I have actually been trying to put this post together all week. But it involves quite a few components and I never seem to have the chance to focus on it and get it done. First I want to maintain a consistent record of trip logs--although this one isn't going to have anything on it about how long it took, since I didn't keep track, nor was I going as fast with a heavy baby on my back, and with a group, as I could have alone. I'm also trying to produce topographic maps for each hike, with the trail and/or route I took drawn onto it. Then of course I ought to post some photos from the hike.
Lastly, I hope to start, at least for those trails I have reached the end of, written descriptions of each trail such as one would find in a trail guidebook. I know there are already a million trail guidebooks out there, and I'll have to amass quite a few of these before I have anything worth publishing, but that doesn't stop me from doing it to amuse myself. Also, each person may notice different things about the same hike. And finally, this particular trail seems so unpopular that only one of my guidebooks even describes it at all, so perhaps it needs more describing if only for promotional purposes.
So all those things are included in this post. I only have a few photos because I'm trying not to include photos of people for the time being, and especially of other people's children without their permission! Next time, I hope to remember to take more photos. (Except my next report will be Ned Hill, and I didn't even bring the camera for that one! Well, that will make it easier to write my post.)
One funny thing I should mention is that I wasn't even planning to do this hike. I had forgotten, or somehow failed to note, the Elwha River Road was washed out about a mile past the Madison Falls area. So Cascade Rock was a last minute decision when we just had to do something. Otherwise I might never have discovered this fun little trail!
We had decent weather--one of those bright, overcast days where you know rain will be arriving by dinnertime, which it did.
So here, for the sake of consistency, follows my trip log:
Then we have the map, as best as I could draw it. Apparently this trail is so unpopular the USGS didn't care to include it on their maps. So a bit of guesswork was involved here. It shows the starting point as the Madison Falls parking area because that was where the road was closed and we had to walk the rest of the way.
And now to the photos. Not all these are the same size, but we'll work on that for next time.
This is the view, what there is of it, from Cascade Rock.
Occasionally one sees madrona trees with entirely smooth, cream-colored bark like this one.
More outcrops--this is not your average dense Northwest forest.
These people are indistinct enough they don't count as people. Anyway, this is what the trail looks like.
The trail descending open madrona and douglas-fir forest near the higher outcrop. Look at all that moss!
And finally, we shall conclude with my trail description (hastily written and subject to future revision):
Cascade
Rock Trail
This trail is omitted from many
guidebooks, for some reason, and seems little traveled by hikers,
being narrow and moss-grown in a few spots. But it is a pleasant
hike, and has the advantage of being low elevation, and thus
accessible pretty much year round. It leads to an area of thin soils
and moss-coated rock outcrops facing the Elwha Valley, and those are
always fun. It is not long and leads to a good lunch spot, making it
ideal for families with young children.
The trail begins at a point where
the Elwha River Road washed out in 2015, so I did not start at the
beginning, but picked it up where the temporary Elwha Access trail
meets it. However, distances here refer to the washed out trailhead
location, with the idea that will someday again be the starting
point. As of April 2016, one has to park at the Madison Falls
parking lot, walk about 0.9 miles south to a bend in the road, where
the access trail turns off to the left. Not much of a trail at
first, it eventually follows a moderate, rough road grade where it
intersects with the Cascade Rock trail just past a water tank.
At this point one must climb a very
steep ¼ mile or so up a couple switchbacks. Then the trail abruptly
levels off and even descends slightly for a brief moment, before
starting a much more gentle climb through open forest. The trail
crosses several small creeks which, when I was there in spring, had
only a slight trickle in two, and one was dry. After 1 mile the
trail climbs more noticeably.
At 1.5 miles one comes to a
moderately conspicuous rock outcrop just below the trail. This,
apparently, is Cascade Rock, though it isn't all that impressive. I
only know this because I read it in Robert Wood's authoritative
treatise on the trails of the Olympic Mountains. There may have been
a decent view here 50 years ago; now, the trees have grown up
resulting in only a broken view of some ridgetops. From here on up
the trail, one has quite a few of these glimpses.
The trail then climbs slightly more
steeply—though not unreasonably so—up several switchbacks to a
second rock outcrop. However, the entire terrain here is rather
“outcroppy,” with shallow soils and ground-dwelling flora
dominated by Sedum spathulifolium and Arctostaphylos
uva-ursi. Interestingly, Arbutus menziesii is a common
tree here. It is not often found in interior mountain forest as far
north as Washington, but there is quite a bit of it on the east side
of the Elwha where it is also found along the Griff Creek trail.
This second outcrop, at 2.0 miles,
has even less of a view than the first, and marks the end of the
maintained trail. Just past it are a few sawn logs for sitting on,
making a great family lunch spot.
[The trail continues further uphill,
but I'll have to hike it before I can write about it.]
[Also when I go back, I'll note more
of the plants.]
In summary, this is a great hike if
you want to do something short, won't miss seeing wide open views,
and don't want to walk along a river valley. It is an excellent
family hike for children who need to get out into nature, which about
all of them do.
No comments:
Post a Comment