Graves Creek

This route is about 55 miles and has three big climbs and about 15,000ft of elevation gain. It is a great mix of everything that makes the Olympics so amazing, big trees, dense forest, steep trails, river valleys, high open ridges, fun single track, and good odds of seeing bear, elk and other animals. This is a remote route with no road crossings and very few people. There are creek and river fords that have possibility of being dangerous at high water, there are a few sections like Graves Creek, Sundown Lake and Six Ridge Trails that get little use and even less maintenance. Excellent navigation skills are essential especially on Six Ridge Trail where the trail itself often disappears in meadows. Expect this route to take a lot longer than a 50 miler would normally take.

James advises, "I would recommend doing the loop counter clockwise to get the most difficult navigating done first and before it gets dark."

Here's the route:

Start/Finish East Fork Quinault River Trailhead

Follow the East Fork Trail for about a 1/4 mile then turn Right onto Graves Creek Trail. Then turn left onto Sundown Lake Trail. Then Left onto Six Ridge Trail, Then Left onto North Fork Skokomish Trail. Left onto Duckabush River Trail towards O'Neil Pass. Trail Becomes O'Neil Pass Trail. Turn Left onto East Fork Quinault Trail and follow all the way back to trailhead.