Lewis River and lower Quartz Creek
Posted: May 29th, 2019, 7:05 am
Yeah, I just did the Lewis River a few weeks ago. I had planned to do Benson Plateau over Memorial Day weekend, but the weather didn't look good and that's an exposed area for wind and tstorms. Lewis River is as about as sheltered as it comes.
In fact as I was walking down the trail in the rain I noticed that the dense canopy above made for some dry spots. And low and behold, I found a campsite just below Upper Falls that was still mostly dry after three hours of rain. Bingo! No setting up the tent in the rain and spending hours inside of it to avoid the rain. I could set up my camp chair and watch the rain fall. Over the two nights there, they dry area got progressively smaller as the rain soaked the trees above, but I always had a space to sit in.
I hiked virtually the full length of the trail, Curly Creek Falls to Upper Falls (13 miles) the first day. On day 2 I dayhiked the last mile and then four more up the Quartz Creek trail. That got me to Snagtooth Creek and just beyond. Some moderately challenging water crossings on Quartz Creek this time of year. Day two only spritzed a couple of times during the day but rain started about 8pm and went on through half the night. On day 3 going out, it started raining about a half hour before the end. All in all I logged some good miles. No better place for a rainy backpack than the best rainforest in southern Washington.
In fact as I was walking down the trail in the rain I noticed that the dense canopy above made for some dry spots. And low and behold, I found a campsite just below Upper Falls that was still mostly dry after three hours of rain. Bingo! No setting up the tent in the rain and spending hours inside of it to avoid the rain. I could set up my camp chair and watch the rain fall. Over the two nights there, they dry area got progressively smaller as the rain soaked the trees above, but I always had a space to sit in.
I hiked virtually the full length of the trail, Curly Creek Falls to Upper Falls (13 miles) the first day. On day 2 I dayhiked the last mile and then four more up the Quartz Creek trail. That got me to Snagtooth Creek and just beyond. Some moderately challenging water crossings on Quartz Creek this time of year. Day two only spritzed a couple of times during the day but rain started about 8pm and went on through half the night. On day 3 going out, it started raining about a half hour before the end. All in all I logged some good miles. No better place for a rainy backpack than the best rainforest in southern Washington.