Trip Report
Solo Backpacking Trip - Upper Dungeness River Trail to Handy Camp
This was a mid-October overnight from the Upper Dungeness Trailhead to Handy Camp. It was my puppy's first overnight camping trip.
Geoffrey Wickes
- Sun, Oct 13, 2024 — Mon, Oct 14, 2024
- Upper Dungeness River
- Backpacking
- Successful
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- Road recommended for high clearance only
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Road to Trailhead: NF-2870 is the primary road you'll take to get to the trailhead once you leave highway 101. NF-2870 is certainly passable (e.g., there are no washouts, floods, or closures), but it's in terrible condition. Washboards and large potholes (many 6+ inches deep, and numerous enough to be unavoidable) litter the roadway. I made it through with an AWD station wagon (and most drivers could, too), but (given the choice) I'd prefer a body-on-frame truck or SUV to get to the trailhead. USFS really needs to work on this road.
Parking Lot: The parking lot is in good condition and has a (very clean!) pit toilet. I hiked to Royal Lake earlier in the season and it was completely packed with cars. On a Sunday afternoon in the shoulder season, it was maybe at 1/8th capacity.
Trail: In stark contrast to the road conditions, the trail is immaculate. Made mostly of well-compacted soil, there are comparatively few tripping hazards (e.g., large roots or rocks), that make it easy to traverse. At ~3.25 miles in and only about 700 feet of gain to Handy Camp, this trail is suitable for all ages/fitness levels. The only exceptions are the two log bridges. They are both sturdy and have a rail on one side, but their narrow width and lack of a second rail may make them unsuitable for people with certain disabilities, a significant fear of heights, or the youngest children.
Fun fact: The Mountaineers website randomly rotated some of my pictures, and I can't seem to fix it. I'd like to blame the website for any blurriness in the photos, too, but unfortunately that's just a skill issue on my part.
A month and a half ago, I got a Labrador Retriever puppy named Trooper.
Trooper had never been camping before, so I selected this trip as a puppy-sized adventure for him. Handy Camp is a hair over three miles from the trailhead with minimal gain, so it seemed like a good first overnight.
Columbus Day is a federal court holiday, so I used that as an excuse to take Monday off work to go backpacking. We left the trailhead around 4:30 pm on Sunday, October 13, 2024. As soon as we hit the trail, Trooper was raring to go. He began pulling on the leash immediately.
On the way, we encountered the bridges shown above. Since it was twilight and Trooper had never walked on a log before, I carried him across both. In addition to the bridges, we encountered massive quantities of vanilla leaf, dozens of species of mushrooms, as well as other stream crossings.
We got to Handy Camp at 6:30, just before dark. Unbeknownst to me before I arrived, there's an old wooden shelter there. I decided to take advantage of the shelter, rather than pitching my tent.
USFS called off the burn ban about a month before the trip, so I got to take advantage of the stone fire ring right in front of the shelter.
Trooper had never slept in a sleeping bag before, so we took this trip as a learning experience. Unfortunately, he had trouble getting settled, so neither of us got very much sleep. If you sleep in the shelter, make sure you keep your paper products safely inside your bag. Overnight, small field mice shredded my toilet role to use for bedding.
The next morning, I woke up to see how the sun had illuminated the Dungeness River Valley. Trooper immediately set to work getting the zoomies out.
After that, I filtered some water from the (crystal clear) Dungeness River and boiled some water in the campfire to make coffee.
We broke camp at 11:30 and arrived at the trailhead around 1:00. I didn't take too many pictures on the way down, but Trooper braved the log bridges by himself this time. So proud!
Sleep issues aside, I'm calling Trooper's first overnight trip a success.
