Heading in the southeastern Olympics, the narrow Duckabush Valley forms a long arc from O’Neil Pass to Hood Canal. The forest growth on the valley’s lower slopes is luxuriant, the dense stands of conifers masking the rough terrain, although cliffs at times break the green cloak, and avalanche paths scar many mountainsides. Because the mountains are lower here than they are to the north, the alpland is not extensive, but none of the meadows elsewhere is more beautiful than LaCrosse Basin at the head of the Duckabush River or Elk Basin on the First Divide.
The Duckabush is paralleled by steep ridges and snow-capped peaks. The ridge to the north, lying between the Duckabush and Dosewallips, reaches its maximum elevation in several peaks—Jupiter, Elklick, LaCrosse, and White Mountain; the one to the south, isolating the Duckabush from the Hamma Hamma and Skokomish Rivers, culminates in The Brothers, Lena, Hopper, Steel, and Duckabush. O’Neil Pass, at the head of the Duckabush, provides access to the Quinault.
Many short, swift tributaries flow into the Duckabush, adding to its volume. The largest ones are One Too Many Creek and Crazy Creek. The latter tumbles down from Elk Basin and the snowfields on Mount Stone. The river has its source in the stagnant Twin Glaciers on the north face of Mount Duckabush. Next to The Brothers, this is the most prominent peak in this area, and it has had five names—Susan, Skookum, Arline, Steel, and Duckabush. The first three have gone the way of the great auk, but the name Mount Steel was later given to a nearby peak. The name honors Will G. Steel, who helped Lieutenant Joseph P. O’Neil organize the 1890 U.S. Army–Oregon Alpine Club joint expedition.
The Duckabush is a swift river, and its waters are clear despite the fact that the Twin Glaciers help sustain the stream. The stream is characterized by numerous cascades and rapids, where the current swirls over and among large boulders. The blue green water, shaded by the overhanging maples and alders, flashes white whenever it breaks over moss-covered rocks and reflects innumerable glints from vagrant shafts of sunlight.
The wilderness of the upper Duckabush is adequately protected because it lies within Olympic National Park, and since 1984 the 6-mile segment between Little Hump and the park boundary has been part of The Brothers Wilderness and thus equally well protected. However, the last few miles between Little Hump and Hood Canal flow through lands subject to commercial activity. The Duckabush in its entirety should be declared a “wild river” in order to keep it free from development.
The upper Duckabush was first explored in the summer of 1890 by the O’Neil expedition and by a party led by Judge James Wickersham of Tacoma.
Duckabush River Road (FS Road 2510). This road leaves US 101, the Olympic Highway, 3.5 mi/5.6 km south of Brinnon on the Hood Canal and goes by woodland homes and through stands of large second-growth Douglas-fir. The road enters the Olympic National Forest at the old Interrorem Guard Station (3.6 mi/5.8 km). The rustic cabin, built in 1906, was the first government building constructed on the Olympic Forest Reserve (before it was renamed Olympic National Forest). The road then penetrates wild, rugged country. Camp Collins (5.0 mi/8.1 km) is an automobile campground on the north bank of the Duckabush. At 6.0 mi/9.7 km, FS Road 2510–060 branches to the right and provides access to the Duckabush Trail.
The river road continues up the valley a short distance, then crosses the Duckabush to the south side and heads back toward Hood Canal. At 6.4 mi/10.3 km the road forks. FS Road 2510 continues as the left branch; the right branch becomes FS Road 2530. The Murhut Falls Trail begins on FS Road 2530 one mile beyond the junction of that road with FS Road 2510.
FS Road 2510–060. This stub road, on the eastern slopes of Little Hump, at the foot of Mount Jupiter, is slightly more than one-tenth of a mile in length and begins 6.0 mi/9.7 km from US 101 on FS Road 2510. The road leads to the registration station for the Duckabush Trail, adjacent to a commodious parking area that will accommodate at least twenty vehicles. Hikers should not leave valuables in cars parked here because serious vandalism has occurred at this trailhead.
