Colonel Bob Wilderness is an 11,855-acre protected backcountry in the southwestern corner of Washington’s Olympic National Forest, about 15 miles east of Lake Quinault on the south side of the Olympic range. Established by Congress in 1984 as one of five new wilderness areas in the forest, it was named for 19th-century orator Robert Green Ingersoll, known as Colonel Bob. The area rises from about 300 feet above sea level to 4,509 feet, with Colonel Bob Mountain as its second-highest point at 4,492 feet. A temperate rain forest receiving more than 150 inches of rain annually, it is valued for steep, wet, relatively undeveloped terrain and trail access for backcountry recreation.