the stands cluttered with dead broomsticks—saplings that perished in the struggle for sunlight. Scattered among them are many snags and a few large firs that were blackened near the ground by the fire which destroyed the virgin timber.
The trail climbs steadily as it makes a long traverse—where Mount Storm King is visible through the trees—then crosses an avalanche path. Barnes Creek is now hidden in the depths of its canyon, but the hiker can look across and up the valley to Baldy Ridge. Upon entering the forest again, the trail comes to a junction with the Aurora Divide Trail (4.0 mi/6.4 km; 1500 ft/457 m).
The upper Barnes Creek Trail continues to the left. All through this section the route traverses splendid stands of Douglas-fir. The path then crosses Lizard Head Creek (6.1 mi/9.8 km; 2200 ft/671 m). Beyond this stream the forest is mostly western hemlock, but as the trail approaches Happy Lake Creek, which flows in a deep ravine, the route again goes through stands of Douglas-fir. The trail crosses the creek at the site of an old camp (6.8 mi/10.9 km; 2700 ft/ 823 m). Four logs arranged in a square mark the spot where a cabin once stood.
The trail ascends a spur, then parallels the upper reaches of Barnes Creek. After crossing the stream, the path climbs sharply upward, then forks (9.3 mi/15km; 3600 ft/1097 m). The right branch ends in about a hundred yards in a stand of stunted western hemlock, approximately at the national park boundary on the divide between Barnes Creek and Hughes Creek. The left branch, commonly called Lookout Dome Way, climbs to Lookout Dome (9.5 mi/15.3 km; 3800ft/1158 m). The trail switchbacks sharply upward to the base of the dome-like rock, where one can look down Hughes Creek toward the Elwha River. Baldy Ridge, to the northeast, exhibits outcrops of barren basalt.
The trail goes left, around the rock’s base, then up the easy back side to the summit. Here a few sprawling juniper bushes have managed to survive, as well as a lone subalpine fir that stands like a sentinel, buffeted by the wind. The east side of the dome is a vertical wall about 300 feet high, and hikers not subject to vertigo can look almost straight down into the tops of tall trees growing directly below. The view includes the vista down Barnes Creek toward Lake Crescent, and the ridge to the south, but the eye is drawn to the rough cliffs of Baldy Ridge, where hawks ride the wind as they search for prey in the timber below.
6MOUNT STORM KING TRAIL
Length: 2.8 mi/4.5 km
Access: Barnes Creek Trail
Custom Correct Map: Lake Crescent / Happy Lake Ridge, Washington
Green Trails Map: Lake Crescent, Wa. No. 101
Agency: Olympic National Park
One of the most popular paths in the northern Olympics, this trail overlooks Lake Crescent as it climbs about two-thirds of the way up the west ridge of Mount Storm King, a peak composed of basalt.
The trail begins at a junction (700 ft/213 m) with the Barnes Creek Trail, 0.4 mi/0.6 km from Storm King Ranger Station. The path doesn’t fiddle around with tentative uphill starts but climbs sharply through stands of tall Douglas-fir, where the ground is covered with ferns and moss. As it switchbacks up the mountainside, the trail ascends to successive vantage points that provide ever-changing vistas of Lake Crescent, Aurora Ridge, and the valley of Barnes Creek. Fog often lies over the lake in the morning, but when the afternoon sun slants low, softening the shadows, the water loses its vivid blue color, changing to slate gray. Log trucks roar along the lake’s southern shore, their grinding motors breaking the otherwise somber stillness.
Upon gaining the western spurs of Mount Storm King, the trail ascends a steep hogback, switchbacking to several overlooks. The noise made by the logging trucks becomes pronounced, seemingly magnified rather than lessened by the increased altitude.
At one viewpoint a sign indicates the end of the maintained trail. The trail does not end here, but inexperienced hikers should not proceed beyond this point. Beyond the viewpoint the ascent of Mount Storm King involves scrambling up rotten rock on a narrow ridge. Two ropes have been installed to assist in the climb, but the Park Service strongly advises against their use because the integrity of the ropes is very questionable. The path becomes progressively steeper, then vanishes at a jutting promontory (2.8 mi/4.5 km; ca. 4265 ft/1300 m). Bordered by steep, forest-clad mountains, Lake Crescent sweeps across the line of sight. Pyramid Mountain stands to the northwest, Aurora Ridge to the southwest, with the valley of Barnes Creek lying at the foot of the mountain. Across the valley the mountainside is a series of uniform spurs between creeks that flow parallel to one another and at right angles to Barnes Creek. This is an excellent example of a trellis drainage pattern.
7MARYMERE FALLS TRAIL
Length: 0.2 mi/0.3 km
Access: Barnes Creek Trail
Custom Correct Map: Lake Crescent / Happy Lake Ridge, Washington
Green Trails Map: Lake Crescent, Wa. No. 101
Agency: Olympic National Park
The Marymere Falls Trail leaves the Barnes Creek Trail 0.5 mi/0.8 km from the Storm King Ranger Station. Together, with the first part of the Barnes Creek path, it forms a self-guiding nature trail that is popular with casual visitors during the summer.
The path first crosses Barnes Creek and Falls Creek, then ascends the opposite slope to Marymere Falls (0.2 mi/0.3 km), forming a loop at the end that leads to two vantage points. The vistas overlook a saucer-shaped basin at the foot of an abrupt wall. At this point, Falls Creek plunges through a notch in the cliff to form the 90-foot-high falls. The water drops vertically about half the distance; then, striking a slanting ledge, ribbons down the rock face to a small hollow at the bottom. Ferns and mosses decorate the rock walls on either side.
This attraction was originally called Meremere Falls, but the name was changed many years ago to honor Mary Alice Barnes, sister of Charles A. Barnes, a member of the Press Expedition.
8AURORA DIVIDE TRAIL
Length: 5.4 mi/8.7 km
Access: Barnes Creek Trail; Aurora Ridge Trail; Happy Lake Ridge Trail
Custom Correct Map: Lake Crescent / Happy Lake Ridge, Washington
Green Trails Maps: Joyce, Wa. No. 102; Mt Olympus, Wa. No. 134
Agency: Olympic National Park
This trail connects a lowland path, the Barnes Creek Trail, with two upland ones, the Aurora Ridge Trail and the Happy Lake Ridge Trail. The path begins 4.0 mi/6.4 km up the Barnes Creek Trail from Lake Crescent, at 1500 ft/457 m elevation.
The route parallels an unnamed creek that flows in a deep ravine with the trail at first ascending through stands of Douglas-fir and western hemlock having little or no undergrowth. The forest is quiet, the silence broken now and then by the hoarse croaking of ravens. One can see, across the ravine to the left, where avalanches have knocked down a number of trees.
The climb is gradual, but steady, via long switchbacks, and as elevation is gained, Douglas-fir is replaced by silver fir. Near the ridge crest the terrain becomes less precipitous, and dense undergrowth is present.
As it switchbacks upward, the trail crosses an avalanche track several times. The slide zone is covered with thick growths of salmonberry, willow, huckleberry, devil’s club, and baneberry. The trail then climbs to a campsite (3.2 mi/5.0 km; 4200 ft/1280 m) where water is available.
The forest is thinner here, and huckleberry bushes grow beneath the trees. The path goes by two ponds, then meanders through moss-covered boulders and crosses the divide—Aurora Ridge or Happy Lake Ridge, whichever one chooses to call it. (This is near the indefinite point where one ridge becomes the other.) The trail then intersects the Aurora Ridge Trail (3.6 mi/5.8 km; 4750 ft/1448 m).
The