Mount Jupiter Road (Cormorant Way). Access to the Mount Jupiter Trail is provided by the Mount Jupiter Road, which is signed Cormorant Way at its junction with US 101 just south of Black Point. The junction, 0.9 mi/1.4 km north of the Duckabush River Road (FS Road 2510) and 3.0 mi/4.8 km south of the Dosewallips River Road (FS Road 2610), can be spotted easily because a small bulldozer sits perched atop a huge stump some 12 to 15 feet high on the east side of US 101. Note: Mount Jupiter Road has seasonal closures.
To reach the trailhead, drive west on Cormorant Way 5.9 mi/9.5km. The road meanders through clearcuts and stands of second-growth fir where logging is actively occurring. One should be alert for logging trucks and also watch for guidance signs at intersections with other roads. Parking at the trailhead (ca. 2100 ft/640 m) is limited, and drivers should use spots that will not interfere with the movements of the logging trucks.
Length 0.8 mi/1.3 km
Access Duckabush River Road (FS Road 2510)
USGS Map Brinnon
Agency Olympic National Forest
The trail begins at the old Interrorem Guard Station (175 ft/53 m), on the Duckabush River Road, just beyond the national forest boundary. The square log cabin, with its pyramidal, shake-covered roof, dates from 1906; Emery Finch, son of Hoodsport pioneers, served as the first ranger. The fishing hole below the station was called Ranger Hole because the ranger lived at the guard station.
The well-maintained trail begins near the cabin and traverses an area, logged years ago, that now supports what are probably the largest specimens of second-growth Douglas-fir to be found in the Olympics. The trees are up to 150 feet tall, and many are more than 2 feet in diameter.
Near the trail’s beginning, the Interrorem Nature Trail circles to the left, but the Ranger Hole Trail heads directly toward the Duckabush River. At first the path is fairly level, and the forest has an understory of bigleaf and vine maple. The rotting stumps of the giant firs that were logged here give silent testimony to the forest’s former grandeur.
The trail then descends and one can hear the river, but the sound is distant and muted. For a long, straight stretch the broad, smooth path forms an aisle through the trees, where the ground cover is mostly deer fern and sword fern. Winter wrens trill their song constantly from the heights of the bigleaf maples. The birds appear to be happy here in this pleasant environment, and the hiker often sees them flitting about beneath the arches of vine maple.
After descending at a moderate grade, the trail drops steeply, and the river becomes much louder. Masses of sword ferns border the path, which comes down to the river bottom and turns right, or upstream, to a campsite, then leads out to a promontory that overlooks Ranger Hole (0.8 mi/1.3 km; 125 ft/38 m).
Here, where countless fishermen have cast their lines, the Duckabush forms a deep pool of clear, green-tinted water. Above the pool the river swirls with white rapids as it rushes through a narrow chute between rock walls, then drops down a slot into the deep recess that forms Ranger Hole. The water, full of air bubbles, then wells up from below.
Ranger Hole is one of the most picturesque fishing spots in the Olympics, where the steelhead lie in wait—or did. According to anglers who know the area, the hole has been fished out, and one cannot catch anything, at least during the summer, when the river is high.
Below Ranger Hole the Duckabush flows broadly onward to Hood Canal.
Length 0.5 mi/0.8 km
Access Duckabush River Road (FS Road 2510)
USGS Map Brinnon
Agency Olympic National Forest
This nature trail forms a half-mile loop east of the Ranger Hole Trail, beginning and ending about 100 yards beyond Interrorem Guard Station (175 ft/53 m).
The path might well be called the Trail of the Giant Stumps. The ferns, the second-growth forest (Douglas-firs up to 30 inches in diameter) and the vine maple are beautiful, but the enormous stumps of the cedars and firs—7 to 9 feet in diameter—are more impressive. One is saddened to think that the trees were cut down merely to be sawed into boards.
As the trail circles around, it goes through a bower of vine maple, then comes out behind the guard station and rejoins the Ranger Hole Trail.
