As the third edition of our 4th of July trips to the backcountry, I was able to get a last minute permit to Olympic National Park to do the High Divide trail. I first learned about this trail when I met a father-son team hiking the Hoh River Trail. They were on their way up to Hoh Lake and to do the High Divide Trail. This trail straddles the ridge between the Seven Lakes Basin and high above the Hoh River Valley. It's one of the limited quota trails in Olympic National Park, where backcountry permits are hard to come by. I sent in a permit request to the ranger station a week prior to the 4th, and miraculously was able to get one. Kevin and Tia, my usual adventure partners from Seattle, agreed to meet me and spend the 4th in the backcountry.
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Hoh River Trail to Blue Glacier, Olympic National Park /
“I think we’ll do 15 miles the first day,” I announced looking up from the wilderness map. “But the first 13 miles are REALLY flat,” I continue in hopes of quelling the looks of skepticism that Hanna gives me from the adjacent couch, “Don’t let the mileage scare you: we’re reasonably fit people, we’ll be fine.” I think I also said this to reassure myself that the trail I picked would be doable in a three day weekend. I will admit – 15 miles in a day seemed like a lot. But with the time constraint, I couldn’t figure out how else to spread out the mileage. Surprisingly Hanna doesn’t seem phased by the proposed expedition. “It’ll be fun!” I exclaim. All summer, we’ve been talking about doing a backpacking trip. I hadn’t been out in the backcountry since the Enchantments and was itching for some adventure time before winter sets in. And Hanna, just moving to the Northwest, was ready to explore her new home.
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