Bogachiel Spike #3

Becoming to far for the mules to schlep in from the side we've been coming in on the whole summer (20 miles or so at this point), this time around we came from the other side, where we only have to hike about 5 miles to our campsite. The difference now is that we're camping in the forest rather than on a gravel bar, in part because the elevation is much higher and the river is gorged.

Camp life doesn't change a whole lot, though the bugs are a tad bit more annoying. But, when I have my fantasy football magazine and a hoodie, even horse flies and mosquitoes couldn't bother me. Hiking in we also get spectacular views of Mt. Olympus, as you can see above.

What's also nice about the higher elevation is that the berries are darn tasty... red huckleberries, blue huckleberries, mountain blueberries, salmon berries... all superb.

It's well worth it to hold off eating and stick to picking for about five minutes, because then you get a handful like this that you can stuff your face with...

Bacon, mmmmm...

This is the shelter at 21-mile (that's the name of the campsite) that was destroyed recently... too bad we won't have enough time left this year to rebuild it.

So because we are so efficient at our work we got a "scouting day", during which we can go whichever way we choose to search for "work"... or some good views...

I chose to head off by myself for a 20 mile round trip to Bogachiel Peak, a celebrated knoll that's situated super close to Olympus. Reaching 5474 feet, its a haul to summit, but the sights are well worth it. From the top you can see the Bailey mountain range, Olympus, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Pacific Ocean, and the 7 Lakes Basin at its feet.

That's the Hoh River down there... one watershed over from the Bogachiel River watershed, where we're workin'.

All told I hiked 61 miles in 8 days... so I'm going to go lie down now.