Still cant believe we pulled this one off. We did it as bad ass as we could. The skills that the Bailey Traverse taught us will forever be in our "tool belts."
Beautiful photography! Did this route in 1996. I still consider it one of the most challenging and beautiful traverses I've experienced. Thank you for sharing your video. Brings back great memories.
WOW! What a great video! So realistic I felt like I was right there hiking with you. Your video is the only one I have watched that brought back the challenges, exhaustion, and the amazing beauty of the wilderness like I was right there. I can barely walk these days, but your video brought it all back to me, the desire inside that draws you out onto the trail to experience what you have brought back to life for me.
Hi Andrew, Sarah, and Aaron, my God, what an incredible experience. I can't believe what you guys went through whacking through the maze ( and I said, just looking at the damn map, mmh, doesn't look so difficult, lol). And just coming through it all ( I mean the whole trip), it's hard to imagine what went through your mind when I met you guys at Hayes river. And then you even thanked me in your video. Wow, what generous and wonderful people all of you guys are, rich in life and living it and sharing it with everybody that wants to. Thank you so very, very much for being yourselves and doing this. You move through it all just so matter of fact. Don't remember, if I told you, might have told Aaron, you inspired me to change my plan and I went for my original plan (against the ranger's advice) and boy, am I glad I did (basically going via Cameron). But I mustered the courage because I met you. Later on the trip I met some old-timers, I told them about meeting you guys and they did the Bailey traverse when they were younger too. I also love your soundtrack, Andrew, and the long exposures of still life and little things and your well-natured silliness. Love you guys, can't wait to go on a trip together hopefully. Say hi to your wife Lacey as well and Sarah and Aaron, of course. Cheers.
Thank you for this video. At 33:00, you are way past my level. Maybe if I were 22 instead of 72... It looks like you are enjoying one incredibly beautiful trek. I am glad you filmed it. Superb!
It seems this isn't the FULL Bailey Range traverse. I don't see the Humes Glacier, leading over to the HOH Glacier, then through Blizzard Pass to the Blue Glacier. Then out the HohTrail to roads end. In other words a complete circumnavigation of the Hoh valley. Great Photos!
Great adventure, thanks for sharing. I did the Bailey with less snow and didn't go up over Carrie to get to Stephen Basin. The gullies are sketchy on the west side of Carrie and I like your approach of going over Carrie. More elevation gain, but less hazardous.
What an outstanding video!!! True fan of your’s and Lacey’s videos along with the Fulwiders!!! Enjoy the time lapse videos., technology used for mapping, and outstanding soundtrack!!! Always enjoy Aaron’s thoughts and knowledge of the area as well. Enjoy his Facebook page. Y’all make a great team. Look forward to the next video. BTW, yours, Aaron’s, Joey’s, Marty’s, and the Howe’s have made being isolated during this pandemic a lot easier. I’m itching to get out on the trail again. In Texas its hot as the sun during the summer and places are a lot further away to get to a good backpacking of the park is open. Again, outstanding video!!!
thank you! Aaron is awesome, a very good friend. We also did a 6 day Eagle Cap Wilderness traverse that I'm going to release later. Joey, martyupnorth and howes videos I'm also huge fans of!
15:54 From watching Forest Dweller’s video (fall 2023), I think that nameless pass is Spread Eagle Pass. I’m guessing that lake you thought about camping at on night 2 was Swimming Bear?
Just an absolutely spectacular trip! I live in Georgia and the Olympics are by far my favorite place to backpack in every year. I'm 53 and dream of doing this kind of hike, but just don't think I would have the conditioning and stamina to tackle such a trip. I think I would try though if I had an awesome group like you guys to go with. Look forward to seeing other trips you've made!
Awesome job guys! Did the route last year only I went via Cream Lake thru Ferry Basin and out Dodger Point. Went in late August and faced far less snow.
Wow! What a trip. Gorgeous video Andrew. Well done. Heading to the High Divide and Cat Basin at the end of the month for some berries and bears. Thanks for sharing.
Great video, way over my capabilities but really enjoyed the video. I cannot express how much I liked the fact you did not narrate 90 minutes, I don't personally need that and don't enjoy somebody talking all the time. Good use of graphics in labeling peaks etc, and the little narrative you provided was just right. Along with that, a HUGE thank you for not play music thru the video, the most annoying thing on YT videos is the music choices blarring all the way thru it!
