Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Little River, Hurricane Hill, Elwha River Traverse
A beautiful tour of two river valleys, ascending the Little River to Hurricane Hill (with an unexpected snow storm on the summit), then gradually improving conditions as we descended to the Elwha River. A great workout of 5500’ elevation gain over 19 miles.
Dave Morgan
- Sat, May 18, 2024
- Alpine Scramble - Little River, Hurricane Hill, Elwha River Traverse
- Elwha to Hurricane Hill
- Scrambling
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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There is still substantial snow on the northern aspect of Hurricane Ridge. Starting at an elevation of ~4700’ on the Little River trail, the last 400’ vertical justified the use of ice axes and micro-spikes.
The Little River bridges are in great shape…
…and the non-bridged spots were not a problem.
There is still substantial snow on the northern aspect of Hurricane Ridge. Starting at an elevation of ~4700’ on the Little River trail, the last 400’ vertical justified the use of ice axes and micro-spikes.
By Nina Crampton
It’s always surreal to hike the pristine Little River Valley for half a day (encountering no other parties), then suddenly coming across other folks on an asphalt road…
Those other folks were soon chased away by a heavy snowstorm on the summit of Hurricane Hill.
By Max Parsons
Back to solitude as we descend towards the Elwha River.
By Nina Crampton
Improving conditions…
…becoming downright balmy by the time we reached the Madison Falls Trailhead along the Elwha River.
A great day in the Olympics. The looming closure of the Hood Canal Bridge (that evening at 10pm) kept us moving right along to achieve a total trip time of ~10 hours (6 hours on the ascent, 4 hours for the descent). Photos from this and other trips to this venue can be seen here and here.