Length 1.5 mi/2.4 km
Access Duckabush River Road (FS Road 2510)
USGS Maps Brinnon; Mount Jupiter
Agency Olympic National Forest
The beginning of the Murhut Falls Trail is not signed, but it is located on FS Road 2530, one mile beyond that road’s junction with FS Road 2510. This trail is relatively unknown and is probably used mostly by people who reside in the vicinity.
The first mile isn’t the usual mountain path but simply the track of an abandoned logging road. Although it appears to be well used, and looks as if it has been around a while, it is in relatively good condition. The trail climbs gradually at a fairly steep grade to the shoulder (1.0 mi/1.6 km; 1200 ft/366 m) of a mountain spur. The old logging road ends at this point, but a man-made trail goes on, crossing over the ridge, then descending to a point near Murhut Creek (1.5 mi/2.4 km; ca. 1400 ft/427 m), which follows down a steep-walled miniature canyon. The path then follows up the narrow valley of the stream to what is supposedly a vantage point from where the falls can be seen, but it is impossible to obtain a good view here because one stands in a narrow canyon at a lower elevation than the falls; consequently, the terrain above them is largely hidden. Because the stream emerges from a narrow gorge, the view of the falls is somewhat restricted by the topography.
Murhut Falls is a double cascade—both vertically and horizontally. The double upper falls drop about 70 feet into a basin, and then the water spills over the lip and plunges another 30 feet or so, both the upper and lower falls being divided into two streams each, with the result that the view, although restricted, is quite scenic.
Length 22.2 mi/35.7 km
Access FS Road 2510–060
USGS Maps The Brothers; Mount Jupiter; Mount Steel
Agencies Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park
A disconcerting up-and-down route, the trail up the Duckabush River leads to beautiful subalpine meadows at the head of the valley, then climbs to O’Neil Pass on the Grand Divide. The trail begins in the national forest (440 ft/134 m) at the end of FS Road 2510–060, a spur slightly more than one-tenth of a mile long that branches from FS Road 2510 exactly 6 miles from US 101 near Hood Canal.
The trail at first follows an abandoned roadbed, then enters The Brothers Wilderness as it climbs over Little Hump (1.2 mi/1.9 km; 900 ft/284 m). The trail then descends to the river. This country was logged in the early 1900s, and thick stands of second-growth fir now obscure the grade of an old logging railroad.
The trail turns north, to avoid the river’s gorge, and abruptly ascends Big Hump, a rocky buttress on the flanks of Mount Jupiter. As it climbs alongside moss-covered pillow basalt that was smoothed by glacial ice, the trail makes numerous short, steep switchbacks, ascending 1000 ft/305 m in about a mile. St. Peters Dome (4490 ft/1369 m) is visible across the river from a lookout point on the trail.
Rowland W. Tabor, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, has pointed out that the Little Hump and Big Hump are risers of glacial steps in the canyon, where the Duckabush Glacier cut deeply during the Ice Age. After the glacier retreated, the valley may have contained a lake dammed by the Big Hump until the river cut through the barrier.
Marmot Lake
Beyond Big Hump (3.5 mi/5.6 km; 1700 ft/518 m), which thus far has kept civilization from invading the upper Duckabush, the trail enters the gloom of undisturbed virgin forest. The branches of the tall, slim firs and hemlocks are covered with lichen. The route then descends to the river at Five Mile Camp (5.3 mi/8.5 km; 1200 ft/366 m).
The trail enters the national park (6.7 mi/10.8 km; 1300 ft/396 m) in a deep forest setting and climbs gradually, making descents from time to time. Ten Mile Camp (10.0 mi/16.1 km; 1500 ft/457 m), in a setting of large firs and cedars, is located close to the river. The turbulent stream, its bed filled with large boulders, booms continuously, and the sound is calculated to quickly lull the tired backpacker to sleep.
The isolation and solitude make the upper Duckabush one of the most attractive areas in the Olympics, the type of country that lures the dedicated backpacker. Above Ten Mile Camp the trail winds through dense stands of fir and hemlock, but intermittent breaks in the forest provide sweeping vistas of fir-clad mountainsides. Beyond the junction with the LaCrosse Pass Trail (15.8 mi/25.4 km; 2677 ft/816 m), the trail meanders through the forest, which now includes silver fir and grand fir in addition to the usual Douglas-fir and western hemlock. The trail then swings back to the river and crosses to Camp Duckabush, also known as Upper Duckabush Camp (17.5 mi/28.2 km; 2700 ft/823 m). Good campsites are located here beneath towering Douglas-firs.