This is lovely . And the 3 of you are just the sort of humans to do a trip like this (I forgot to type “with”). I’m thrilled to see so much of where I haven’t been and the diversity is over-the-top unexpected . I’ve done Mt Constance both from the Dosewalips River trail and from the north via Home Lake . Summited Mt Olympus of course starting at the Hoh campground . The trail along the Hoh is epic too . Lots of bears and bear cubs . Lots of mountain goats standing right next to you when you pee as they ... want the salt . Yep . And then an old friend that I’d known when I was a kid was gored and killed by a mountain goat up there . Pretty sad . And now ... Well , I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m too freaked out by the missing411 cases as well as all the cryptid encounters . I’ve tried and tried to talk myself out of it and yeah , sh*t’s too real , too terrifying . If you don’t know what I’m referring to , don’t look into it . Enjoy the mountains for many years to come . And if you DO know what I’m referring to and think I’m silly ? , you too , enjoy the mountains for many years to come .
Very impressive and awesome trip I wish to visit the same trail someday Good filming, I know it is very hassle to take videos like that on the trail but it is very entertaining. Good luck to all of you
Was just up on Mount Carrie this past week. That and your video brought back memories. First time through on the Bailey, largely matched your route. Gullies on Hoh side of range were not as bad as they now are, and so traversed that side, down to Cream lake, and the world's largest sub-alpine fir. Later learned that Stephen lake is the better route. To Ferry basin, Out to Dodwell-Rixon pass, back to car via Elwha snow finger and Elwha river trail. The Elwha road was good back then, sometime in mid 90's Favorite version of this trip though., Sol Duc to Sol Duc with no car shuttle. Instead of descending the Elwha snow finger, we headed west down to Queets basin, to Humes glacier on Olympus, up to the pass between the Humes and the Hoh, camped at Camp Pan on edge of the Hoh glacier, climbed Circe. Descended to the Hoh, crossed and up to the pass to the Blue glacier. Climbed Olympus, and then camped on west side of the Olympus massif, view of the ocean. Down the Blue glacier to the Hoh trail, up to Hoh lake, down to Bogachiel trail and back to Sol Duc. One of the finest adventures ever.
Excellent video. I did that trip twice. I can no longer make that trip so thanks for the memories. Was nice to see that shot of Lake Billy Everett. On both my trips I made that my 'two night' stop. Explored that whole basin. Even visited the unnamed lake just above Cream Lake, the one at 4689'. By the way at 15:55 that nameless pass' has a name - Spread Eagle Pass. My guess is it is named after the pattern that patch of snow makes at certain times of the year.
Coolest film yet by you. An absolutely beautiful place. We love what you and Lacey have done. Too bad we missed our trip with Joey and Travis. Maybe next year.
This was AMAZING to watch. Wish I were younger to do the same trek. Beautiful photography/videos. What a memory forever in your hearts. Wanted to ask what you used for camera/video, especially interested in what you had for a zoom lens?
@@CatherineGregoryAdventures thats a beautiful spot. How were the crowds there? Was your trip a fun one? When I went and did Sahale arm in 2017 it was packed and I lost my knife up there :(
It was busy, but not too bad. Super beautiful. A subscriber invited me to join them. They had a permit to camp at Pelton Basin. Quick trip, but so pretty. I hung out with them at camp and got some decent footage of a big black bear. Really gorgeous spot.
This is so cool. My husband Mario and I actually saw you on the way in. You passed me at Boulder Creek crossing and passed my husband somewhere up towards Appleton pass. Amazingly, we ran into you all on your way out at Michaels cabin the next week as we were headed up the Elwha on the west side. Such a thrilling video. Beyond my agility and skill level at my age, so I was so grateful to see all the beautiful high country. Many thanks. Keep those videos coming! Rebecca
This is awesome! I've watched this several times already. It would be so cool to speak with you about your experience. My friends and I are planning for this same thing next year.
Excellent video, great timelapses, and great shots! Mind if I ask what you camera gear is? That one camera has quite the zoom and the dynamic range on your other camera is great. How many batteries did you bring and how did you keep them charged?
Not only do the hot springs look gross, but they closed for a bit when I worked there in 2015 because an older guy was found dead in one the pools. He had been there for more than a couple days, from what I gathered. I believe the park tried to sweep that one under the rug.
