Trek along Tunnel Creek

Rating: 2 out of 5

Distance: ~10 miles round trip

Vehicle: 2015 feet (GPS N47 46.890 W123 03.142)

Highpoint: 3667 feet (GPS N47 46.032 W123 05.493)
Elevation Gain: 1652 feet
Avg Trail speed: 1.2 mph

Hike difficulty calculator score: 17 - Challenging
Trail Notes: Somewhat difficult snowshoeing the trail all day. Following trail in snow tricky just prior to the shelter.
Pass/Permit: A Northwest Forest Pass or Golden Passport is required on each vehicle parked at trailhead.
Driving directions at bottom of post.

As always click on pictures for original size. All trip photos are located here.


The weather was teasing us with some expected sunshine, so we got our gear ready and headed to the hills. The hikers that turned out for the trek this week were Willie, Cheryl, Ron, myself, and Kiwi. The forest furmeister was able to join us, as the route for today, Tunnel Creek trail, was located within the Buckhorn Wilderness and did not cross into Olympic National Park.

Pop quiz #1. MHow many areas on the Olympic peninsula are designated forest wilderness and which is the largest? (Answer further down)

One question that we were going to answer today was, "is the Tunnel Creek trailhead accessible by vehicle"? And the answer is, "not yet". But that did not deter us. We're not out here to sit on our thumbs. We loaded the packs, put them on and followed Kiwi as she led us along the road. Our goal was 5050 pass, so named because of its elevation, that offers a spectacular view of Mount Constance. Here is the morning teaser photo from the road on Mt Constance.

Mount Constance at 7,756 ft


There was enough snow while traveling Forest Road 2740, that we slipped on our snowshoes to make things somewhat easier. From the truck to the trailhead was 1.8 miles. We are able to get this type of accuracy for distances walked because Kiwi has the innate ability to count her steps and multiply that by the length of each stride. She then discounts the sum by 47% because of her constant back and forth along the group as she herds us. When I ask Kiwi how far we travel, she figures out the math and then telepathically shares the distance with me. Cheryl tells me that I am full of poo and its the GPS that Kiwi carries that gives us our info. If someone doesn't want to believe, that's ok with Kiwi and I. MLOL

Getting to the trailhead MMRon at trailhead MMMMMMAll accounted for


As imagined, the Tunnel Creek trail runs alongside its namesake for quite a ways. Eventually crossing the creek just past the Tunnel Creek shelter at 2.7 miles from the trailhead. Further on are two small alpine lakes. Harrison Lake is larger than Karnes Lake. Past the lakes you'll climb steeply to the ridge at a rocky promontory with a spectacular view of the east face of Mount Constance. This viewpoint is 4.7 miles from the trailhead and a good turnaround spot for day hikers that struggled to the pass.

Even though April is upon us, there was nothing but snow along the whole trail. We saw no evidence of any other hikers on the trail. So we took turns braking trail through the mountain snow. Occasional glimpses of Tunnel creek provided some hopeful opportunities for photography, but the occasion I went down to a decent spot along the bank, I ran into a grouping of Devil's Club that thoroughly prevented any reasonable access. So I took a picture of the hikers nemesis instead.

Devil's Club is edible and nutritious and can be eaten as a cooked green. The very, very young shoots of the plant can be harvested and eaten raw or cooked, however, this plant arms itself with brittle spines early in life. Provided the spines are still soft and harmless and have not hardened, the young shoots are edible and reported to be very palatable.

Trail conditions MMMMMMDevil's Club, nasty stuff



Devil's Club is very sensitive to human impact and does not reproduce quickly. The plants are slow growing and take many years to reach seed bearing maturity. They predominantly exist in dense, moist, old growth conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest. And they are certainly not an endangered or threatened species. LOL

Pop quiz #2. List six threatened or endangered species within the Olympic peninsula. (Answer further down)

So what if I couldn't get the picture I wanted. There are still plenty of opportunities to photograph the wonders of the forests and mountains. M:-)M Plenty of tall Yellow Cedar and Douglas Fir trees, occasional rocky hill sides and many other treasures that set the imagination to flight. It was the sharp eyes and quick mind of Cheryl that found the object of the third picture below. Regretfully the photo does not show it off to the extent that we enjoyed. It brought to mind the Muse of the mountain. Lithe body swaying in motion to the music of forest winds, arms raised in exaltation of Nature's unspoiled beauty.......

