SOUTH FORK HOH TRAIL Length 3.3 mi/5.3 km Access DNR Road 1000 USGS Maps Owl Mountain; Mount Tom Agency Olympic National Park The South Fork Hoh Trail begins on state land at the end of DNR Road 1000. The trail leads into an area of Olympic National Park that is off the beaten track, a splendid rain forest frequented by herds of elk. This valley is a botanist and zoologist's paradise, but most hikers shun the trail because it is remote and does not lead to the high country. However, the runs of salmon and steelhead attract fishermen. Steep, heavily forested slopes without trails border the bottomlands where the trail meanders; thus in effect the area is a cul-de-sac. The trail descends steeply from the parking area (800 ft/244 m) to a lower level, where it traverses rocky flats, logged during World War II, that are covered with alder and second-growth spruce. At the boundary of Olympic National Park (0.4 mi/ 0.6 km; 750 ft/229 m), the trail enters the virgin forest, which is mostly Sitka spruce and western hemlock, with a scattering of Douglas fir. Within the park the trail meanders, with many little ups and downs, through lush, jungle like rain forest. At one point the path goes by a splendid example of Douglas fir. This tree is eleven feet in diameter, possibly 300 feet tall, and its trunk, free of limbs for about 150 feet, rises straight as an arrow, with little taper. The trail crosses a small creek, then a larger one that flows in a rocky channel, before descending to Big Flat (1.3 mi/2.1 km; 732 ft/223 m). This level bottom- land is aptly named; it consists of open, grassy stretches bordered by giant spruces and groves of bigleaf and vine maple. At one time a shelter stood beside the trail where the path enters the flat but a falling tree demolished the structure. However, the hiker can find good campsites close by the river, at the far edge of the flat. Here one can well imagine, in this fairyland rain forest setting, that goblins and elves lurk in the hidden recesses. Because Big Flat is located near the park boundary, the sounds of logging on adjoining state land disturb the wilderness solitude on weekdays. One can hear the crash of falling trees, the noise of logging trucks, the whirring of chain saws. The park's boundaries were not drawn logically here. The entire watershed of this stream should have been included within the park. Logically, the boundary should have followed the ridge from Owl Mountain to a point directly south of the confluence of the South Fork and the Hoh, then should have gone straight north. This would have protected the lower South Fork, as well as the integrity of the visual approach when one goes into the park via the Hoh River Road. Now visitors to the Hoh rain forest see an ugly clear cut on the apex of the divide lying between the South Fork and the Hoh. Beyond Big Flat the trail goes through luxuriant rain forest, including groves of mammoth spruces, to an attractive riverside camp, then crosses a swale (2.5 mi/ 4.0 km). No sign or side path is present here to indicate that Camp Stick-in-Eye (750 ft/229 m) is located in the woods to the right, on the north bank of the South Fork, hidden from view by a screen of large conifers. The camp, which can accommodate a large party, received its name when John E. Stout poked a stick in his eye while camping here in 1978. This is a calm, peaceful place. No artificial lights mar the beauty of the night, when the trees form dark silhouettes, the stars shine brilliantly, and the tired hiker can drift into slumber while listening to the murmur of the river. Beyond Camp Stick-in-Eye the trail deteriorates, but the route goes through beautiful glades and stands of large spruce. Many logs lie across the trail, which in places disappears entirely. Although fragments can be noted farther upstream, the trail can be said to end at the base of a big boulder about 40 feet high, where the bluff comes down to the river (3.3 mi/5.3 km; 800 ft/244 m). At one time the trail went about 5 miles beyond this point, ending at the base of Hoh Peak, where the bottomland is pinched out by slopes that rise directly from the river's banks. However, the experienced hiker does not really need a trail here but can wander at will across the flats-through the maple groves, the stands of giant fir and spruce, the vine maple thickets-to what apparently was an elk forage study plot (ca. 4.0 mi/6.4 km). At this point a good camp is located on the opposite side of the river. The visitor who listens attentively will hear elk bugling, kingfishers shrieking, ravens croaking-and may be lucky and see a bald eagle feasting on a spawned salmon. Above the base of Hoh Peak, the river flows through a wild, rugged canyon, which is visited mostly by mountain climbers headed for the Valhallas. Although this route requires extensive cross-country travel, it is the most convenient approach to the western part of the Mount Olympus Range. The cluster of peaks southwest of Mount Olympus, constituting part of the Mount Olympus Range, was unnamed for many years. Eventually, the peaks were christened The Pleiades, for the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, in keeping with the theme of using names from Greek mythology for geographic features in the Mount Olympus Range. The name was not publicized, however, and did not come into general use. Neither did names such as Hee Hee Peak and Hee Haw Peak, given by the first climbers in the area in 1966. Then, in the early 1970s, Harold Pinsch, a Bremerton climber, called the peaks the Valhallas, thus introducing Norse mythology, and this name has become well established. Since then, climbers have given the names of Norse gods and goddesses to the various peaks, pinnacles, and glaciers.