Sourdough Mountain, as the name implies, hosted a mining camp that appears to be a moderately-serious old base-camp or prospect, on a line of recorded claims along a band of mineralization, ca 1930s. It consists of a fairly/partly level little sheltered meadow in the trees, on the ridge-top and tucked in against the west foot of the Sourdough rise; a short water-trail to an intermittent source out on the steep north slope, and a fairly long & impressive local trail up the peak. There used to be a small Adirondack-type shelter, but it slowly collapsed; there were also formerly visible remains of a box-latrine … and other artifacts which likely post-dated the mining-era (perhaps reflecting post-WWII horse-camping practices). It is just off the main Aurora Ridge Trail on its own very short side-trail, and the peak offers good & useful if relatively undramatic views into the North Fork Sol Duc River drainage, and of the north aspects of Mount Appleton and Boulder Peak, which bound the southern headwaters of the North Fork.
It is not impossible, ie it is somewhat suspiciously possible, that the meadow and campsite and local paths could be pre-Western and Native American. The setting & locale has clear strategic & tactical values, controlling the natural route along the ridge-top and productive upland meadows nearby. Perhaps when the miners were scouring the terrain for workable deposits, the site was already in-place.
It is also possible that the very early tourism to the nearby Olympic Hot Springs made use of this particular area for horseback outings. The hotspring became a worldclass remote resort-destination at the turn of the 20th C. At that time, horseback activities were important recreation (not to mention, still their normal transportation), and often dominated the scene. Much of the Olympic Mountains is overly rough, rugged & steep, for normal horse-riding & packing, but the Aurora Ridge complex is unusual for the region, in being well within conventional horse-trail limits. The suitability of the Ridge and its trail-routes for horses, would not have been missed by the early ‘dude’ businesses.
Today, Sourdough is about 5 miles up from the Aurora Creek Trailhead beside Lake Crescent along Highway 101. Aurora Creek Trail climbs about 3,600 feet in 3.4 miles, from the lake to its intersection with Aurora Ridge Trail. To the right on the Aurora trail, west, Sourdough is about 1.5 miles. There is some up-and-down along the ridge-crest, but not like the Aurora Creek workout (which appears to be its main use).
This is a full day-hike or nice weekend hiking destination (depending on how the 3,600′ goes) on the northern perimeter of Olympic National Park, on top of Aurora Ridge (about 4,000′) which defines the south side of the developed motor-tourism Lake Crescent feature of the Park. Highway 101 runs along the steep south shore of the Lake, chiseled from the steep base of Aurora Ridge. The quick way to Sourdough, is via the small Aurora Creek Trailhead pullout on the side of 101, and then up the Aurora Creek Trail.
Aurora Ridge is part of the