My fav place to eat if I’m coming out of the mountains and have to go thru Forks is Tall Timber , I think it’s named that . Great burgers . And if you’re on the east side there’s a good burger place in Brinnon . You KNOW how good that sort of food is after a haul up in the Olympics .
Great stuff!!!! Don't know how folks stand the constant clanging of a metal cup hooked to the outside of their pack. Maybe making bear noise on purpose??
This was a fantastic video.....it brought back the memories. Spent much of my younger years hiking in this area, with my longest being up the Queets to the basin and out the Elwha. It seemed like the trails were more defined in the 70's. At 72 years this epic adventure will be hard to duplicate, so thank you for letting me see it through your lens - incredible memories......and BTW, what camera were you using? Look forward to seeing more, cheers!
Thank you! The olympic mountains in the 70s must have granted much more solitude then they do now! I'm using a Sony AX-53. Great picture, zoom and surprisingly tough (dropped it pretty bad a few times still works great)
@@NorthwestWanderer you would think there would have been more solitude but a party was camped across from us, closer to Dodwell-Rixon and they had a plane fly in low and drop supplies, but didn't see anyone else till near Mills Lake. BTW....just watch again. Great seeing Appleton, Catwalk.....maybe one last time, it would be great, cheers
Long video, this will have to wait to see it all. Looking epic. I cannot do 5,000 elevation in one day, in my 60’s now. You guys. Are in serious shape, the Olympics have some serious elevation gain, especially where roads are washed out. But pretty special place. One thing of note, the Wind River Range is not in Idaho, it is southeast of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.
Oh i know! I said wind river range And idaho but my midwest accent kind of makes "and" sound like "in" . Ive gotten in trouble with some misunderstandings with the midwest lingo a few times out west here lol
@@NorthwestWanderer No problem. You must be talking specifically about the Sawtooths. I have covered the Sawtooths when I worked for the Forest Service nearby for three years. But they are child’s play compared to the Winds, and the Olympics are much more diverse, and( wet). Glacier NP is pretty special (if you can get a permit) . I am trying to complete the last 40 of the total 734 miles in the park.
@@CDAFishboy i havent been to the sawtooths yet but i will next summer. Before this videos trip my wife and i did a trip in the wind river range then drove over to idaho and did a trip in the lost river range. Since then ive been to the LRR twice, pioneer and white cloud mountains (have videos on them too). I really want to go back to the winds. They are incredible.
Epic adventure and incredible photography! Feels just like the trip videos from Joey at MyOwnFrontier. I can tell this took a ton of work to put together and it pays off so well. What is your filming setup, if you don't mind me asking?
thanks! Main camera is a Sony AX-53 and my timelapses are done with my old camera I used to film with the Nikon D7200. 3 Batteries for the Sony AX53, 7 for the Nikon and a charging pack for both of them. It's a lot of extra weight but I've always been terrible with packing... my knees will pay for it eventually.
Beautiful video. Seems like an amazingly epic trip with excellent cinematography throughout. Question: why is it safe to do mountaineering at night but not in the fog? I’ve never understood why some climbers bushwhack or mountain climb before the sun is up; doesn’t make sense to this tenderfoot.
Good question. At night you can actually see a lot, especially if the moon is out and adding its beautiful light to glaciers and snow. It is an out of world experience. Even if it is a new moon, a well charged head lamp can shoot light a long way against a face of snow in a dark clear night. Plus, up there is the place to be as the sun disc cuts the morning horizon! Also, at night the snow is still frozen in the summer. Much safer avalanche wise and more pure for crampons to climb on a surface of icy crusted snow rather than the mid-day slush. In the fog visibility is sometimes 10's to 100s of feet, very hard to route find steep slopes, rock faces, and crevassed terrain without tech or a well tramped in boot pack. Climbing in the fog can be done, but if it is generally considered unsafe because of the extremely low visibility. As for the bushwhacking, I've always tried to have all that done on the approach hike so there is little to zero on summit day. If you can, make your high camp above any bushwhacking that should be safely done by the light of day. Trailed approaches are a different story and much easier on night approaches, fog or clear. Take care.
Where exactly did you camp each night? I'm curious about the route you took, since it's not the one I did with family and others, many years ago. Thanks for your video, it brought back some happy memories!
We stayed at Boulder Creek Hot Springs, Sol Duc Park to the north of High Divide, Stephen Lakes Basin, 2 nights at Upper Ferry Basin, Dodwell-Rixon Pass, and Hayes River. Permitted to stay one more night at Geyser Valley but skipped and hiked out early.