A huge log that spanned the river at this point served as a hikers’ bridge for many years, but recent floods have swept it away. Because no bridge has been built, crossing the river can be tricky early in the season. One can cross from the north bank to an island in the river, then cross from the island to Camp Duckabush on the south bank. Carry a long pole when wading to help you maintain your balance.
Near Camp Duckabush the trail intersects the North Fork Skokomish Trail (17.6 mi/28.3 km), then follows the route of the O’Neil expedition, which explored this country in the summer of 1890. The trail crosses Home Sweet Home Creek and traverses the slopes south of the river, crossing several streams—including Wild Bear Creek—where cataracts leap down cliffs. The route then alternates through patches of subalpine forest and open glades with rank growths of salmonberry, devil’s club, and slide alder.
The trail now climbs steeply above the river, which cascades through a deep, narrow canyon, then descends to the stream and crosses to the north bank. The crossing can be difficult, particularly in early summer, when the river is high. At this time, too, the path may be hidden in places by patches of snow, sprinkled with forest litter, that contrast with the gloom of the shaded defiles.
The route leads sharply upward to Marmot Lake (21.1 mi/34.0 km; 4350 ft/1326 m), a gemlike tarn with a tree-studded isle near its center. The lake occupies an ice-carved basin and is edged by rolling meadows and groves of mountain hemlock and Alaska cedar, with cliffs to the northwest. Nearby is a junction with the LaCrosse Basin Trail. The lake was named on August 12, 1890, by two of Lieutenant O’Neil’s scouts.
South of the lake the bluff overlooking the Duckabush provides a good view. Across the valley, Mount Steel and Mount Duckabush, clad with snow and ice, soar into the sky, and one can look down the Duckabush Valley and see Mount Jupiter, 15 miles distant.
Beyond Marmot Lake the trail climbs steadily toward O’Neil Pass, traversing subalpine meadows where, on warm summer afternoons, marmots sun on rocks near their burrow entrances and greet intruders with shrill whistles. This is the animal’s danger signal, yet the creatures do not appear to be alarmed by the hiker’s presence, and one can often approach them to within a few feet.
O’Neil Pass (22.2 mi/35.7 km; 4950 ft/1509 m) lies between Mount Duckabush and Overlook Peak. Lieutenant O’Neil’s pack train crossed this pass on September 20, 1890, during his exploration of the southern Olympics. Beyond this point the route becomes the O’Neil Pass Trail, which contours around the mountain to a junction with the Enchanted Valley Trail.
Length 6.5 mi/10.5 km
Access Duckabush Trail; West Fork Dosewallips Trail
USGS Map Mount Steel
Agency Olympic National Park
An across-the-ridge route between the Duckabush and Dosewallips Rivers, the LaCrosse Pass Trail begins (2677 ft/816 m) on the Duckabush Trail 1.7 mi/2.7 km east of Camp Duckabush, climbs steeply to LaCrosse Pass, then descends to the West Fork Dosewallips. As it climbs out of the Duckabush Valley, the trail ascends almost 3000 feet via many short, steep switchbacks. Most of the distance it goes through deep forest. One should carry water.
Near LaCrosse Pass, the views southward from the high meadows become spectacular. The pointed subalpine firs are silhouetted against cloud banks, and two peaks dominate the skyline to the southwest. The rocky, six-sided peak is Mount Steel, the lower of the two. This mountain, streaked with snowfields, reminds one of a turreted and buttressed castle. Beyond it Mount Duckabush outlines its jagged ridge crest and snow dome against the blue sky.
The view north from LaCrosse Pass (3.0 mi/4.8 km; 5566 ft/1697 m), which lies between Mount LaCrosse and Mount Elklick, is equally striking. The glacier-scarred bulk of Mount Anderson rises in lonely splendor above the neighboring peaks, and part of the Anderson Glacier is visible. This ice field is usually covered with snow until late summer, making it appear to be a large snowfield.
