Bailey Range Traverse,  Olympic National Park,  Jul 26, 2007 - Aug 1, 2007     page 95 / 97

We rested and had some lunch, then continued along the trail. Another mile or so brought us to Chicago Camp, a deep woods camp near the river where one can either proceed downstream, along the Elwha, or head across the river and up to Low Divide.

We stopped briefly so I could check my feet for new blisters. Almost two miles later, we reached the last river ford. We had our routine down fairly well, but the river here was wider than we could throw the sandals or trekking poles. Instead, I pulled out some rope I had in my pack. I tied a couple of pieces together, then we tied the end to Tom's pack. He crossed first, then removed the sandals, tying them to the end of the rope. Then I pulled the rope across the river, dragging the sandals across with it. I followed him across, using wooden poles we found near the river crossing.

We crossed a couple more creeks during our trip, but never needed to ford again.