- Geyser Valley trail
The Geyser Valley trail in
Olympic National Park is an area along theElwha River betweenRica Canyon and theGrand Canyon of the Elwha , where many homesteaders tried to eke out a living in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today, this trail allows hikers to visit several interesting sites, as well as, providing several loops of different lengths.The route begins at Whiskey Bend Trailhead, at the end of Whiskey Bend road, approximately 5 miles from the Elwha Ranger Station. It travels for about 1.3 miles along the Elwha River trail, before the first descent down approximately 400 feet to
Goblin's Gate at the head ofRica Canyon . The trail continues along theElwha River through ariparian forest ofbigleaf maple ,red alder ,black cottonwood , withDouglas fir ,Western red cedar , andGrand fir .The trail passes the alder grove of
Krause Bottom , where the first possible loop back up the slope heads up, and some old homesteader clearings, before arriving atHumes Ranch Cabin , approximately 3 miles from the trailhead.Humes Ranch Cabin is maintained today by theNational Park Service as a historic site, and the meadows below the cabin are kept open as Humes once did. You can also see 100-year old fruit trees in the pastures. Approximately 3/4 of a mile further, the trail climbs the eroding cliffs along the river and crossesDodger point bridge at the mouth of theGrand Canyon of the Elwha . This marks the end of Geyser Valley, but the trail continues for 11 miles up to the summit ofDodger point mountain at over 5,700 ft.It is possible to begin looping back to the Elwha river trail, by slowly climbing the slope. The trail will meet the short-cut coming up from
Humes Ranch Cabin and then will pass the old homestead ofMichael's Cabin . The trail then heads back on a level grade back towards Whiskey Bend trailhead.Homesteaders historically reported seeing enormous numbers of salmon coming up the river each year to spawn. However, salmon have been blocked from the upper 65 miles of river habitat with the construction of the
Elwha Dam in 1913. However, both theElwha Dam andGlines Canyon Dam will be removed in 2012. As part of theElwha Ecosystem Restoration project, salmon should begin returning to the Geyser Valley and beyond within 5-20 years ofdam removal .References
* [http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/humes-ranch-loop.htm#CP_JUMP_155265 Humes Ranch Loop Description]
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