North of LaCrosse Pass the trail goes through luxuriant meadows bordered by clumps of subalpine fir. Buttercups, avalanche lilies, and other wildflowers create showy, colorful displays in midsummer; but the eye is mesmerized by Mount Anderson, which dominates the northern skyline until lost to sight when the trail enters the forest. The route then descends at a moderate grade to the West Fork Dosewallips Trail near the upper end of Honeymoon Meadows (6.5 mi/10.5 km; 3627 ft/1105 m). A good camping area is located here, isolated from the usually crowded one in Honeymoon Meadows.
Length 1.5 mi/2.4 km
Access Duckabush Trail
USGS Map Mount Steel
Agency Olympic National Park
LaCrosse Basin is a band of high country—the O’Neil expedition called it a level plateau—that extends about 3 miles in a north-south direction from Fisher’s Notch to O’Neil Pass. This upland varies in width but is generally about a half mile across except in the north, where it broadens. Marmot Lake and Heart Lake are located at midpoint; Lake LaCrosse near the upper end. The lakes occupy glacier-carved depressions or little cirques. Broken by rocky knolls and groves of mountain hemlock, the basin is mostly open meadowland, where meandering brooks glint in the sunlight. During the winter the snow accumulates to great depths, and patches linger until late summer. Consequently, the lakes may remain frozen well into July, or sometimes early August. When bare spots appear on the mountainsides, the meadows turn into brilliant wildflower gardens, where elk, deer, and bear may be observed on occasion.
The trail through the basin traverses subalpine country equal to any found in the Olympics. The path begins at a junction with the Duckabush Trail near Marmot Lake (4350 ft/1326 m) and climbs steeply through subalpine forest to a viewpoint that overlooks the Duckabush Valley. Far to the east, Mount Jupiter appears to rise directly from the valley’s center. The trail levels out, then forks (0.5 mi/0.8 km; 4900 ft/1494 m). The left branch meanders several hundred yards to Heart Lake (4850 ft/1478 m); the right branch traverses northward, with a few ups and downs, over meadowland, ending at Lake LaCrosse (1.5 mi/2.4 km; 4750 ft/1448 m). Beyond the ridge bordering LaCrosse Basin on the northeast, Buck Lake (5050 ft/1539 m) lies in the bottom of a small cirque. No trail goes to this deep blue tarn, and the steepness of the slope leading down to it discourages many from attempting the descent. The lake was originally called Indigo Lake by the O’Neil expedition.
Heart Lake is fairly large—16 acres in extent—and lies cupped in a deep hollow bordered on the north and west by steep slopes that extend up to a peak which overlooks the lake. A small peninsula juts into the water from the east. From the outlet, one can look down upon Marmot Lake and across to Mount Duckabush, which slashes the southern skyline. However, the best view of Heart Lake itself can be obtained from the ridge to the north, and it is especially scenic when the beargrass is in bloom and chunks of snow and ice float in the lake.
Lake LaCrosse, about half the size of Heart Lake, is shaped somewhat like a pear. The greenish waters are surrounded by lush meadows and by heather slopes that lead up to cliffs and rock slides. Below the lake’s outlet the creek plunges over a ledge to form the lovely Cascades of the Holy Cross.
During the summer of 1890, LaCrosse Basin was explored for the first time—by the Banner Party, led by Judge James Wickersham, and by the Olympic Exploring Expedition, under the leadership of Lieutenant Joseph P. O’Neil. The latter was a joint endeavor of the U.S. Army and the Oregon Alpine Club.
On August 12, during a scouting trip, two of O’Neil’s men (H. Fisher and N. E. Linsley) named three lakes in the basin. The first one they came upon had a small isle in its center, and they named it Marmot Lake. They called the largest one Heart Lake because it was shaped like a heart, and they gave the name Lake of the Holy Cross to the third one because a moss-draped snag with two extended limbs resembled a cross overlooking the lake. About ten days earlier the Banner party had called it Lake Darrell.
