6-night Backpacking Trip in May
Hello everyone, apologies if these questions have been asked before but I’m looking for some insight.
I will be spending 6 nights in the park with 3 friends from 5/23-5/29. I planned most of the itinerary with the framework being: 5/23-5/25 North Fork Quinault/Elip Creek/Skyline Trail loop. 5/25 overnight at Kalaloch campground for an easy day before heading to the Hoh. 5/26-5/29 Hoh rainforest to Blue Glacier out and back.
We will be traveling from Vancouver, WA, planning to get to the north fork trailhead by 10 AM on Saturday. I planned this hike as collateral for the Enchanted Valley hike since grave creek road is currently closed and is probably unlikely to be open by our trip. The plan is to spend one night at Elip Creek campground, and the other at Three Lakes, the order is undecided.
For the Blue glacier hike starting 5/26, we will try to get there by 8:30 from Kalaloch, should be under two hours away. Depending on whether we hike to Bogachiel Peak on the way back, I would like to camp at Martin Creek (or Elk Lake), then Lewis Meadow, then Happy Four or 5 Mile Island for the last night. If we do Bogachiel I would want to stay at the Ranger station on the last night (5/28).
My main questions pertain to permitting and reserving the higher elevation campsites (Three Lakes, Martin Creek, Elk Lake). To ensure we have permits for the duration of the trip, I reserved Lewis Meadows for two nights, then Five Mile Island to cover all days. For the Quinault hike, I only reserved one night at Elip Creek for us, since Three Lakes cannot be reserved yet.
How does changing itinerary/reserving blocked campsites work? This is my first trip to ONP so any other advice is greatly appreciated!