You'll find your spirits bubbling on the Staircase Rapids Trail

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March 13, 1997

You'll find your spirits bubbling on the Staircase Rapids Trail

By KAREN SYKES
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

I've got the Olympics in my blood. I come by it honestly. My grandparents settled near Union on Hood Canal early in the century, so my roots are there. I was raised on oysters and legends of the country between Brinnon, Belfair and Shelton.

We had our own oyster bed on the canal, and the water wheel near Union that has graced so many calendars was built by my grandfather. Dad and I used to call the foothills of the Olympics "The Golden Foothills" and we were not wrong, for we both found treasure there.

Mother packed a picnic lunch, Father packed his watercolors and sketch pads and they'd drive to a scenic spot and let me play as he painted and sketched. He loved rivers and since the Olympics have many, we'd often find ourselves by one, usually at Staircase, since Dad loved the red limestone rocks in the Skokomish River. I did not inherit Dad's artistic talent, but I did inherit his love of the outdoors and became a hiker, returning often to Staircase.

The Staircase Rapids Trail is one of my favorites because it is usually accessible year-round and it offers a hiker many options, depending on ability and whim. The hike can be done as a two-mile loop, or you can continue on to the North Fork Skokomish Trail into the heart of the mountains.

You won't be alone. You will be hiking with the ghosts of the O'Neil party as the trail follows the route taken by an Army expedition in 1890. You'll be awed by the giant cedars, fir and hemlock, and the graceful branches of maples covered in moss; and alluring side paths that lead to treasures such as the Red Reef Pool, a deep basin that holds bubbling river water before it pours through a bottleneck, and Dolly Varden Pool, where you have to shout to be heard above the river.

The Staircase was known as the "Devil's Staircase," a wicked path of roots climbing Fisher's Bluff. Cross the Rapids Bridge to join the North Fork Skokomish River Trail for the loop, or bypass the bridge and continue on to Four Stream at two miles. Unfortunately the trail crosses the creek and since it is not bridged, most people will turn around.

Bring a camera or a sketch pad and a picnic lunch. No matter how far you hike, you'll find something to take back with you -- perhaps a painting, a photograph or a memory, since it is impossible to leave the Olympics empty of heart.

Getting there
Map Take U.S. Highway 101 to Hoodsport and turn off onto Lake Cushman Road. Pass Lake Cushman State Park and drive to the end of the road, where there's a junction. Turn left onto Forest Service Road 24 and drive 6.6 miles to the Staircase Ranger Station and trailhead parking.

Trail detail
The trail begins at an elevation of 800 feet across the river from the ranger station. The trail crosses a clearing and comes to a side path that leads to a giant cedar, 14 feet in diameter. Then it emerges on the banks of the Skokomish, at the beginning of the side paths that lead to scenic vistas. In less than a mile you'll reach Staircase Rapids, where the water flows over low terraces. Olympic rivers are a good place to look for wildlife -- belted kingfishers and harlequin ducks or even Cope's giant salamanders, which are endemic to the Olympics.

Beyond the rapids the trail climbs Dead Horse Hill, created by a glacier during the last Ice Age. A path leads to the Rapids Bridge at the Lower Skokomish Crossing. The trail descends to Beaver Flat, part of which was burned by the Beaver Fire of 1985, and at 1.7 miles reaches Copper View Camp, which provides a view upriver to Copper Mountain.

At two miles, near Four Stream, is the O'Neil expedition's Camp 4. If you are an explorer you may ford the creek, which is exactly what the O'Neil expedition did. Shortly after the crossing, there is a junction. The left branch comes to a dead end at 3.5 miles. The right branch leads down to the river and a camp above the confluence of Four Stream and the Skokomish.

Experienced mountaineers can look up more information for further exploration of the O'Neil route (refer to the "Olympic Mountain Trail Guide" by Robert Wood (The Mountaineers, $15.95), but this route is not suitable for novice hikers or families with small children. Most hikers will be content with the shorter loop.

Trail data
Staircase Rapids loop, two miles; elevation gain minimal.