UPDATE: Missing Hiker Walks Out Of Olympic National Park Backcountry

Published Date

September 8, 2014

Kelly Hall, who had been the subject of a search effort at Olympic National Park, reached the Elwha Ranger Station around 10 a.m. Monday/NPS handout

Editor's note: This updates with the missing hiker found.

A hiker presumed lost in the backcountry of Olympic National Park surfaced Monday morning when he reached the area near the Elwha Ranger Station shortly before 10 a.m. in good condition, park officials said.

Further details of Kelly Hall's travels were not immediately available.

'We are overjoyed to have this search reach a successful and happy conclusion,' said Olympic Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum.A ground and air search for Mr. Hall, 64, of Bainbridge Island, Washington, had been underway since the weekend. He had been reported overdue by family members when he failed to meet them at a trailhead Thursday evening.

Hall began his hike on Saturday, August 30, setting out from the Obstruction Point Trailhead near Hurricane Ridge. His planned itinerary was a 39-mile hike through Grand Valley to Grand Pass, continuing over Cameron Pass, through Dose Meadows, over Gray Wolf Pass and along the Gray Wolf Trail to the Slab Camp Trailhead on Forest Road 2875. He was reported overdue by a family member Thursday evening when he did not appear as planned at the trailhead. Another hiking party reported having seen Hall on August 30 in Grand Valley, about four miles from his starting point.

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Comments

Submitted by MikeD on September 8, 2014 - 1:02pm.

Wow. Reported overdue Thursday and shows up 4 days later in good condition? Wonder if he took a wrong turn (or possibly on purpose) and ended up going north instead of east.

Submitted by Julie Trevelyan on September 8, 2014 - 6:13pm.

Sounds like he got lost in the fog. Seems like he was prepared just in case something like this happened. Still, lucky guy he made it out fine.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/09/08/3368198/missing-hiker-walks-out...

Submitted by wild places on September 9, 2014 - 11:32am.

Always nice when there is a happy outcome and the person makes their way out on their own. Four extra days is a long time when your only planning on six.

Submitted by Rick B. on September 9, 2014 - 12:14pm.

Sounds like a lot of that 'lucky' came from being prepared and maintaining his level head when lost in the elements.

Submitted by Gary Wilson on September 9, 2014 - 2:05pm.

The point where he made the decision to continue down a trailless drainage, because he knew there was a trail on the lower side of that river drainage was where he might have wanted to turn around and spend the effort to get back up on the main trail, but then again if that area was fogged completely over, and visibility was down to mere feet, then that might have been why he chose continuing down that trailless drainage, which sometimes isn't a bad call in that case... Obviously, a topo can make terrain seem very doable, until you get into the terrain and realize the topo isn't exactly the greatest predictor of every boulder, rock, and river crossing.

Submitted by Random Walker on September 9, 2014 - 3:37pm.

Whoa, Mr Hall went down the Lilian River from it's headwaters in the area of Grand Pass!? Well, according to my "Olympic Bushwhack Rating System" that could only be a BW5 Grade VI: Extreme brush. Multiple hours needed to travel one mile. Full body armor desirable. Wounds to extremities likely, eye protection needed. Footing difficult due to lack of visibility. Frequent use of hands and profanity required...

Update: Today 9:07AM Bainbridge Island Review

Submitted by Rick Smith on September 9, 2014 - 3:38pm.

Random Walker--Can we get a complete digest of your Olympic Bushwhack Rating System? I would like to try to apply it to other parks that have difficult terrain and require repeated profanity.

Rick

Submitted by Random Walker on September 9, 2014 - 4:07pm.

Rick ~ From a copy of Mark Dale's "Bushwhack Rating System" I had cut/pasted to a hard drive a decade ago or so, google?

Packing up for some days of mosey meandering in Olympic National Park starting tomorrow. Find myself, instead of just dumping the gear in my backpack and hitting the road, laying it all out out, considering it's use, condition and need, pondering on length about what I am forgetting...

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