Humes Ranch

On our hike in the Elwha Valley last July we visited two old cabins, this the second of them. The sign at the cabin reads: "The gold rush to Alaska led to the establishment of this building by William and Grant Humes. In 1897, Will and Martin Humes, and Cousin, Ward Sanders, received word of the gold strike in Alaska. They left their home in Harrisville, New York, and headed west. The summer was nearly over when they reached the Pacific Coast, so they waited until spring in the Port Angeles area. They hiked up the Elwha and built a cabin near the Lilian River. Will later homesteaded 120 acres at this site. Grant joined Will in 1900 and helped build this cabin and a barn int he lower meadow. Both Will and Grant made their living by hunting cougar and packing parties into the Olympics. They assisted climbers on the first assault on Mount Olympus. The Seattle Mountaineers named Humes Glacier on Mount Olympus after the brothers. Grant lived alone on this homestead after will returned to New England in 1914.... Grant's nearest neighbor was Dok A. Ludden who lived at Michael's Ranch. He operated a trailside inn known as Geyser House. Grant managed the first wildlife sanctuary on the Olympic Peninsula, with the two meadows of his homestead and the surrounding area being protected. In a 1933 letter he wrote, 'I have come to know that it ain't all of hunting to shoot.' Following Grant's death in 1934, Herb and Lois Crisler used the cabin as a base camp during their filming of the movie, 'Olympic Elk.' Part of the film was taken in the Elwha watershed. In the summer of 1958 the Humes Cabin was rehabilitated, the barn was razed because of its deteriorating condition. In 2007 the National Park Service restored the roof and replaced rotted logs. Humes Cabin has been designated a national historical structure."