Forest Giant MMMMCrumbly rock scramble MMMMountain Muse


Back to the trail at foot. I want to say that we continued onward and upward, making it to the pass in record time to enjoy the view, but I can't. Hell, we didn't even make it to the shelter. Snowshoeing on a flat level surface is one thing. Climbing up a snow covered mountain trail in the equivalent of land flippers is completely different. I admit that the first hour of the trail generated happy thoughts of returning without the snow to explore the creek and other photo/video opportunities. But soon enough, the grueling effort it took to punch through knee deep snow just to keep a 1 mph pace had jaded my opinion some. Many times the hiker has a mis-step and stumbles, places the snowshoe on a non-flat surface causing the ankle, knee or back to strain in an irksome manner under the weight of a pack, or steps on his own snowshoe, which quickly introduces the hiker to the snow at his feet in a rapid and ungraceful manner. At least a mouthful of snow doesn't taste bad MLOLM Don't misunderstand that I'm giving up winter hiking. Far from it. This hike was a just a lesson learned about time of year, trail conditions, hiking gear, and my own fallibility. Makes the desire stronger to return and become one with the mountain. M:-)

To top it off, I lost the trail when it was my turn in front and we had to settle for a mid-hike meal under the forest canopy. The area leading up to the Tunnel Creek shelter was confusing to me. The trail was not as distinct and with snow covering any tell-tale signs, we came up short. Click on the pic of the Route Topo further down and one can see where we missed the trail and shelter.

Well, we came, we saw, but we did not conquer. Matter of fact, the trail kicked my butt. Snowshoeing all over the mountain side in those floppy land flippers, getting up close and personal with the snow and ground cover, and finding out that Devil's Club spines do not hibernate during the winter. Man, I can't wait to get back out there and do it again. M:-)

Surprise!


Oh yes! Almost forgot. During our morning trek along the Forest Service road, we encountered some cougar tracks. The picture I took, above, was not the best, but Willie was able to help confirm that the tracks were indeed from a cougar. Something to provide some trail conversation. We had basically forgotten the tracks by the end of the day. But when we were driving out, about 3 miles from Hwy 101, we spotted a cougar walking along a spur road. When the cougar heard the vehicle, it quickly left the exposure of the road and melted into the surrounding brush. We were pretty excited, we all saw his long tail curled at the end as he leapt from the road. Close enough for us and fortunately not on the trail.

Route Topo MMMMMMMMMRoute Profile


Video:
Not this time. Too busy with snowshoeing and trying to keep my balance with trekking poles. :-(

Directions:
From the town of Quilcene, go south on US 101 1.5 miles, and turn right (west) onto Penny Creek Road. At 1.5 miles bear left on Big Quilcene River Road, which leads you to Forest Road 27 in about 3 miles. Follow the sign to Tunnel Creek and stay on the left fork. Continue on this road(FR 2740) and follow it ~10.5 miles to the trailhead.

Quiz answers:
1. Buckhorn - 44,258 acres, Colonel Bob - 11,961 acres, Mount Skokomish - 13,015 acres, The Brothers - 16,682 acres, and Wonder Mountain - 2,349 acres

2. Northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, bald eagle, bull trout Hood Canal summer chum salmon, Puget Sound Chinook salmon, and the Pacific Northwest tree octopus.

Yes I sorta expected the tree octopus to be on the list. I know its rare and difficult to see one outside of a zoo. I think the bald eagle might be coming off the list soon, as its population numbers are on the rise. For those unfamiliar with the Northwest and our tree octopus, I will share a little bit about them.

The Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopoda paxarbolis) can be found in the temperate rainforest's of the Olympic Peninsula on the west coast of North America. Their habitat lies on the easter side of the Olympic mountain range, adjacent to Hood Canal. These solitary cephalopods reach an average size (measured from arm-tip to mantle-tip) of 30-33cm. Unlike most other cephalopods, tree octopuses are amphibious, spending their early life and the period of their mating season in their ancestral aquatic environment. Because of the moistness of the rainforests and specialized skin adaptations, they are able to keep from becoming desiccated for prolonged periods of times, but given the chance they prefer resting in pooled water.

Research photo