North Fork Quinalt River,  Olympic National Park,  Sep 24, 2010 - Sep 25, 2010     page 7 / 30

The rain held off and I made good progress along the trail. Then I rounded the corner at Wild Rose Creek. The creek bed was wide and rough. I recalled the Olympic Park website notice from a few years earlier. The bridge over this creek had been washed out during a winter storm. The North Fork Quinalt trail was closed beyond this point for a few months.

The creek presented no problems for me, though. I headed down the hill, stopping briefly to survey the rubble and the best way across the overgrown stream. Seeing no well-defined path to the opposite side, I chose to ford the first creek of the trip. I quickly pulled off the boots and socks and replaced them with sandals I had specifically carried for this purpose.

The crossing was uneventful. Had I spent enough time scouting the area, I likely could have crossed without donning the sandals.

Surprisingly, the water seemed much warmer than I anticipated. Perhaps it was the cool air temperature which made the water seem less shocking than expected. Or perhaps it was the difference between rain water feeding the stream versus snow melt. Either way, it was refreshing to walk through the mild water.