Missing Backpacker Emerges From Backcountry

Backpacker Kelly Hall, who had been missing for nearly four days in the northeast section of Olympic National Park, walked out to the Whiskey Bend Trailhead in the Elwha Valley yesterday morning. Hall, who’d been the subject of a major search, was tired and had suffered minor scrapes and bruises, but was otherwise okay.

Hall was last seen by two other hikers in the Grand Valley area about four miles from his starting point at Obstruction Point. He told searchers that he lost the trail in very foggy, rainy conditions in the area of Grand Pass and found himself heading west into the Lillian River drainage rather than into the Cameron Creek drainage as planned. He said that once he realized his mistake and was able to determine his location, he decided to continue hiking downstream along the Lillian River, knowing that he would eventually find the Lillian River Trail, which would lead him to the Elwha River Trail and the Whiskey Bend Trailhead.

Hall’s ad hoc Lillian River route involved eight miles of extremely strenuous off-trail travel, which was much more rugged, difficult and time-consuming than he had anticipated, taking nearly four days longer than he had originally planned for his hike. He reached the Whiskey Bend Trailhead this morning, where he encountered a group of hikers who gave him a ride to the Elwha Ranger Station.

Hall was well-equipped with food, a water filter, maps and compass, the “Ten Essentials” and appropriate gear. Hall began his hike on Saturday, August 30th, setting out from the Obstruction Point Trailhead near Hurricane Ridge. Family members expected to meet him at the USFS Slab Camp Trailhead on Thursday afternoon.

Searchers who contributed to the effort include National Park Service employees and volunteers, an aircraft and crew from Washington State Patrol, and volunteers from Olympic Mountain Rescue, Clallam County Search and Rescue, German Shepherd Search Dogs, Kitsap County Search and Rescue and numerous community members.