Rock Candy West to Capital Peak Attempt #1

First Hike of the new year!


Near the start


The Trail


The capitol forest was a pleasant surprise but this was not my best ever day of hiking.

I was going to do the Capitol Forest but I slept in too late so I decided to do the Skok instead. I was going to take my point and shoot to the Capital Forest to save weight on what would be a long hike. When I decided to do the Skok instead I packed my DSLR.

Then all my plans changed again because my Jeep Battery was dead and I could not get it jump started. I used two different cars to try to get the Jeep jump started, before I gave up and decided to slow charge it with a house charger.


Not having the Jeep available forced me to change plans and go for the Capitol Forest instead of the Lower South Fork Skokomish. My little passenger car can not handle the roads out to the Skok. I decided to go ahead and take my DSLR to the Capitol Forest.

I started on what I think was the Rock Candy West trail; I started a bit higher up the trail that I would have because I was running late. My goal was to get to Capitol Peak and then hike back in the dark for some of the return trip. But I took a wrong turn and went up to the top of Rock Candy Mountain instead, I did not see much of a view up there and I could not find the Geocache located there. Several cars passed me as they went up to the top.

After that blunder went I back found the right trail. Once I knew I was on the right trail I decided to take a snack break, this was about 6 miles into my hike. That was when I discovered that I had left my lunch in the fridge... DOH! Not again! I had such a nice lunch packed too. My lunch would have been a chocolate orange, a huge meaty, cheesy sandwich and two pieces of fancy Italian Christmas cake. I had hit Safeway the night before and bought a bunch of Christmas food really cheaply.

I knew better than to try to make it to capitol peak with no food, so I went another mile until the GPS said I had gone 6.99 miles and then I turned back. At the spot where I turned around there was a trail sign that said I was 8 miles from Bordeaux but it was fallen down and leaning on a tree so it was not very helpful. I took a much more direct route back so my total mileage was only 10.

Some trail signs said I was on the North Rim trial but I thought that the North rim rail is somewhere else. There were also signs that said I was on trail #20; whatever that is.

I almost got run over by two out of season quads because I was wearing headphones and listening to music so I did not hear them coming. When ever I took off my head phones I could hear shotguns in the distance so it was much nicer to hike with my headphones on and miss out on the nature sounds. I have more energy when I have music to hike too.

Early in this hike the top of my right big toe began to hurt so I stopped and inspected it for blisters, but I could not find any problems. Later in my hike I looked again and I discovered the my right big toenail is falling off at the base and I don't know why. It is a normal color and I don’t recall injuring it. I hope it falls off quickly because it is hurting me.

About one mile before I got back to my car I started feeling very lightheaded and weird. I thought it was just from going all day with no food but it was more than that. I seem to be ill with something. I made it back to my car just before sunset and then I ate some peanut butter that was in my car. After I ate I was still feeling dizzy and light headed so I waited bit before I drove home.

I had planned on hiking out in the dark and I'm really glad that I made it out before dark instead, because it would not have been good to be out there in the dark on a strange trail while feeling like I was going to pass out. I did not start to feel better until I had been home for about an hour.



This area made a nice change from my usual rat run up the Skokomish or up South Mountain. The lower forest was pretty and I got some nice views of the cascades and surrounding hills. I will go back and try this again when I am feeling better. I did had a moment of transcendence up there in spite of being in an over logged "working" forest.

The forest was not as trashy as I remember it being a few years ago. I saw a few beer cans and a couple of blue motorcycle fenders. I was glad that I did not see any rotting deer.

Previously I thought that the Lower South Fork Skokomish trail was the closest trail to my house. But the Rock Candy trial is actually one mile closer to home; I made it there and back on less than a quarter tank of gas. The drive back home is slightly longer because I can not take the Shaker Church short-cut on the way back.

My right ankle is giving me a lot of trouble lately. I sprained it while bike riding about 1.5 months ago and I though it had healed. But I has never been right since the surgery about 20 years ago.

On my way home I stopped a the Summit Lake Grocery store and bought a map of the Capitol Forest so I could have a better idea of where I went.


10 miles 2,500 feet elevation gain


Nice second growth forest


Foggy at the start


Old growth log


Big ugly pano


A small view.


2,500 feet





Turn around spot

10 miles 2,500 feet elevation gain