In his official report on the expedition, Lieutenant O’Neil states that two lakes at the head of the Duckabush were named Francis and John. An expedition photograph clearly identifies Lake Francis as Lake of the Holy Cross; therefore Lake John must have been either Heart Lake or Marmot Lake.
The Lake of the Holy Cross later became known as Maltese Cross Lake, and eventually the name was shortened, probably through local usage, to simply Lake LaCrosse. Years later, in the early 1950s, the name Heart Lake was changed to Hart Lake by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names because a man named Hart alleged the lake had been named for his uncle, a prospector who had roamed the high Olympics in the pioneer days. The members of the Board were not aware at that time that clear, cogent, and convincing evidence to the contrary reposed in the vaults of The Mazamas, successor to the Oregon Alpine Club.
Not maintained
Length 0.5 mi/0.8 km
Access LaCrosse Basin Trail; O’Neil Pass Trail
USGS Map Mount Steel
Agency Olympic National Park
When traveling between LaCrosse Basin and Enchanted Valley, experienced backpackers often use this shortcut to avoid the long trek via O’Neil Pass. The views are good, and the route is shortened almost 4 miles. However, this trail is rough and steep, and except for stunted subalpine trees, handholds are virtually nonexistent. This route is used mostly on descents; few care to struggle up the steep mountainside, preferring instead to take the delightful walk that overlooks Upper O’Neil Creek Basin and traverses the slopes above Enchanted Valley.
The way trail begins on the ridge (5170 ft/1576 m) just north of Heart Lake (reached via LaCrosse Basin Trail), next to a cluster of trees that resembles, from a distance, a large bush. The path descends steeply, with dwarfed evergreens providing much-needed handholds, to the O’Neil Pass Trail (0.5 mi/0.8 km; 4300 ft/1311 m), striking that route at a point about 3 miles south of White Creek Meadow. Years ago the way trail extended directly down to the floor of Enchanted Valley, following the route pioneered by Lieutenant O’Neil and his mules in 1890, but the path below the O’Neil Pass Trail has virtually disappeared and is no longer used.
Length 7.1 mi/11.4 km
Access Mount Jupiter Road
USGS Maps Mount Jupiter; Brinnon
Agency Olympic National Forest
The United States Exploring Expedition, commanded by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, visited Puget Sound in 1841. This expedition gave the name Jupiter Hills to the northeastern Olympics. The term is no longer used, but it survives in Mount Jupiter, a peak on the southern fringe of the district.
Because the Mount Jupiter Trail is approached from Hood Canal and follows the Duckabush-Dosewallips Divide, it could be said to belong to both watersheds—or perhaps to neither. As a matter of convenience, it has been listed under the Duckabush in this book. No water is found along this route, and one should carry plenty because the hike is strenuous, much of it without the benefit of shade. Motorbikes are permitted on the trail; they have done considerable damage to the switchbacks.
The trailhead (2100 ft/640 m) is located 5.9 mi/9.5 km from US 101 on the Mount Jupiter Road (Cormorant Way). In mid-June one is surrounded by an apparently endless sea of colorful rhododendron blossoms.
The trail begins below the ridge on the slope facing the Duckabush River and starts to ascend at once, switchbacking through intermingled second-growth fir and rhododendron. Other plants include salal, bracken fern, Oregon grape, huckleberry, currant, beargrass, trillium, and the giant fawn-lily, which resembles an avalanche lily but has variegated leaves.
At first the views are little more than glimpses through the trees of peaks and waterways—the latter often covered by clouds. After about a mile, however, the trail enters the national forest and Mount Jupiter itself comes into view, although it looks remote. In fact, the hiker is likely to doubt that one can walk to the summit and back in one day.
Still traversing below the ridge crest on the Duckabush side, the trail goes by a little campsite (1.8 mi/2.9 km), which has room for one tent. However, anyone intending to stay here would have to carry water up from below. Apparently, fire swept these slopes at one time, and many blackened snags remain. The trail then comes out upon the top of the ridge, where the hiker has the first view of the Dosewallips side.