I've always wanted to do the Bailey Range, but it just never happened. I am not sure if I am up to doing your route but I would like to do the regular route hopefully this year. Your filming is excellent, as well as the explanations and your thoughts along the way. Really enjoyed this. Do you have a gps route or marked map that you can share maybe? Many of the landmarks you mention dont show on my map. thx
Really the only deviations we did from the standard Bailey Traverse Route was between Appleton Pass and Sol Duc Park, and around Mt. Carrie and Stephen Peak. At Appleton pass you can stay high and walk east past Oyster Lake to a notch at the head waters of the Sol Duc River, go thru this notch and turn south and you can follow unmaintained trail all the way to the High Divide. The standard route also side hills Mt. Carrie on its southern slope between the Catwalk and Cream Lake Basin. Instead of this we summited Carrie, dropped down onto its glacier, dropped further down into Carrie Basin, and climbed out on the eastside of the cirque via a steep snow chute between the head wall and a pillar of rock. This was really the only safe option with the protection we brought at the time. I planned it this way to hit the Carrie glacier with snow on it instead of hard glacial ice. As you can see, there was already bare ice starting to show. The ranger who issued me the permit highly recommended bringing Helmet, climbing rope, harness, pickets, and crampons. We used all this equipment to solve this part of the problem. Dropping down the glacier there were slumps in the snow and open crevasses. There were also a lot of moats and melting out streams. It was good to be roped up for glacier travel. To get out we climbed the steep chute mentioned above. For this, the leader set a picket, clipped the rope in, and climbed in a running belay. The last climber pulled the picket while the leader set another. It the top, I belayed the team the rest of the way with a boot-axe belay. From this point a little further climbing up the upper glacier again to another notch facing the east. We went thru this notch and set another running belay as we down climbed to Stephen Lakes Basin via more steep snow. So glad I followed the advice given because we actually used all the climbing equipment that we brought. The rest of the traverse we safely did with just helms, crampons, and axes. Good Luck on your adventures.
@@aaronfulwider779 Nice props to the ranger too. So many of them get the summer hoards and answer the most mundane questions and deal with some of the worst attitudes. I like my rangers.
@@alpsalish Yes, I respect the rangers. They have given us some amazing opportunities in the backcountry. I used the feedback I got from him. I have witnessed them deal with some pretty snotty people before for no good reason.
I use a Sony AX53 with 4 batteries for video, a Nikon D7200 with 7 batteries for timelapses and a battery charging puck. Both are compatible with the $20 amazon tripod I use. Its a really heavy set up but like I said before I'm not very smart so it doesn't bother me too much
Hello NorthwestWanderer and Aaron, do you guys have a GPS coord of where you left the bear can in Ferry Basin? I'm a Park volunteer and will be in there next week and would like to carry it out. Thanks.
I don't have the GPS coords. We did notify the park service of the exact location, don't know if they still have the info. It's in Ferry Basin on a mound by the waterfall at 0:09 in the video and just before the "gates" I film at 0:14 there is about 200 yards between them. We left it on a very obviously used tent pad area in the open
You never moaned and complained and I sure know a little of an 8 day difficult trip, including weight, food, comfort , fatigue issues..You stayed true.
While located adjacent to Boulder Creek, the hot springs are actually named "Olympic Hot Springs." The introductory segment of your video had me wondering if there was a hot spring in the park that I'd never heard of in more than fifty years residence in Port Angeles. In the early 1900's, the springs were developed as a resort with swimming pool, lodging, hydro-electric power and etc.; but they had already deteriorated to a squalid, hippy-infested squatter's camp before I moved to the peninsula in 1971. At that time, the dry swimming pool with a corner dynamited open to the air by the park service still stood on the site, together with debris of demolished buildings and relics littering the area. A Pelton wheel and also a low-head turbine among the scattered relics confirmed for me that the facility had once been electrified. Of course, the curious today can simply look up the history on the internet and see electric light fixtures next to the pool in the historic photos. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Hot_Springs My late father and I would scramble down into boulder creek from a switchback on the road about a mile below the old resort. We could catch Rainbow trout in the stream a month or more before the Elwha River upstream of now-vanished Lake Mills would clear enough to fish with any expectation of success. The Boulder Creek trout were small but good eating; and the outing was often an adventure when the bushwhack route crossed a large, moss-slicked rock face or encountered a jaw-popping Black bear.
