When will we finally get our Summer?
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And here’s your wet transcript for the week:
Welcome to the Adventure Dispatch for the week of July 8th to July 15th, 2016 in Olympic National Park. This week’s information is once again presented by the always passionate and encouraging crew at The Outdoor Society. Get inspired and explore the wild with us.
Remember when it was warm and sunny? Well, the weather this coming week will make you long for those days. This week’s weather will have you feeling more like fall or spring than summer when visiting Olympic. While that might not be great for views from mountain tops and ridges, it will be awesome to explore the rainforests and walk the rocky coast of the park.
The snowpack of Olympic is, for all intents and purposes, gone. Lingering snow patches remain at the higher elevation, but the majority of trails around the region are now 99% snow free. Backcountry hikers heading up to passes or higher elevations will still encounter pockets of snow, but less and less with each passing day. For updated snow info, send us an email or tweet.
The only road closures in Olympic are located out along the Elwha River where both the Olympic Hot Springs Road and Whiskey Bend Road are closed due to washouts from last winter. Plans to place a temporary bridge will apparently not be ready for the year, but we might get surprised. Keep your fingers crossed. Until the road is fixed, the area is open to pedestrians and makes for an amazing hiking destination.
Camping in Olympic this week will be a bit damp, but nothing bad enough to cancel your plans. All of the campgrounds in Olympic National Park that will open this year are now open. Only the Sol Duc and Kalaloch campgrounds take reservations, while every other campground is first come, first serve. The only campground closures in Olympic are along the Elwha River, due to the washouts last winter. Dosewallips and Graves Creek campgrounds are also open, but are only accessible as walk-in campgrounds.
For those visiting Olympic this week, The Outdoor Society’s “Trail of the Week” is Marmot Pass located in the Buckhorn Wilderness of Olympic National Forest. While the trail is 11.5 miles round trip and gains nearly 3,500 feet, this is one of the gems of the Olympic Peninsula, offering sweeping views of the Olympic Interior, as well as a great view back toward the Puget Sound. Starting off in a majestic forest, the trail climbs through old growth, leading to a meadow before riding up to the stunning vistas at the pass. Those looking for a bit more should head up to nearby Buckhorn Mountain, located to the north east of the pass. More information on these regions can be found on outdoor-society.com and in our Olympic National Park Guidebooks.
This week, there are, yet again, no announced events going on inside the park. However, be advised that there will be construction occurring in a few areas around the park. This week, from July 11 to July 15, a pavement patching project along the Sol Duc Road will impact visitors. The project will be on the main road, as well as in the Sol Duc campground and around the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort. Roads will be reduced to one travel lane while the contractor is working and flaggers and pilot cars will be onsite to assist with traffic. Delays of up to 15 minutes should be expected.
As a reminder, we have a numerous books on the region, each able to help you have an amazing time in one of America’s favorite National Parks. The best part of our guidebooks is that you can pick them as ebooks and always have it on your phone for last minute tips while driving around the region! Go to outdoor-society.com and get your copy today.
On that shameless plug, this concludes this week’s Adventure Dispatch. If you have any questions, please reach out to us on Twitter and check our website for more info.
This is Mathias saying, “Thanks for tuning in and we will catch you next week, same time, same place.”
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