The path now follows the ridge, not only climbing up and down but also shifting back and forth, first on one side, then the other—from the sunny south side above the Duckabush to the cold north slope overlooking the Dosewallips. On the south side one can gaze at The Brothers and hear the murmur of the Duckabush; on the north side, Mount Constance can be glimpsed occasionally, and the sound of the Dosewallips rises faintly from below. At times the route keeps to the spine itself, where one can look both ways through the trees. The alternating ascents and descents are disconcerting, however, because one realizes that during the return journey the descents will be ascents.
The trail passes another camp (2.7 mi/4.3 km) which has a well-built fireplace, with logs and benches, and space for several tents. But, again, water is not available.
At the trail’s halfway point (3.6 mi/5.8 km; ca. 3300 ft/1006 m), a promontory to the left overlooks the Duckabush Valley. The rocky point provides a spectacular view of the country, including the delta of the Duckabush. One is most impressed, however, by the rock walls that extend down from each peak of The Brothers to enclose a snow-filled cirque on the east face of the mountain. Although the dramatic view is only a prelude—an hors d’oeuvre, so to speak—to what can be seen from the top of Mount Jupiter, this is a good place for hikers who do not wish to overextend themselves to turn back.
As the trail climbs higher, through outcrops of basalt, the views improve because the trees are smaller, the stands thinner. The ridge is now a rocky spine, and two peaks appear to block the way, but this is merely an illusion. The trail goes around them, climbing a ridge through a thick growth of rhododendron, mountain hemlock, and subalpine fir. The hiker is rewarded by a sweeping view down the Duckabush Valley, with Hood Canal and Mount Rainier beyond. The U-shaped valley reveals its glacial origin; ahead are rugged ridges composed of volcanic basalt. Although the trail gets rougher and rockier, the views are an unending delight. So, too, the flowers—phlox on the rocks, pioneer violets peeping from the crevices. However, the hiker walking the trail for the first time questions whether it will ever end.
The route now enters The Brothers Wilderness (5.0 mi/8.0 km; 4050 ft/1234 m), which was established in 1984 to protect the prominent, twin-peaked mountain known as The Brothers, as well as the primitive 6-mile segment of the Duckabush River between Little Hump and the national park boundary.
The trail goes beneath upthrusts of pillow lava, and the rhododendrons disappear, replaced by huckleberry, beargrass, and saskatoon, or western serviceberry. Many bleached snags—the trunks of old, fire-killed trees—stand on the hillside among the upthrusted rock. Upon turning a corner, where the path has been blasted from solid rock, the hiker is confronted by rough hummocks of basalt that support a few mountain hemlocks. Now hacked in living rock, the trail begins a series of abrupt switchbacks—thirty-three in all—as it makes the final steep ascent to the top of Mount Jupiter. During early summer the slopes here are likely to be covered with snow.
The summit (7.1 mi/11.4 km; 5701 ft/1738 m) consists of big blocks of broken sandstone, edged by scrubby little trees at the west end. The old fire lookout cabin that once stood here was destroyed about 1969, leaving the area littered with bits of broken glass, telephone wire, rusty nails and screws, and old insulators.
On a warm, sunny day, the hiker will wish to spend at least an hour on the summit. The breezes are cool and pleasant, the views glorious. This is one of the superlative panoramas in the Pacific Northwest, and the hiker sees—at least when the skies are clear—an array of beautiful scenes: close at hand, the foothills and snow-clad peaks of the Olympics, dominated by Mount Constance and The Brothers; beyond them, Hood Canal and Puget Sound with its islands. Haze softens the country to the south and east, but at times the keen-eyed person can discern the skyscrapers in downtown Seattle or ferry boats crossing Puget Sound. The Cascades loom beyond, topped by the volcanic cones of Mount Rainier and Mount Baker. Far to the north, the Coast Mountains of British Columbia are visible.
The calm, peaceful silence is accented by little sounds—the muted murmur of the Duckabush coming up from below, the rustling of the breezes in the tiny hemlocks, perhaps the humming of an insect now and then.
