Basic Backpacking Backup Field Trip - North Fork Skokomish River to Big Log Camp

The unpaved sections of the road between Hoodsport and the Staircase Ranger Station/Trailhead were generally in good shape but with some sections of moderate potholes that needed to be steered around.  Our group included four Subarus and one standard clearance coupe.  All vehicles  made it in and out just fine, though all vehicles including the Subarus had  to slow down significantly to steer around the worst of the potholed sections.

We went as far as Big Log Camp, and the trail was in excellent conditions everywhere.   Earlier in the season this section was blocked by blowdowns, and we could see where the path had recently been cleared.  Some of the blowdowns were very large 2' - 4' diameter trees that had been hanging across the trail at about hip height.  It was easy to imagine that those would have been very difficult to cross because going either under them or over them would have been nearly impossible.  All good now, though.

Big Log Camp was in good condition.  The bear wire has been partially repaired since last season, and both halves are now functional.   However, the newly repaired section has only one functioning hook, so the total hanging capacity is still very limited.  Combined, both sides of the bear wire have only three clips in total to serve a very large camp.  We tried to find suitable trees to hang our food from, but could not find any because the trees were either much too tall, overhung the river, or were covered with beautiful moss that we didn't want to disturb.  If multiple large groups wanted to use the bear wire at the same time there would not be enough room.  In the future, it may be wise to bring bear canisters to Big Log even though it has a bear wire.