Hike with the marmots of Marmot Pass

Craig Romano | Author & images

One of the most popular hikes in the Olympic Mountains, it’s not difficult to see why. The trail to Marmot Pass traverses stately primeval forest; follows alongside a tumbling pristine river; meanders through resplendent alpine meadows; and crests a high mountain pass providing horizon-spanning views from Puget Sound to some of the Olympic Mountain’s craggiest and most aspiring peaks. And the pass is home to Olympic marmots, Washington’s state endemic animal and one of nature’s most whimsical and adorable critters.

Perhaps it’s the name "marmot" that first gets people interested in this high pass in the northeastern corner of the Olympic Mountains. A cat-sized rodent in the squirrel family, these social animals are adorable and fun to watch. There are 15 species of marmots in the world with the woodchuck thanks to his Groundhog holiday being the most famous of them.

Here in the Pacific Northwest there are no woodchucks, but we have four other species of marmots that call the region home. Two of them, the Vancouver Island marmot and the Olympic marmot are found nowhere else in the world. They originated after the recession of the last Ice age becoming isolated populations on Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula.

Aside from their geographical stomping grounds, there are some differences between the Olympic marmot and the hoary marmot which populates Washington’s Cascades and British Columbia and Alaska’s mountain ranges. The Olympic marmot is the largest of North America’s six marmot species. They also differ in fur coat color, vocalization patterns and chromosome numbers (having 40 instead of 42) from their relatives on Vancouver Island and the mainland mountains.

In 2009 Washington declared the Olympic Marmot the state’s official endemic animal. If you hike in the Olympics and see a marmot, it’s the Olympic marmot as it’s the only marmot species occupying these mountains.

Marmot Pass however is not the best place to see marmots in the Olympics as the population there is small and more reclusive. Hurricane Ridge and Grand Ridge tend to deliver solid marmot observations. But if you get to Marmot Pass early in the morning or later in the evening on a day devoid of crowds (think weekdays and overcast days) you just might get to watch a few of these whimsical rodents.

The hike starts on the Upper Big Quilcene River Trail. The well maintained trail takes off west and immediately enters the Buckhorn Wilderness. At more than 44,000 acres, Buckhorn is the largest of the 5 wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest. It abuts the park and protects spectacular alpine terrain and old-growth forests in the Olympic Peninsula’s rain-shadow northeastern corner.

The trail heads deeper into the wilderness following alongside the Big Quilcene River in impressive primeval forest. Hike among hulking hemlocks and colossal cedars and firs. After 2.6 miles of hiking and 1300 feet of elevation gain come to Shelter Rock Camp. If you decide to camp here or elsewhere along the trail, note that campfires are prohibited anywhere over 3500 feet of elevation.

The trail now steeply climbs leaving the river. Gaining elevation, the way crosses avalanche chutes and scree slopes fanning down from Buckhorn Mountain and Iron Mountain above. Views of the rugged surroundings expand as you march forward. Rocky pinnacles protrude from the steep ridge above like gargoyles on a medieval cathedral. At 4.6 miles the trail reaches Camp Mystery with its dual springs in a grove of yellow cedars and subalpine firs.

Push on entering a small meadow. In early summer a multitude of dazzling wildflowers and patches of snow add touches of white and brilliant colors to this alpine environment. Look throughout the meadow for marmot burrows. Scan the snow patches for their tracks. And look carefully at the flower patches to see if any are feasting on their favorites—lupines, lilies, heather blossoms and sedges.

And if you don’t see any marmots, perhaps you’ll hear one, as chances are good one has spotted you and let out a high pitched warning whistle. Their whistles have led them to being called whistlers and whistling pigs by early prospectors and explorers.

Now keep hiking, reaching a small hanging valley just below the open pass.

Just a little more to go and you’re standing at 5950-foor Marmot Pass. Enjoy the scenic payoff. Gaze east beyond the meadows you just hiked through to Hood Canal, Puget Sound, and the Cascades. To the west the verdant Dungeness Valley spreads out below, flanked by a wall of some of the highest summits in the Olympics—Mount Mystery, Mount Deception, and Mount Walkinshaw.

Notice that the surrounding terrain is drier here than the peaks farther west. The high country has a resemblance to the Cascades’ eastern slopes due to the rain-shadow effect here. This environment favors lodge pole and white bark pines and Clark’s nutcrackers, a jay-like bird that feeds on pine nuts.

Listen for their raucous calls, a common sound on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, but rare here in the Olympics.

And while the views are spectacular from Marmot Pass, if you have any energy left, consider pushing on by following a path northeast for one mile climbing more than 1,000 feet to the 6,998-foot summit of Buckhorn Mountain. Otherwise relax, watch for marmots, and enjoy the hike back down on one of the best stretches of trail in the Olympics.

Details

Land Agency Contact: Olympic National Forest, Hood Canal Ranger District, Quilcene, (360) 765-2200, fs.usda.gov/olympic

Trailhead directions: From Shelton, follow US 101 north for 50.5 miles. Turn right onto Penny Creek Road. After 1.5 miles bear left onto Big Quilcene River Road (Forest Road 27) and continue for 9.3 miles turning left onto FR 2750. Then continue 4.7 miles to the trailhead.

Craig Romano

Romano has written more than 25 outdoor guide books including "Winter Hikes of Western Washington” (Mountaineers Books, 2009) and "Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula." He lives in Mt. Vernon.

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