replaced by western hemlock and silver fir. Beyond this point the route has not been maintained for many years. One must not only struggle through the windfalls and brush but also contend with the numerous river crossings during the next 2 miles, the trail shifting back and forth, first on one side of the river, then the other. The crossings are mandatory; to attempt to stay on one side would be folly. As one hiker stated succinctly, this section of the route is not a high-speed trail. The North Fork Soleduck Shelter (9.0 mi/14.5 km; 3000 ft/914 m) stands on the east bank of the river, which at this point flows north. The dense forest is composed of western hemlock and silver fir, with some Douglas fir. Beyond the shelter the trail ascends the mountainside about a mile toward Happy Lake Ridge, but, never having been completed, it comes to a dead end on a forested spur (ca. 10.0 mi/ 16.1 km; 4500 ft/1372 m). One can, however, travel cross-country to the ridge. The terrain is moderately steep, the forest floor comparatively open.