Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Hurricane Hill Traverse, Little River to Elwha River
A strenuous and beautiful traverse of ~19 miles and ~5000’ gain with snow that still makes this a scramble (instead of a hike). The only other parties we encountered were folks that had walked over from the visitor center.
Dave Morgan
- Sat, May 19, 2018
- Alpine Scramble - Elwha to Hurricane Hill
- Elwha to Hurricane Hill
- Scrambling
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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The Little River trail was mostly snow free, but had continuous cover for the last 0.5 mile from ~4500 feet up to the junction with the Hurricane Ridge trail (5073 feet). One stream crossing on our hike up the Little River required a ford (took our shoes off). The asphalt path to the summit of Hurricane Hill (5757 feet) was mostly snow free, and the westward traverse/descent to the Elwha River had continuous snow for the better part of a mile (staying near the ridge crest helped with regaining the trail). Intrusions from the Elwha River (photo here) have closed the Olympic Hot Springs Road which added ~2.5 miles to our trip. A map of the temporary access trail that copes with this intrusion (foot traffic only) can be seen here.
A strenuous and beautiful traverse of ~19 miles and ~5000’ gain with snow that still makes this a scramble (instead of a hike). The only other parties we encountered were folks that had walked over from the visitor center. We brought (and used) our mountain boots for the snow, but approach shoes gave us much comfort for the snow free sections of trail. Cool hiking up the Little River, with dramatic clouds and intermittent views at the summit and on our descent to the west. A few intermittent showers near the summit, with sunny and balmy temperatures along the Elwha River. Total time was 10 hours with 6 hours up and 4 hours down. Photos from this and other trips to this venue can be seen here.