One of the great things about Washington state is that there are new canyons (or creeks as they are known here) discovered each year. Just a few years ago, Fulton Creek was descended in the Olympic Peninsula and is now considered one of the best routes in the area. We decided to head over to the Peninsula just after the 4th of July weekend to learn more about the creeks in the area and reconnect with our friend Iris who is now working for Olympic NP. Sadly, she had just come back from a strenuous backpacking trip for work and needed a few days to recover before returning to the field. Fortunately, our friends Adam Otter and Dylan were with us along with Pharaoh, so we had a strong team to explore some new-to-us creeks.
Returning to Washington each year is both exhilarating and a little nerve-wracking. After being in the desert for nine months, it is a bit of a shock to jump right into flowing water, cold swims, slides, jumps and slippery creek walking. It’s also incredible to immerse ourselves in a thousand shades of green, huge trees, moss-covered cliffs and gorgeous waterfalls. The beauty of these creeks is astonishing.
Lower Fulton Creek was the perfect choice to get acclimated, although getting there was an adventure. There are no permits needed, and beta is available here: Lower Fulton Creek – ropewiki.
The road to the parking spot is an unmaintained dirt road that requires 4WD, although by Utah standards it’s quite good. We carpooled a short distance up the road to a pullout. The approach is a bushwhack through deep woods with no trail or signs of passage. There is a lot of dead wood everywhere, perfect habitat for ground-nesting wasps, who live in cavities or holes in the ground. These wasps, usually yellowjackets, are impossible to spot until you step on their colony and then they swarm and aggressively sting anyone unlucky enough to be nearby. Pharaoh and I were slightly behind the rest of our party when I noticed a swarm of yellowjackets coming out of a dead log. I calmly reported this fact, and we started heading back the way we came, but unfortunately one of the wasps caught up to me and stung me in the back of the neck. Not the best way to start a canyon! We were able to outrun the rest of the swarm and made our way back further up the slope to avoid the nest.
When we finally reached the creek, we were warmed up and ready to get into some cold water. The flow was at a perfect level, around moderate. The creek starts by dropping into a narrow canyon with a huge chockstone perched above a spiraling chute that drops 35 feet into a pool below. Our first plunge into flowing water! Once at the bottom, we entered the waterpark portion of the canyon. A few small jumps lead to the next obstacle, considered one of the best water slides in Washington. This is a 35-foot slide that spits you out halfway across a deep pool at high velocity. Definitely better than coffee in the morning! I was a bit winded and landed right on my bottom. The next jump was the biggest yet, around 25 feet. It was good practice to remind myself what it’s like to plunge off a waterfall without a rope.
Somewhere around this point, the walls opened up into a lush wonderland of moss and ferns. The forest looked primeval. We wandered down the creek, climbing around log jams and giant boulders. A few more rappels and jumps brought us to the dragon’s den – a beautiful short rappel under a giant chockstone that looks like a dragon egg, leading to a part of the creek with deep blue pools and scenic curves.
Soon we were at the last rappel, down a curving waterfall next to an enormous upside-down log with its roots in the air, propped up next to the cliff. Adam used the log as his perch to watch everyone descend the rappel and then jumped down 35 feet into the pool below. We swam out a short distance through pretty narrows and exited to a lovely trail on the bank.
Alas, this wonderfully maintained trail was not our exit as it leads to private property. We changed out of our wetsuits and slogged up a steep ridge. The exit is about an hour of unrelenting bushwacking uphill, although there is a game trail towards the upper section. Once again, ground-nesting wasps made their appearance and swarmed Dylan on a particularly steep part of the hill where there was no place to run. He got stung several times about the ankles and calves before escaping. Definitely an exciting exit!
Overall, Lower Fulton is a great half-day creek with a nice waterpark feel. It was great to get back into flowing canyons and bask in the beauty with a great group of people, although Irisfest was missing one key element: Iris.
